Nargaroth

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Nargaroth
Origin Germany
Genre(s) Black metal
Years active 1999-present
Label(s) No Colours
Members
Kanwulf
Former members
Akhenaten
Occulta Mors
L'hiver
"Kanwulf" redirects here. For the fictional character, see List of Highlander characters.

Nargaroth is a German black metal solo project.

Contents

[edit] History

According to Kanwulf, Nargaroth was formed in 1989[citation needed], but due to contradictory statements of Kanwulf[citation needed], this date is disputed[citation needed], as well as the release of the seven track instrumental demo Orke in 1991. It is supposed that this demo was actually released in 1999[citation needed]; the demo Herbstleyd, which Kanwulf claims to be released in 1993[citation needed], was probably not released before this date[citation needed]. Nargaroth's first album Herbstleyd was released by No Colours Records in 1999, followed in 2000 by Amarok, which is not an album but a re-release of old recordings, as well as the controversial demo Fuck Off Nowadays Black Metal, (released as a demo resulting to disputes over production values)[citation needed]. This demo is said to be limited to 333 tapes and 100 LPs, but more units were probably released[citation needed].

In 2001 No Colours released Black Metal ist Krieg, considered Kanwulf's dedication to black metal. It was followed in 2002 by Rasluka Part II. The third album Geliebte des Regens was released in 2003. 2004 saw release of live album Crushing Some Belgian Scum, Rasluka Part I and Prosatanica Shooting Angels.

The next album Semper Fidelis was released by No Colours Records in 2007.

[edit] Kanwulf

Kanwulf classifies his music as "German Hateful and Misanthropic Metal", not as black metal; he does so especially because black metal is mainly influenced by Satanism whereas Nargaroth is not.[citation needed] Despite Kanwulf’s denial, as the music resembles classic black metal and the emotional background and influence being an essence of black metal, Nargaroth is often seen as a black metal band.[citation needed]

Kanwulf has been criticized[citation needed] for his appearance at a German talk show[1], and his exclamation "Black Metal ist Krieg" has often been a target of both black metallers and people with no connection to that subculture[citation needed].

Kanwulf was pummelled by Wolf of the NSBM band Absurd at the North American Black Metal Invasion concert in Bitterfeld in 2001 for having threatened his son.[2][3]

Sometimes Nargaroth is seen as a part of the NSBM scene although Nargaroth songs do not contain obvious racist or Anti-Semitic statements, due to Kanwulf's participation in NSBM band Totenburg and the following several statements (see Herbstleyd booklet):

"Zur höheren Ehre der deutschen Soldaten der Wehrmacht 1933–1945. Die Negierung ihrer Leistungen sowie das Augenverschließen vor ihrer Opferbereitschaft, gerade im letzten Kriegsjahr, ist die Schande unserer Nation!" (free translation: to honour the soldiers of the Wehrmacht. Denying their achievements and their sacrifices, especially in 1945, is a shame for our nation.)
"German Hateful and Misanthropic Metal, made from White man for White man."

While interviewed by "Magacinum ab ovo" (see external links), Kanwulf said he sees Nazism as a mental restriction and is a supporter of the Kriegsgräberfürsorge, a German organization similar to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, and the MIA International.[4] This is not regarded as a credible statement by some critics[citation needed].

Furthermore, Kanwulf is believed[citation needed] to be screaming "When I die, sieg heil" on the second song of Herbstleyd, entitled Karmageddon. The lyrics in the booklet read "When I die, .... ....". There is still screaming after the line "When I die", but it is hard to understand due to the rasp vocals typical for this genre. It is supposed that the booklet was censored to avoid the album to be forbidden[citation needed]. There is a recording from a concert in Erlangen that can be found on the double LP pressing of the Herbstleyd album, where this passage has been censored, too, but a distinct "Heil" can be heard, followed by insults from the attendants of the concert.[5]. Furthermore, Kanwulf has been seen doing the Hitler and the so-called Kühnen salute while performing on stage[6][7]. More recent controversies surrounding Kanwulf have been his masturbating over a select group of fan's T-shirts which were included with the contents of the 'Semper Fidelis' Boxsets.[8]

Kanwulf toured Mexico and Guatemala in 2008.

[edit] Discography

  • Orke demo (1991, date disputed)
  • Herbstleyd demo (1993, date disputed)
  • Herbstleyd (1999)
  • Amarok (2000)
  • Fuck Off Nowadays Black Metal demo (2000)
  • Black Metal ist Krieg (2001)
  • Rasluka Pt. II (2002)
  • Geliebte des Regens (2003)
  • Crushing Some Belgian Scum (live) (2004)
  • Rasluka Pt. I (2004)
  • Prosatanica Shooting Angels (2004)
  • Semper Fidelis (2007)
  • Semper Fidelis Boxset (2007)

[edit] References

  1. ^ Good-quality recording of Kanwulf’s often-discussed 1999 talkshow appearance (27 MB, DivX AVI)
  2. ^ interview with Ronald Möbus
  3. ^ Article from Runenblut magazine
  4. ^ Interview with Magacinum ab ovo, 1999 (German)
  5. ^ Besprechung der Herbstleyd-LP bei metal-district.de
  6. ^ Nargaroth live
  7. ^ Nargaroth covering Burzum's "Black Spell of Destruction" live
  8. ^ Official Nargaorth site

[edit] External links