By: Anders

Posted: Apr 9, 2007

One of the better bands out of the Swedish scene the last 15 years is Naglfar, the band delivers atmospherically and melodic death metal, with a good deal of black metal coldness in the music, that is how it has been from the start, and that is how it still is, though the band has made sure to develop their style and skills throughout the years, and that is why they still are going strong and is delivering great music.

This is Naglfar's fifth album and a natural follow up to 2005's "Pariah". The band still excels with their melodies; they are sweeping across the songs, all time, setting up a cold and haunting atmosphere, drawing in the listener and holding one in a tight grip, until the piano ends the last track. The true force of this album is the melodies and the amazing haunting atmosphere. The vocals from Kristoffer Olivius are also coming to their right, powerful and straight through bone and marrow and keep roaming the mind, long after the music has stopped playing.

The production of the album is kind of a downside though, it's clean, has a great bottom and the instruments have some place to play on, though I miss some dynamics, adding some power to the tunes, just a wee bit more harshness and raw power, that would have placed "Harvest" in the top of Naglfar's album, this is just becoming a bit too nice to listen to and too tiring in the long ruin.

Don't get me wrong, this is still an excellent album and Naglfar is shoeing that they are the true masters of this genre, an aggressive, biting, atmospherically melodic blend of death and black metal, such music as this is always needed.

Rating: 8/10

Naglfar website

Review of "Pariah"

Naglfar interview 2005

Distributed in Denmark and kindly supplied by EMI

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