War Hammer 40,000 is bringing back one of Chaos' most unique soldiers, the loud and cacophonous Noise Marines. Although the Space Marines are the greatest defenders of the Imperium of Man, they are also some of humanity's greatest scourges. Ten thousand years before “modern day” War Hammer 40Khalf of the Space Marines turned traitor and gave themselves over to Chaos. Although these Chaos Space Marines were defeated in the civil war known as the Horus Heresy, many survived and continue to terrorize the Empire to this day.
The mutant powers of Chaos changed many of these Space Marines, turning many of them into literal superhuman monsters. However, others adopted more unusual weaponry to suit their specific activities. One of the more unusual Chaos Space Marines are the Noise Marines, who dedicate themselves exclusively to pleasure and pain through the use of overwhelming sonic noise. Although Noise Marines are incredibly unique and popular, they haven't received a new thumbnail since 2018 and has not updated the line since 1999; That's apparently about to change.
The Noise Marines are one of the most unique units in Warhammer 40K
Noise Marines use instrument-like weapons to kill their enemies
Games Workshop recently suggested, in Warhammer Community location, upon the return of the Noise Marines in 2025. While the Space Marines and their Chaos-tainted counterparts use a variety of weapons, the Noise Marines are unique in that they wield a variety of sonic weapons. These sonic weapons are not just designed to disorient and injure your enemies, they also aim to simultaneously stimulate the Noise Marines themselves. This is because Noise Marines are dedicated to the search for excessive stimulation, a result of their dedication to War Hammer 40K Chaos God Slaanesh.
While some sonic weapons resemble weapons with skulls on the ends, other sonic weapons resemble large musical instruments. Some sound weapons resemble electric guitars or basses, while others look like large pipe organs. To help amplify the noise, many Noise Marines wear speakers on their backs, increasing its power. Noise Marines also wear disorienting, shiny armor, often with bizarre patterns, that help make them stand out and distract enemies on the battlefield. They also have preternaturally keen hearing, which allows them to better stimulate noise.
The history of the Noise Marines explained
Noise Marines have a dark history
The first Noise Marines came from the Emperor's Children, a group of Chaos Space Marines led by Primarch Fulgrim. Before the start of the Horus Heresy, a group of the Emperor's Children visited a temple dedicated to Slaanesh, accompanied by a human musician named Bequa Kynska. The temple corrupted Kynska and led her to create a terrible symphony called Maraviglia. To help with the symphony, Kynska created several instruments that also served as weapons. Unsurprisingly, Maraviglia's debut performance had the distortion directly touching the audience, causing a variety of mutations and pushing the audience into a feast of murder and hedonism.
Members of the Emperor's Children picked up sonic weapons and used them against Loyalist Space Marines during the Horus Heresy. Some organized themselves into a unit called Kakophoniwhere they continued to experiment with sonic weapons in the quest to create more noise to use against their enemies and themselves. Now, the Noise Marines seek out the noise of battle, where they unleash their unique weapons. Even more frightening is that the Noise Marine's unique weapons can also cause their targets to be touched by the Warp itself, exposing them to madness or mutations.
Why the Noise Marines are coming back now
Noise Marines Desperately Need a Miniature Upgrade
So why are the Noise Marines back in 2025? In recent years, Games Workshop has updated its line of Chaos Space Marines, with an average of one chapter per edition. The Thousand Sons was updated with seventh edition, Plague Marines was updated with eighth edition, and World Eaters was remade with ninth edition. Perhaps it's time for the Emperor's Children (who are representatives of the Chaos God Slaanesh) to receive the long-awaited update. After all, it's been almost 25 years since Noise Marines received a full set of miniatures.
Additionally, Chaos Space Marines are a popular choice of villains to War Hammer 40K video games, as evidenced by the appearance of the Thousand Sons in Warhammer 40,000: Marine 2. Several other Traitor Legions appear in the multiplayer modes of Space Marine 2but none represent Slaanesh. Similar to how the Dark Angels appeared in the Season Pass for Space Marine 2It wouldn't be surprising if Noise Marines were added as a future update.
With the return of the Emperor's Children, it's likely that Games Workshop is preparing to release a Fulgrim miniature as well. In recent years, the various Primarchs, both Loyalist and Traitor, have returned within War Hammer 40KIt's tradition. Mortarion, Magnus and Angron returned to the present day War Hammer 40K. Although Fulgrim survived the Horus Heresy and became a four-armed serpent Daemon, he disappeared thousands of years ago. Since the Emperor's Children are returning, it stands to reason that Fulgrim will also return in War Hammer 40K.
Source: Warhammer Community