Vittra (1995) 8.3/10
    From the ashes of Dissection comes another Swedish metal band to take their place. Naglfar's debut sounds like a younger, less experienced yet still highly energetic successor to Dissection's 'Storm Of The Light's Bane', with perhaps a very slight influence from Cradle of Filth. To those new to the scene, these comparisons all boil down to an album packed full of fast, melodic death metal riffs with black metal-ish double-kick drumming and screeching vocals. At times, Naglfar even introduce some atmospheric keyboards, much in the way that Dissection used to employ them - subtle but nevertheless important to the overall impact.
    Being Naglfar's debut, there are still a few teething problems - a slightly confused overall album structure, and an ambitiousness which at times may overtake the actual quality of some of the riffs. On the other hand, many of the riffs here are very good, sometimes oddly reminiscent of Amon Amarth's on 'The Avenger' (perhaps this is also due the fact that the albums share the same engineer, Peter Tagtgren). Yes, this is a band that I can't help but compare to others, because there's nothing really very original here. Instead, Naglfar have a well developed sense of the Swedish metal scene and understand what people want; they have fed us exactly what any Swedish death/black metal fan would want!
    I would find it very difficult not to like this album, just because there's nothing about it to dislike - if you like Dissection, Amon Amarth, Cradle of Filth or even the tighter sound of early Dark Tranquility, you'll like Naglfar's 'Vittra' debut. However, I can't help but mention that Dissection's two studio albums provide the same overall style at a much higher standard, and so should be your priority before delving into the dark world of Naglfar.
 
Sheol (2003) 8.1/10
    This album has certainly been years in the making - the actual recording was made in 2001, sinnce which time Soilwork have released two extras plus extensive touring, just for comparison. Was it worth the wait? Unfortunately, despite its many positives (which are considerable), I did have a feeling of disappointment when first hearing this. With Vittra, Naglfar presented themselves as a fledgling Dissection dabbling with the melodic death/black metal fusion that their predecessors had made so popular. Vittra was in many ways ambitious in its attempts to re-create and improve on the current melodic black metal scene, and indicated a very promising career to come. The elements of unoriginality could be overlooked to an extent because it was, of course, their debut. Two full length albums and one EP later, and I must sadly declare that Naglfar have not transended the boundaries set for themselves on Vittra. In fact, I would say that Sheol is a regression to a more homogenised, generic melodic black metal style which has no room for tracks like 'Emerging From Her Weepings' which made Vittra so good. Influences from Cradle of Filth and Dimmu Borgir stick out a little too obviously, and I have a worrying feeling that the band that I hoped Naglfar would become (Dissection for the 21st century, which is admittedly a pretty big ask) will never be.
    Having ripped into this album on broad stylistic lines, I will attempt to repair the damage by now declaring that the actual content of Sheol is really quite good. It overflows with harsh yet melodic BM riffs, with the occasional use of keyboards and excellent production to create a very listenable, accessible and enjoyable work. The drumming is good (if perhaps a little predictable), the guitars sound great and the vocals are, as always with Naglfar, fantastic, with many deeper vocal styles employed at times for necessary variety. As an album unto itself, this is a good work, but I can't help be bothered by the thought that Naglfar have been caught up in the growing trend for Scandinavian metal bands to deliver what they know we'll like. The Haunted, the Forsaken, In Flames, Arch Enemy, Amon Amarth, Marduk, Dimmu Borgir and Old Man's Child are but a few bands whose reputations have been dampened somewhat from their failure to evolve and develop black and death metal beyond its late 1990s status. Sheol may be very enjoyable - enjoyable enough to buy and listen to compulsively if you will - but it's all getting a bit the same. After Emperor's Prometheus: The Discipline of Fire and Demise, surely it occured to someone that black metal could be more than six riffs played in format for 4 and a half minutes, with perhaps an eerie sounding outro/intro.
The bottom line: yes, Sheol is everything you could expect from a good melodic black metal album, without bringing anything to your stereo you haven't been hearing since 1995.