Review by Krys on March 26, 2003.

Naglfar, like their mythological name suggests prepared their ship for its third battle for almost 5 years and while it might seem like a very long time, in the end it can only assure the successful and victorious crusade. And that's exactly what "Sheol" (Hebrew for "Hell") is, total Armageddon in your very room thanks to sinister atmosphere and devastating power of all 9 compositions.

Starting with 'I Am Vengeance' that sets the tone for the rest of the album and can be described as black/death metal excellence, Naglfar delivers an album that will satisfy all its followers and open the door to the horde of all those lost souls that haven't been exposed to their musical genius before. Based on majestic and at the same time frightening melodies Naglfar combines high-speed tempos with powerful mid-pace sections that flawlessly coexist next to each other without losing the power and aggression of the whole track. With "Sheol" Naglfar neither copy from its astonished debut "Vittra" nor they reuse elements of "Diabolical". They connect the best elements of the two creating one of the darkest and spine-chilling albums of our time. Special attention should be paid to marvelous guitar work of Marcus Norman and Andreas Nilsson that with their complimentary work created precise atmosphere for Jens Ryden intense vocal, which by the way I rate as one of the best in the business.

There's really nothing bad I can say about this album. From the outstanding artwork to the barbarian musical content of the disc everything hits the highest note. If anything I'd like to see more are powerful mid sections that would drop me to the floor and break my skull but that just a madman talking after hearing "Sheol" for the 6th time today.

Bottom Line: "Sheol" represents everything a real metalhead looks for in a metal release so, if you're going to miss one release this year make sure it's not this one cause with Dissection out of the picture I see Naglfar taking over the crown of Swedish black/death scene.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 10
Production: 9
Originality: 8
Overall: 10

Rating: 9.2 out of 10