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August 28, 2008 |
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01. Into The Black
02. Breathe Through Me
03. The Mirrors Of My Soul
04. Odium Generis Humani
05. The Darkest Road
06. Way Of The Rope
07. Plutonium Reveries
08. Feeding Moloch
09. Harvest
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Much like the world of Death Metal, the Black Metal realm is a multi-faceted beast, reinvented, reinterpreted, and recreated through innumerable incarnations that vary from over-indulgent keyboard noodling and corpse paint obsession to hybrid collages of Black, Death and virtually any other type of Metal the bands see fit to incorporate. Inevitably, each of the genre's various incarnations is going to appeal more or less to a specific demographic based on the style conjured by the music. Whereas old schoolers like BURZUM and MAYHEM hold their bulk appeal with the self-proclaimed "true" Black Metal legions, equally legendary bands such as BEHEMOTH and NAGLFAR come bearing the dominant aspects of Death Metal in their art that satiate the brutalists of the Metal community. More likely than not, consideration of whom the music will appeal to is of little or no concern to these bands; it's a simple matter of what sound manifests their aspirations best. Nonetheless, it stands to reason that a veteran band such as NAGLFAR has not only made a household name of themselves in the Black Metal realm, but seethed their way into the ears and minds of even the most discerning fans of the Death Metal genre.
NAGLFAR's "Harvest" is an extension of that seething, borne upon the wings of undeniable Black Metal malice but comprised of wicked guitar, vocal, and drum bombasts that also bear the indelible aspects of top tier Death Metal musings. The effect of this infernal marriage of styles is the creation of a beast bearing all the markings of the Black Metal breed with song structuring and delivery well rooted within the genre's established tenets, yet infused with a melody-tinged emphasis on memorable riffs and choruses that bleed freely with Death Metal dynamics. The track "The Mirrors Of My Soul" is an ideal example, with the instrumental delivery waxing and waning from driving Melodic Death passages to more sinister, blackened tempos that provide an undercurrent for a virulent chorus ambiguously footed in the nether region that lies between the two genres: "For me there's no tomorrow, for me there's no today. My work is done, I will walk away."
At the end of the day, few if any listeners will come away from "Harvest" debating that NAGLFAR are bona fide Black Metal titans. But equally evident should be the fact that there is no clear-cut boundary for this band; this conjuration of twisted Metal is a brand without limits and without restrictions. When all is said and done, the music at work on "Harvest" is distinctly NAGLFAR, and no one else. And though this album pales somewhat in comparison to 2005's "Pariah", it is further proof of how well the band has evolved in its style and delivery, specifically due to Kristoffer Olivius' elevation from bassist to vocalist for these past two albums, a move that has brought NAGLFAR the vocal distinction it needed to realize the full menacing potential this band is capable of. Full of wrath and confident in its potential, the beast that is NAGLFAR has come reaping, and we are the "Harvest".
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