Ragnarok "Nattferd" Cassette

This is Ragnarok's debut album and holds all the tracks featured on both of their first couple of demos, so it really is a bargain to buy. Inspite of the good reviews that future Ragnarok releases enjoyed, I still consider this album to be their most epic and powerful release yet. And there is something mysterious about this album because it seems that I never get tired of listening to it (which is what inspired me to write this review in the first place). It attains this dark power that has the ability to captivate its listener's attention. The listener is not tortured for the duration of the album but is rather in a state of awe.
The music on this release ranges from mid-paced to fast. Ragnarok relies on raw guitar riffs to produce their melody and this can also be experienced on all their other releases. Ragnarok had been able to utilize this technique to its utmost on "Nettferd" while on future releases this technique diminishes a little in utility but stays intact. Ragnarok also doesn't shy away from throwing in a few keyboard melodies in several tracks only to establish a certain tempo or riff they're about to play. The first three tracks are great openers and really portray the power that Ragnarok are able to harness. I can only describe them as flawless notes of Black Metal music and their riffs are so catchy that you'll still find yourself recalling them hours after you've listened to the album for the first time (... a feat that is rare and never found on mediocre albums).
The lyrics are simplistic in nature (quite like the music itself in a sense) but fit the atmosphere of the album perfectly. In fact, I can't imagine they could have come up with any better lyrical themes. On "The Age of Pride" , Thyme sings "In the time of swords and axes, In this Eeried Ogre time, When martial men ravage on earth, When the forest was dark and sombre, And the Northern fighting spirit was alive ... alive, Time of swords and axes, Age of pride ..." and on "Daudens Natt" , Thyme exclaims in his Norwegian tongue : "De kristne går opp på Noregs Fjell og trot de eier vårt Faderland, Tida skal komme der dauden kaller på lysets sjeler, De kristnes skjebne..." which roughly means : "the Christian has travelled across the Noregs Mountain and with his faith occupied our mother-land , only time shall come to call onto their illuminated souls , the Christians doom ..." and this depicts Ragnarok's Anti-Christian and Pagan-proud orientation and they are able to allign it perfectly with their music.
Highlight of the album has got to be the 5th track: "Daudens Natt". If I had a friend come up to me and tell me that he wants to know what True Norwegian Black Metal sounds like and I had to choose a single song to represent this entire genre I would pull ot my "Nattferd" disc and play "Daudens Natt" for him. This track is as cold and grim and pagan and Anti-Christian as it gets. And despite all this Ragnarok was skillfully able to insert several melodies as "Daudens Natt" was closing. Even though you will be able to pick up some Viking elements as you listen to "Nattferd", this release is far from adhering to the Viking Metal genre and remains to be raw Norwegian Black Metal at its purest forms.
The only complaint about this album is its artwork; very poor and doesn't fit the album's epic atmosphere. Also, surprisingly the outro to this album is the title track and does not fit very well as a closing track. It should have been placed as the Intro. Indeed the actual intro to this album sounds as an outro and it seems that the mixer should have switched these tracks. But these are minor details that don't even come close to tarnishing "Nettferd"'s grand package. This album has truly touched my soul (and almost gave me frostbite) and I invite/encourage all Black Metal fans to acquire this album (one way or the other) because it really is a black gem of mystical powers and seasons.

Sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...