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	Ancient Wisdom, Bewitched
Website	naglfar.net
Members	Kristoffer "Wrath" Olivius Andreas Nilsson Marcus "Vargher" Norman
Past members	Morgan Hansson Fredrik Degerström Mattias Holmgren Ulf Andersson Jens Rydén Mattias Grahn Morgan Lie

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.

Naglfar formed in 1992. The band was originally called Uninterred, and was founded by Jens Rydén on vocals and guitar, and Kristoffer Olivius on bass. 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. With this new line-up Rydén could concentrate on vocals. In March 1994, Degerström left Naglfar, due to personal issues with the band as well as musical differences. Soon afterward Andersson left the band to concentrate on Nocturnal Rites. It was during this period that the band wrote and recorded their first demo in Garageland Studio, titled Stellae Trajectio. 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.

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. After the recording was over, Holmgren left the band. Other than appearing on an Iron Maiden tribute CD (performing 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.CMJ New Music Report described it as a "ferocious version of Swedish black/death metal...monumentally mindblowing". The band signed to Century Media in 2002. 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, 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". Rydén left the band after the album's release, with bassist Olivius taking over on lead vocals. Rydén went on to record under the name Profundi, recording the album The Omega Rising in 2006.