Black Metal legend Urgehal and their latest album "Aeons in Sodom" will soon be released for the first time on cassette by Necroeucharist Productions in a limited edition of 200 copies!!!
The official release date is 30.9.2023.
Dedicated to the memory of Trondr Nefas (May 28, 1977 – May 13, 2012).
- Trondr Nefas guitar solos are taken from rehearsal tapes recorded at ReHearseHell between 2011-2012.
- Spoken words on Dødsrite by Trondr Nefas. Taken from the Metal Mean Festival in Belgium, August 20, 2011.
- Drums recorded at ReHearseHell, Hønefoss, 2013.
- Guitars recorded at Mæhlum Lydsproduksjon, Dokka, May 18-19, 2013.
- Skyggen guitar solo recorded in Bergen, May 2013.
- Bass recorded at Mæhlum Lydsproduksjon, Dokka, October 19, 2013.
- M. Shax, Sorath Northgrove, Hoest, Kvarforth and Mannevond vocals recorded at Mæhlum Lydsproduksjon, Dokka, October 19-20, 2013.
- Mannevond bass recorded at 0661 Ermesjø, Oslo, December 4, 2013.
- Diabolus guitar solos recorded at LFF Studio, Oslo, January 2014.
- Nag vocals recorded at DuB studio, Oslo, March 26, 2014.
- Bay Cortez vocals/bass and Rick Cortez guitar solo recorded at Dark Realm studios, Downey, CA. USA, April 28-29, 2014.
- R.M. vocals recorded at Black Diamond Studio, San Francisco, CA, May 13, 2014.
- Nattefrost vocals recorded at DuB studio, Kristiansand, Norway June 12, 2014.
- Byron Braidwood guitar solo recorded at The Mix Cave, Gillingham, UK, September 21, 2014.
- Nocturno Culto vocals recorded at DuB studio, Kristiansand, Norwa, October 30, 2014.
- Track 10 recorded at LFF Studio, Oslo, December 20-21, 2014 and January 6, 2015.
- Mixed and mastered at DuB studio, Kristiansand, Norway 2015.
Urgehal was one of those Norwegian bands that was active in the heyday of the Scandinavian second wave of black metal but never managed to gain the commercial status that some of their peers achieved. This is a bit strange, as albums like Through Thick Fog till Death and Massive Terrestrial Strike remain highlights of that era of black metal, maintaining heavy rotation in my stereo to this day. In 2009 the band released Ikonoklast, which was a really well received chunk of heavy handed black metal. It took the band’s pummeling style to its blasphemous peak, with twisting trem riffing and pummeling blasts creating a rabid, destructive opus. A mere three years after its release, founding guitarist/vocalist Trondr Nefas tragically passed (allegedly from natural causes), so all hope for any type of continuation seemed lost. Founding member/guitarist Enzifer and longtime drummer Uruz revealed that Trondr Nefas had left behind a whole bunch of riffs that he had been kicking around for their next album. The duo crafted songs from the ashes of Trondr’s riffs and decided to the only way to do the material justice was to invite a slew of contemporaries to provide vocals: enter the likes of Nattefrost, Nokturno Culto, Bay Cortez, Niklas Kvarforth and a handful of others. The resulting album, titled Aeons in Sodom, was released in Februray of 2016 through Season of Mist. Despite the rotating lineup of guest vocalist, Aeons in Sodom sounds very much like a Urgehal album, which is a telling testament to the riffs that Trondr left behind. The album is full of fast paced, punchy black metal. The riffs are primal and savage, yet there’s a tendency to rely on catchy licks with a rather thrashy vibe. It works quite well with the pummeling double kick percussion. That being said, the band is not afraid to speed up with raging trem riffs and furious blasting, like “Blood of the Legion”, which recalls the likes of Tsjuder or 1349, while on the other end the brief moments of mournful minor key notes add a dilapidated, sordid atmosphere. There’s no new ground broken on Aeons in Sodom, as the riffs retain that tried and true, pummeling style that has become Urgehal’s trademark, yet it is a truly engaging album; one befitting the legacy of Trondr Nefas.
While all signs point to Aeons in Sodom being the final album of Urgehal, a post-mortem swansong if you will, it is a fitting place to retire the Urgehal moniker. The music is destructive and quite memorable, despite the abundance of bands playing similar styles. It would do one well to remember that Urgehal were among the first and finest to pioneer this form of black metal. Take the band’s relentless style and add a who’s who list of Scandinavian black metal vocalists and you have Aeons in Sodom. It’s nothing different from what we’ve all heard before but it’s a damn fitting and furious tribute to one of our fallen brothers.
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