Naglfar (band)

Naglfar
Naglfar at Tuska 2005
Background information
Origin	Umeå, Sweden
Genres	Melodic black metal
Years active	1992–present
Labels	Century Media, Regain
Associated acts	Profundi, Ancient Wisdom, Bewitched
Website	naglfar.net
Members
Kristoffer "Wrath" Olivius Andreas Nilsson Marcus "Vargher" Norman Mattias Grahn Morgan Lie
Past members
Morgan Hansson Fredrik Degerström Mattias Holmgren Ulf Andersson Jens Rydén

Naglfar is a Swedish melodic black metal band formed in 1992. The group was formed by Jens Rydén and Kristoffer Olivius, originally under the name Uninterred.

Biography

Naglfar formed in 1992.^[1] The band was originally called Uninterred,^{[citation needed]} and was founded by Jens Rydén on vocals and guitar, and Kristoffer Olivius on bass.^[1] The band had its first full line-up when Ulf Andersson from Nocturnal Rites joined the band to play drums, and Morgan Hansson and Fredrik Degerström joined on guitar.^[1] With this new line-up Jens could concentrate on vocals. In March 1994, Fredrik left Naglfar due to personal issues with the band as well as musical differences. Soon afterward Ulf left the band as well so that he could concentrate on Nocturnal Rites. It was during this tumultuous period which the band was writing and recording their first demo in Garageland Studio, titled Stellae Trajectio.^[1] The demo was released in November 1994. Before it was publicly released, however, the band officially changed their name to Naglfar, the name deriving from a ship in Norse mythology made from the nails of the dead.^[2]

In early 1995, the band was signed by Wrong Again Records, and that summer they released their debut full-length album, Vittra, which featured new drummer Mattias Holmgren.^[1] After the recording was over, drummer Holmgren left the band. Other than appearing on an Iron Maiden tribute CD (they performed the song "The Evil That Men Do"), the band was relatively inactive for the next few years. Their second album was titled Diabolical and released in 1998, now with Mattias Grahn on drums.^[1] CMJ New Music Report described it as a "ferocious version of Swedish black/death metal...monumentally mindblowing".^[3] The band signed to Century Media in 2002.^[1] After more line-up changes, and a European tour with Deicide, Naglfar recorded an EP called Ex Inferis, which saw the band compared to Dimmu Borgir,^[4] and a full-length called Sheol, which saw the New York Times describe the band as "one of the most compelling metal bands" and also "one of the most ridiculous", with the music described as "terrific".^[5] Rydén left the band after the album's release, with bassist Kristoffer Olivius taking over on lead vocals.^[6] Ryden went on to record under the name Profundi, recording the album The Omega Rising in 2006.^[7]

In 2005, the full-length album Pariah was released, with Allmusic commenting on its "shockingly profane lyrics".^[1][6] The album was followed by a highly successful tour together with Dark Funeral across Europe, as well as several festival dates.

In December 2005, touring bassist Peter Morgan Lie was confirmed as the full bass player for the band.^[8] For their 2007 album Harvest, the band worked with director Roger Johansson on a video for the track "The Darkest Road".^[9] The band also toured the US in 2007.^[10]

In August 2009, the band announced on their myspace page that they were about to begin recording the new album, without mentioning any planned date for release.^[11] In May 2010, tha band posted a message on their Facebook page stating that a new album on the way.

Discography

Studio albums

• Vittra (1995) - remastered edition (2002), Regain
• Diabolical (1998), Regain
• Sheol (2003), Century Media
• Pariah (2005), Century Media/EMI
• Harvest (2007), Century Media - limited edition with DVD (2011), Century Media/EMI

Compilations

• Pariah + Harvest (2008), Century Media - box set

EPs

• When Autumn Storms Come (1998)
• Ex Inferis (2002), Century Media

Demos

• Stellae Trajectio (1994)
• We Are Naglfar - Fuck You! (1995)
• Maiden Slaughter (1996)

Members

Current members

• Kristoffer "Wrath" Olivius – bass (1992–2005), lead vocals (2005–present)
• Andreas Nilsson – guitars (1993–present)
• Morgan Lie – drums, percussion (1995–1997), bass (2005–present)
• Mattias Grahn – drums, percussion (1997–present)
• Marcus "Vargher" Norman – guitars (2000–present)

Former members

• Ulf Andersson – drums, percussion (1992–1994)
• Fredrik Degerström – guitars (1993–1994)
• Mattias Holmgren – drums, percussion (1995)
• Morgan Hansson – guitar (1993–2000)
• Jens Rydén – lead vocals (1992–2005), guitars (1992–1993)

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} Rivadavia, Eduardo "Naglfar Biography", Allmusic, retrieved 2011-02-04
2. ^ Lee, Cosmo (2007) "Naglfar / Nagelfar", Stylus Magazine, 7 May 2007, retrieved 2011-02-04
3. ^ Vendetti, Jackie (1998) "NAGLFAR Diabolical", CMJ New Music Report, 2 November 1998, p. 68, retrieved 2011-02-04
4. ^ Sciaretto, Amy (2001) "Naglfar - Ex Inferis", CMJ New Music Report, 26 November 2001, p. 30, retrieved 2011-02-04
5. ^ Sanneh, Kelefa (2003) "Music: Playlist", New York Times, 20 July 2003, retrieved 2011-02-04
6. ^ ^{a b} Rivadavia, Eduardo "Pariah Review", Allmusic, retrieved 2011-02-04
7. ^ Stosuy, Brandon (2006) "Show No Mercy", Pitchfork Media, 8 December 2006, retrieved 2011-02-04
8. ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo "Harvest Review", Allmusic, retrieved 2011-02-04
9. ^ Harris, Chris & Wiederhorn, Jon (2007) "Metal File", MTV, 26 January 2007, retrieved 2011-02-04
10. ^ Gendron, Bob (2007) "The Week In Live Music", Chicago Tribune, 19 October 2007, p. 8
11. ^ http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=2621412&blogId=504818551

External links

• Official website