Marcus V. Norman

Naglfar

Hailing from Sweden, Naglfar is one of those Black Metal acts you definitely wanna check out what the buzz is all about. Having recently released their latest studio assault, Pariah (Century Media Records), one of the band's guitarists, Marcus V. Norman, got the third degree interrogation by our good ol' Makis. So, if you're feeling hot (due to the weather, of course) just read ahead; this frosty Black Metal interview shall ease your suffering...or make it worse.
By Makis Kirkos
August 7, 2005
Marcus V. Norman (Naglfar) interview
Hello from Metal-Temple.Com! Without any further delay, let's start. You have signed a new worldwide record contract with Century Media. How's that been going until now?

It's been going great. The album has gotten a lot of promotion and that feels good of course.

How was the tour with Finntroll and Amoral? I read a lot of good reviews.

It was a total success. Good organization, great crowds and killer people to tour with, that's all you need really.

And you have also confirmed your appearance for Wacken Open Air and Tuska festival, right?

Yeah, we actually returned home from Tuska today.

Alright. Let's move on to the juice... Have you finished all the details regarding your new album, Pariah?

Yeah, it's completely finished and released by now!

According to your labels' press release, your new album is a flawless work of iniquitous hell-spawned art filled with raging guitar riffs, bludgeoning drums, demonic vocals, that combine with haunting melodies to capture hell's eternal depravity. Should we believe them?

Definately. The album turned out to be our most aggressive album so far but it still got all the traditional Naglfar trademarks. We've worked alot with the arrangements and the melodies and the result is an album filled with musical intelligence and spite towards anything breathing.

Your previous release Sheol is a masterpiece. You gained a lot of new fans with this album at that time. How difficult or easy(?) is it for you to create something even better?

Thank you very much. It's not really anything we have reflected over. All we want is to create music that reeks of quality, music I would like to listen to myself and personally I feel that this album is our strongest one ever.

Once again you entered Ballerina Studios. Do you believe you have found your razor sharp sound over there?

We know this studio so well and that makes it much easier to achieve what we want and that's basically why we chose to record Pariah there as well. I don't know if the next album will be recorded there or not, time will tell, I guess!

And of course Ralph Manfreda is responsible for the impious artwork. How did you come in contact with him in the first place?

It was Andreas[Nilsson - guitar] who found out about this guy and when he showed us some of the stuff he'd done we were certain that he would be able to do a great job and he did.

By the way, how is Jens Ryden (band's former singer)? Do you keep in touch with him?

He's fine, living in Stockholm now so we don't see each other that often but we keep in contact.

Are you planning to hire a new singer or will Kristoffer (W. Olivius - vocals & bass) take over the vocals permanently?

Kris is doing the vocals on a permanent basis, yes.

Existing as a band for eleven years, do you think your music is getting older?

I wouldn't say it gets older because of course we try to progress and evolve. We don't want to do the same album over and over again.

Have you ever thought of recapturing your big hit Vittra (1995)? Or try to do something musically close in this album?

It's not something we've thought about. Vittra has already been recorded and as I told you, we don't want to make an album that sounds the same.

For sure you are one the biggest Swedish Black Metal acts. How do you feel when people approach you and congratulate you and/or ask for an autograph?

It feels great to know that people appreciate what you've created.

Could you tell me a bit about the lyrics of your new album?

The lyrics are more misanthropic than ever before and basically deal with our disgust towards everything that's walking on this stinking planet.

Some people describe you as a mix of Dimmu Borgir's monumental richness and/or a trace of Emperor's cool elegance. What's your opinion?

Hmm, I can't really see the connection between Naglfar and the mentioned bands but it's always hard to judge your own music.

I certainly believe you remain true to your sound, having a unique, characteristic style. Is there something you would like to try in the future?

We're gonna start working on new material soon but I'll find it hard to believe that we'll be making any drastic changes. With Pariah we managed to combine the purest aggression with the melodic guitar work that's been present since the start and in my opinion that's what makes Naglfar unique.

Are you planning to shoot any videos for the promotion of your new album?

Yeah, we've shot a video for the track The Perpetual Horrors and it will start to air soon.

Someone might say that you added some catchy melodies in order to expand your audience. How do you reply to that?

We create music the way we think quality music should sound, we don't care about anything else. We do this to please ourselves.

As my final question allow me to ask you something in general. What's your opinion about the internet? Do you use it often?

Yeah, the internet makes it so much easier to keep in contact with people so I tend to use it quite a lot actually.

Thank you very much for your time. I wish you the best for the future. Please end this interview anyway you wish.

Thank you very much for the support, I really hope we'll be able to play in Greece soon!

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