Naglfar - Teras
Naglfar apparently are never going to get the love and respect that their (often inferior) Swedish peers receive. I guess a resume boasting flawless, melodic Black/Death masterpieces like Diabolical, Pariah, and Harvest pales in comparison to the right gimmick, look, or an extravagant stage show. After a 5-year wait, Teras might be the most anticipated release of their career, with perhaps unfairly high expectations attached. Somewhat uncharacteristically, this is not a first-listen album. It does not immediately sizzle with the blazing speed, pure melodic genius, and suicidal majesty of albums past. Make no mistake, all of those elements are firmly intact, but it could be they spent that long hiatus practicing the art of subtlety. It isn’t really until the fifth or sixth listen that Teras begins to infect the subconscious. Arrangements that flew by unnoticed before begin to feel familiar, begin to become addictive. Another oddity for the band is the placement of standout tracks towards the latter half of the album. After the relatively unremarkable dirges of “The Monolith,” the album finally gets going with the triumphant glory of “An Extension of His Arm and Will.” Up next is “Bring Out Your Dead,” a solid mid-tempo anthem that succeeds at getting the horns raised and the head banging, followed by “Come, Perdition,” which is vintage Dissection worship circa 1993. All this leads to what might be the overall best song at track number eight, the ravenous fury and catchiness that is “Invoc(h)ate.” I won’t bullshit you, Teras can’t hold a candle to Pariah or Harvest, but how many albums truly can? It is, however, a solid effort, strategically crafted to get better as it goes along.
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