Nagelfar – Jagd (1996)

July 3, 2016

This was a totally random listen for me, and holy shit, did it pay off. I’ve recently started playing Elder Scrolls Online in the days I’m off as I’m on a shift pattern now, and the best thing to accompany games like that is old dungeon music, dark ambient, and a smattering of black metal. This was a random YouTube pick of an old demo from a band that has a name suspiciously similar to the seemingly more well known Naglfar (they started around the same time). This tape is either highly sought after or highly commended, as prices exceed £30+ on Discogs for an original copy of the cassette, at the time of writing.

To describe Nagelfar quickly to the more casual listener, I would compare to Hvis Lyset Tar Oss-era Burzum, only taken to new heights, with very Nordic (TES forever!) singing passages and moody, non-black metal instrumental downtime with a folky twist. This has definitely opened up a whole new tin of worms as I cannot wait to explore this band’s discography further (edit: I’ve listened to a few albums and this is by far the best of the bunch).

Easily the best black metal record I have heard since…. I dunno, but in a bloody long time! An absolutely fantastic hidden gem.