Naglfar

Sheol (Century Media)
by Scott Hefflon

It’s taken five years for Sweden’s Naglfar (Czech for murderous gopher) to properly follow-up Diabolical, and Sheol (Hebrew for unemployable) is a more than worthy addition to the catalogue. Most pertinently, it’s modern black metal as opposed to the old school Dissection-style sound accidentally or deliberately face-mushed back in ’98. But despite the crisp sound, the band still create a thrashy wall of no hope, one that looms large due to the much improved vocal cackle of Jens Ryden. ‘Tis a blur, as well as simply one of a dozen records pressed to the forefront of the middle compromised prong of a splintering genre. Defiantly coddling the best elements from the originators, Naglfar make valid modern black metal by simply playing, recording, and singing properly. But, alas, the band is also very likely to be lost in the pack, having stayed away for so long, having merely another faultless record amongst many.
(2323 W. El Segundo Blvd. Hawthorne, CA 90250)