Naglfar pour l'album "Harvest"

First, could you please introduce Naglfar to our readers? (Most of them already know Naglfar, but it'll be interesting to see how you would describe your own music in a few words...)

Naglfar has been around now for 15 years and are about to release our fifth fullenght album "Harvest" through Century Media Records. People who never heard us can expect an album filled with aggression, eerie atmospheres and solid musicianship. Simply a must-have for anyone interested in extreme music.

"Harvest" is Naglfar's fifth album, and the second with Kristoffer on vocals. How would you compare "Harvest" to "Pariah" (musically speaking)? (I find "Harvest" to be a bit more complex and brutal than "Pariah"..)

The new album is in my opinion the most varied release we've put out. We've worked more with different tempos and arrangements this time but all the traditional Naglfar elements are still present. Secondly I'd say that Harvest also displayes a different approach when it comes to the production as a whole. While Pariah was a very cold and harsh sounding
album we this time wanted a more organic sound which I'm pleased to say we achived without losing the aggression. On the contrary, as you said, Harvest feels more brutal.



It's been only one year since "Pariah" was released. What brought you the urge to release a new album so fast? (not that i may be complaning at all for the quick waiting..!)

We simply had a lot of ideas when it came to new material and wanted to get everything out of our system while the inspiration was there. Also we worked in quite a different way this time compared to the previous albums. When we started writing the new material in June 2006 we booked the studio for the mix in December so that we knew that we had
to finish everything in six months. This was kinda an experiment to see if we'd be able to push ourselves and work under that pressure and I'm pleased to say that we were able to make it.

What's the idea behind the title name "Harvest" ?

Basically that the humanrace is nothing more than the harvest for the reaper's scythe. We're all gonna die.

The titre track is a bit apart from the others songs, since it's way more melodic and mid-tempo than the others ones: how did the composition process went for this one? Which such a song to close the album?

It simply felt like a song like that would be perfect for the
title-track and when it came together it was a natural ending for the album as well. The creative process for this one was similar to the other tracks on the album, trying out different ideas and arrangements without loosing the first feeling you get.

The artwork is magnificient: who brought the idea of using Travis Smith's skills? And which one of his previous works has decided you to ask him to do this one?

We got a bunch of artwork from different artists to check out and when we saw what Travis had done in the past we knew that his style would fit perfect into this album and that he's be able to really capture the mood we were looking for. It wasn't really one of his previous works that led us to this decision, it was his unique style that basically made us go for him.

Kristoffer is on vocals for the second time since the departure of Jens. Now that he's definitly the singer for Naglfar, how would you compare his way of singing to Jens's? Hard question, but which way of singing do you prefer?

I like both of them but I feel that Kris voice fits our style better these days. He got a huge register and can work both with highpitched vocals and dark growls which is a great talant to possess.

Speaking of Jens, have you heard his project Profundi (recently released)? Are you still in touch with him? Do you thing he may come back one day in the band?

Yeah, I'm still in contact with him and I got the album. An impressive release but I didn't expect anything else since he is a very talanted guy! Regarding Naglfar I'd say that we are more than satisfied with todays situation and we don't want to change anything so he will not be back.

Century Media has made a great work for promoting "Pariah". You must be quite satisfied with this new label... Which bands do you like in their rooster?

Yeah, it feels great to have a label that's able to promote the album in a good way, having the financial situation to get us out on tours and such. Some of the bands there are friends of ours like Nocturnal Rites, Finntroll and Dark Fortress which deserve all the sucess they can get. Apart from them I enjoy bands like Samael, Tiamat and Celtic Frost to name some.



Since Sweden is a great country for metal bands (at least it seems to us), which Swedish bands are you friends with? Any good bands to recommand?

We know so many bands here so I won't even begin listing them, haha! There are plenty of good bands here but tons of crap as well like in every other country I guess.

Your music has many (musical) elements in common with Dissection. How have you felt when Jon commit suicide? Was Dissection a huge influence for you?

I wouldn't say a huge influence but a band that really created some unique and impressing music. Personally I consider Storm of the Lights Bane to be one of the greatest albums ever made here in Sweden.

Which album / gig / band .. brought you to metal music? And especially to black metal?

Everything began when I was around the age 8 and received the Destroyer album by Kiss from one of my relatives. From there it just went on to bands like Metallica, Judas Priest, Morbid Angel, Deicide and so on.

What are your best memories from your tour last year with Dark Funeral ? I saw you in Lyon and it shows you were already quite used with bringing metal crowds to headbang like tomorrow will never come... J

The whole tour itself is actually the best memory. We had a great time and Dark Funeral was the perfect band for us to tour with so I wouldn't change anything there. We do our best when entering the stage since those 45-minutes we have are to be used in the best possible way to get people to never forget that experince. No compromise what so ever!

What's your favorite Naglfar album so far? The next one? "Harvest"? :p

As always when releasing a new album that one has a really special meaning to you so you are correct about that!

In which direction will tend the next Naglfar album? Metalcore with clean vocals, Brutal Death with growls...or something else? More seriously, where do you want to bring the band musically speaking?

None of the mentioned is for sure, haha! We simply want to continue our journey down this musical road that we've travelled for the last 15 years. We will always find new ways of creating material without loosing touch with the true essence of what Naglfar is all about. We don't want to repeat ourselves but explore new musical grounds without turning our
back on what we're all about.

Marcus, what do you eat to be so tall? A 5-year old child at every breakfast?

Actually 2-year olds. For lunch and dinner as well.

What's the last movie you saw?

The one with that Borat character. Quite entertaining I must say!

What are you listening to these days? Any good metal / non metal albums to recommand?

I'm listening to pretty much everything actually. Last album I
listened to today was Hold Your Fire by Firehouse. Highly recommended!

Last words are yours!

I'd like to thank you for showing interest in Naglfar and I hope we'll be able to come back to France for some shows in a not too distant future!