MARDUK - HEAVEN SHALL BURN... WHEN WE ARE GATHERED (1996)

I've been listening very much to Marduk lately so be prepared for lots of more vinyl posts about them coming up. This is my picture disc vinyl that was released on Shadow Records in 1997. Marduk knew Marcus Tena the owner of Shadow Records very well, he was also bassist in the amazing band Triumphator with future Marduk vocalist Arioch/Mortuus. Marduk released their 1991 December recording EP Here’s No Peace (1997) on his label the same year as this picture vinyl.

Don't know why they left out the Shadow Records logo on this release?  I'm not entirely sure how many copies of this vinyl were printed. I heard everything from 300 to 500 to even 1000 copies. Please leave a comment if you know! Also the CD is the original Osmose Productions release from June 1996 when this amazing record first was released further down the post.

The great album title appears in the lyrics of one my top-5 favorite Bathory songs ever Dies Irae from the album Blood Fire Death (1988). It's also in the best part of the entire song.

"Hear our master calling us his children
Eternal life is given death withdrawn
As wolves among sheep we have wandered
Victory lies beyond their spit and scorn
Even the heavens shall burn when we are gathered
Now when the flames reach for the sky"

Heaven Shall Burn... When We Are Gathered was the first Marduk album to feature the new vocalist Erik "Legion" Hagstedt. Previously vocalist in the amazing Swedish Black Metal band Ophthalamia were he once replaced Jon Nödtveidt of Dissection on vocals. He also appear on their 2nd album the brilliant Via Dolorosa (1995) and also on 3 rehearsal tracks from 1994 on their compilation album To Elishia (1997).

This was also the first Marduk album to be recorded with Peter Tägtgren at his The Abyss Studio and it sounds great. Peter Tägtgren was also a second guitar player in Marduk next to Morgan Håkansson on the Heaven Shall Burn Tour 96 and appears on the "Live In Germania" (1997) album.

I’ll admit that when Heaven Shall Burn... When We Are Gathered was released in the summer of 1996 I was a bit disappointed. It was only because their previous releases were so fucking brilliant. I had my expectations set extremely high because some of the best CD’s I had in my collection was indeed Opus Nocturne (1994); Those Of The Unlight (1993) and Fuck Me Jesus (1994) that I consider to be the 3 best Marduk releases of all time.

However once I realized Heaven Shall Burn... When We Are Gathered full potential it blew my mind. It had so many brilliant songs, I could literally mention all of them. There’s not a bad second on it just 35 minutes of pure fucking Marduk mayhem!

It has one of the ugliest album cover artworks in the whole Marduk discography I mean Dark Endless was ugly but this one is worse. It looks like something from a budget 90's video game, but it still got a certain charm to it and I like the use of the colors. And I do prefer the original artwork over the one that was used on the reissues released in the 2000's on Regain Records and Blooddawn Production.

Tony Särkkä aka. It (1972-2017) of Abruptum, Ophthalamia etc. wrote the lyrics for 2 of the songs Darkness It Shall Be and Dracul Va Domni Din Nou In Transilvania. Marduk actually played the entire Heaven Shall Burn... When We Are Gathered album from start to finish first in their hometown of Norrköping in December 2016. Then in their live setlist on a few selected gigs during their 2017 tour as a 20th Anniversary of its release.

I been listening also watching DVD's of Marduk very much in the recent months especially the "Legion era" even if I prefer the albums released before him joining and the "Mortuus era". But that's not saying that the records released with Legion are bad but it's been quit an eyeopener even if I've listened to Marduk for 23 years since 1994. About a year ago when I ranked all the 13 Marduk full length albums it was an extremely tough choice between Heaven Shall Burn...; Dark Endless (1992) and Wormwood (2009) for the number 10-8 spots.

I should have put Heaven Shall Burn... even higher then that I think now but remember Marduk's discography is a very strong one. I still stand behind most of my other choices on that list and it reflects my opinion about their records. I might update the list once their new album Viktoria (release July 22nd) has been out for some time and I have formed my opinion on that album.
Until then listen to this masterpiece!

A Osmose Productions promo ad from 1996 for “Heaven Shall Burn... When We Are Gathered” that I scanned from a magazine I own. This ad wasn’t necessary for me in order to buy the album.