RAGNAROK "Collectors Of The King" [12" LP, Black Vinyl]
2010 - Black Metal from Norway
Detailed Description
One of the longest-running active Norwegian black metal bands left, Ragnarok formed in 1994 and released two demos in as many years. However, it was the band's debut album, Nattferd, where they began to make their mark. Back then, the Ragnarok sound was a more measured and mystical one, which they continued with the 1997 follow-up Arising Realm; both albums are prized as cult pillars of "medieval black metal." By 1999's Diabolical Age, Ragnarok quickened their attack and never looked back. Indeed, it looked like the new millennium was Ragnarok's for the taking. Released in 2002, In Nomine Satanas saw the band bridging freezing melody with burning aggression - "fire and ice," as it were - and they arguably perfected it on the colder 'n' more violent Blackdoor Miracle two years later. Both albums were recorded at the esteemed Abyss Studio - back then, the de rigueur studio for Swedish black metal and death alike - and Ragnarok commendably kept apace with that era-authentic sound and style. Lineup problems would arise thereafter, and it would be another six years before a new Ragnarok full-length was released. Nevertheless, 2010's Collectors of the King proved that Ragnarok had plenty of fuel left in the tank. Recorded at the also-esteemed Endarker Studios, the album showed a moodier side to the band while, elsewhere, their characteristic violence was nastier than ever. Since then, the band have released three more albums during the next decade and are going stronger than ever.
