Sweden’s NAGLFAR have walked the line between black and death metal for well over a decade now, and with their fifth full-length Harvest, the band has delivered their most mature work to date. Having kept the pace fast and furious on their previous album Pariah, the band’s latest sees NAGLFAR exploring new dynamics and tempos, showcasing the band’s most developed, textured songwriting skills thus far. “Odium Generis Humani” for example displays the band’s ability to shift back and forth between dark atmospherics and blasting intensity with ease, while “The Mirrors of My Soul” and “The Darkest Road” both emphasize catchy, memorable choruses that stay with the listener long after the music stops playing. Additionally, former bassist and current vocalist Kristoffer Olivius has grown more confident in his role as frontman, bringing new intensity to the material, most notably on “Way of the Rope.” Listeners need not worry though, as the band hasn’t so much slowed down or gotten soft as much as they have taken those elements and tempered them with the band’s trademark speed and efficiency. Harvest is an album that grows on the listener with time, and serves as another step in the right direction in NAGLFAR’s continuing musical evolution. (Century Media Records)