Urgehal () is a

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with t ...

band from Norway. It was formed in

Hønefoss __NOTOC__ Hønefoss is a town and the administrative center of the municipality of Ringerike in Buskerud county, Norway. Hønefoss is an industrial center of inner Østlandet, containing several factories and other industry. As of 1 January 2008, ...

in 1992 by lead guitarist/vocalist

Trond Bråthen Trond Bråthen (28 May 1977 – 13 May 2012), also known by the stage names Trondr Nefas and Alastor Nefas, or simply as Nefas, was a Norwegian singer-songwriter, guitarist and bassist. Despite being primarily known for his work as the vocalist an ...

('Trondr Nefas') and rhythm guitarist 'Enzifer'. Before their split up in 2016, they released seven full-length albums, four EPs and two demos. The band has since reformed in 2022, in honor of former members.

Style and sound

Urgehal Metal Mean Festival 20 08 2011 10

Urgehal Metal Mean Festival 20 08 2011 01

Their style and sound is strongly influenced by the Norwegian black metal scene of the early 1990s, and Enzifer has called Norwegian band

Darkthrone Darkthrone is a Norwegian extreme metal band from Kolbotn, Akershus. Formed in 1986 as a death metal band named Black Death, in 1991 Darkthrone embraced a black metal style influenced by Bathory and Celtic Frost and became one of the leadin ...

their biggest inspiration. Other influences include "old-school

heavy Heavy may refer to: Measures * Heavy (aeronautics), a term used by pilots and air traffic controllers to refer to aircraft capable of 300,000 lbs or more takeoff weight * Heavy, a characterization of objects with substantial weight * Heavy, ...

thrash Thrash may refer to: *Thrashing (computer science), where increasing resources are used to do a decreasing amount of work *Thrash (surname) *Thrash, mascot of the Atlanta Thrashers *''Thrash Rally'', a top-down perspective rally racing video game ...

speed In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a scalar quanti ...

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

and black metal ..and the old South American

extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...

scene". Onstage, Urgehal wear traditional black metal attire, such as spiked wristbands, inverted crosses and corpse paint. Enzifer is also known for wearing a face mask with spikes protruding from it, which he says is used "to mirror my inner

darkness Darkness, the direct opposite of lightness, is defined as a lack of illumination, an absence of visible light, or a surface that absorbs light, such as black or brown. Human vision is unable to distinguish colors in conditions of very low lu ...

"."Interview with Enzifer of Urgehal, 2007"
NocturnalCult.com. Retrieved 31 October 2012. Urgehal define themselves as a " Satanic" band, explaining that they "use

Satan Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as Devil in Christianity, the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an non-physical entity, entity in the Abrahamic religions ...

as a biblical and metaphorical expression of the inner evil of Man". They explained their name as "an expression in old

Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern period ...

", describing it as "an endless deep and dark forest where all the evil dwells".Urgehal
Voices from the Darkside. Retrieved 31 October 2012.

History

Urgehal was formed by Trondr Nefas and Enzifer in 1992. They released two demos in 1994 and 1995. Early in 1996 they got a record deal with the German label No Colours and recorded their debut album ''Arma Christi'' the same year. The follow-up, ''Massive Terrestrial Strike'', was released in 1997. The band then switched to the label Flesh For Beast. The album ''Atomkinder'' was released in 2001 and the next, ''Through Thick Fog 'till Death'', was released in 2003. Flesh For Beast then retired and their fifth album, ''Goatcraft Torment'', was released in 2006 through its sister label Agonia Records. Shortly after, a 15-year anniversary album called ''The Eternal Eclipse'' was released, containing rarities and a large photo booklet which traces the band's history. In 2007, the band signed to Season of Mist. Most of the songs for the next album were written that year. However, due to internal problems, the recording was stalled. The album, ''Ikonoklast'', was finally released in early 2009."Urgehal - Interview"
''Metal Glory'' magazine. 11 January 2010. Retrieved 31 October 2012. Guitarist/vocalist Trondr Nefas died in May 2012, aged 34. According to a statement from the band, the death was sudden but said that he "died a peaceful and natural death" in the woods "at one of his favorite places". Nefas was involved with a number of other bands. Most notably, he was the guitarist and bassist of black metal bands Beastcraft, Angst Skvadron, Vulture Lord and Bloodsworn.

Discography

Studio albums

*''Arma Christi'' (1997) *''Massive Terrestrial Strike'' (1998) *''Atomkinder'' (2001) *''Through Thick Fog Till Death'' (2003) *''Goatcraft Torment'' (2006) *''Ikonoklast'' (2009) *''Aeons in Sodom'' (2016)

EPs

*''Demonrape'' (2005) *''Satanisk Norsk Black Metal'' (2007) – split with Beastcraft *''Death Is Complete'' (2011) *''Maatte Blodet Flomme'' (2012) – split with Sarkom

Compilations and tribute albums

*''A Norwegian Hail To VON'' (2005) –

VON The term ''von'' () is used in German language surnames either as a nobiliary particle indicating a noble patrilineality, or as a simple preposition used by commoners that means ''of'' or ''from''. Nobility directories like the ''Almanach de ...

tribute split with Norwegian Evil, Amok and

Taake Taake () is a Norway, Norwegian black metal band from Bergen, formed in 1993 and originally named Thule. The band's one continuous member is Hoest, who writes all and records most of the music. He has released seven full-length albums and several ...

*''The Eternal Eclipse: 15 Years of Satanic Black Metal'' (2007) – an anniversary album

Demos

*''Ferd'' (1994) *''Rise of the Monument'' (1995)

Band members

Lineup

*Enzifer – guitar (1992–2016, 2022-present), drums (1992-1997), keyboards (1995-2016), bass (2016) *Mannevond – bass (2007–2012, 2022-present) *Uruz – drums (1998-2008, 2011–2016, 2022-present)

Former members

Nefas The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...

– vocals, guitar (1992–2012; died 2012), drums (1995, 2010), bass (2008) *Chiron – bass (1992–1997; died 2019) *Aradia – keyboards (1992-1995) *Shregoth (Tomas Torgersbråten) – bass (2003–2006) *Renton (Eirik Renton) – drums (2008–2010)

Timeline

References

External links

Urgehal
on Myspace {{Authority control Norwegian black metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1992 1992 establishments in Norway Musical groups from Buskerud Season of Mist artists