Fenriz

Not to be confused with Fenris.

Gylve Fenris Nagell
Background information
Birth name	Gylve Nagell
Also known as	Fenriz Hank Amarillo
Born	(1971-11-28) 28 November 1971
Origin	Kolbotn, Norway
Genres	Black metal, death metal, speed metal, crust punk, doom metal, folk metal, ambient
Occupation(s)	Musician, songwriter, postal industry employee
Instrument(s)	Drums, electric guitar, bass guitar, vocals, keyboards, synth
Years active	1986–present

Gylve Fenris Nagell (born 28 November 1971), better known as Fenriz, is a Norwegian musician who is best known as being one half of the metal duo Darkthrone. Although primarily a drummer, he has also performed bass, guitar and vocals for Darkthrone and a number of other metal bands. Fenriz is known for his refusal to play live, his obsessiveness about music listening, supporting other underground bands and his lack of interest in the mainstream music business in general. Fenriz has had three solo projects: the folk metal project Isengard, the dark ambient project Neptune Towers and the doom metal project Red Planet.

Biography

Nagell's first exposure to heavy metal music came when he was three years old and received Uriah Heep's album Sweet Freedom from his uncle for his birthday. At the age of five, he would fashion belts for himself out of paper in an imitation of those worn by Mick Box. Other musical interests in his early years included rock and heavy metal groups such as The Doors, Grand Funk Railroad, Steppenwolf, The Byrds, Elvis, Kiss, AC/DC, Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath.

Darkthrone was created as a death metal band by the name of Black Death in 1986. In 1987 he got involved with the group Valhall, which practiced in his basement. Fenriz said he had a passive interest in Bathory by 1986, but claims that he did not understand the "darkness" of black metal until hearing a song by the Hungarian band Tormentor in 1989 (he gives similar credit to Mercyful Fate). The same year, Fenriz left Valhall to focus on Darkthrone, which became one of the key bands in the early Norwegian black metal scene. He also began a folk metal project called Isengard, for Darkthrone was at the time a band that opposed stylistic progression and change. Fenriz's solo ambient project Neptune Towers served as an example of his varied musical tastes. It was followed by another quintessential contribution to the folk metal scene with Storm.

Fenriz now claims to be apolitical, remaining non-partisan towards the events of early Norwegian black metal. In one interview, Fenriz said that he was against the book Lords of Chaos, comparing its hype to Oprah. Fenriz prefers to keep Darkthrone out of the spotlight. In late 2004, he turned down a nomination for a Norwegian Alarm Award. He claimed that Darkthrone had "no interest in being part of the glitter and showbiz side of the music industry". Fenriz is one of the main characters in the 2009 documentary film Until The Light Takes Us (filmed in the early 2000s).

Fenriz currently lives in the outskirts of Oslo, and had a record label with his Darkthrone bandmate Nocturno Culto called Tyrant Syndicate Productions, which was a sub-label of Peaceville Records (to which Darkthrone is signed). In late 2004, Fenriz released a compilation album through Peaceville, Fenriz Presents... The Best of Old-School Black Metal, which included selected tracks from such influential artists as Celtic Frost, Hellhammer, Burzum, and Bathory. He is a DJ and has made several online music compilations. He legally took the middle name Fenris in the early 1990s.

Musical projects

• Darkthrone – drums, bass, rhythm guitar, vocals, lyrics (1986—present)
• Valhall – drums (1987—1989, 2007—present)
• Fenriz′ Red Planet – guitar, bass, drums, vocals, lyrics (1993—present) – solo project
• Isengard – drums, guitar, bass, vocals, lyrics (1989—1995) – solo project
• Neptune Towers – keyboard, farfisa organ, synthesizers (1993—1995) – solo project
• Dødheimsgard – bass and synthesizer on Kronet Til Konge (1995)
• Storm – drums, vocals (1995) – (with Satyr from Satyricon)
• Eibon – drums, 1999 (with Satyr from Satyricon, Killjoy from Necrophagia, Phil Anselmo from Pantera)
• Fuck You All – bass (2000—2001)

Discography

Year	Title	Band	Instruments
1987	Trash Core '87 (demo)	Black Death (pre-Darkthrone)	drums, vocals
1987	Black is Beautiful (demo)	Black Death (pre-Darkthrone)	drums, vocals
1987	Land of Frost (demo)	Darkthrone	drums, vocals
1987	A New Dimension (demo)	Darkthrone	drums
1988	The Castle of Death (demo)	Valhall	drums
1989	Thulcandra (demo)	Darkthrone	drums, vocals
1989	Cromlech (demo)	Darkthrone	drums
1989	Spectres Over Gorgoroth (demo)	Isengard	everything
1991	Horizons (demo)	Isengard	everything
1991	Soulside Journey	Darkthrone	drums
1991	Goatlord (demo)	Darkthrone	drums, vocals
1992	A Blaze in the Northern Sky	Darkthrone	drums
1993	Under a Funeral Moon	Darkthrone	drums
1993	Vanderen (demo)	Isengard	everything
1994	Transilvanian Hunger	Darkthrone	drums, rhythm guitar, bass
1994	Caravans to Empire Algol	Neptune Towers	everything
1994	Promo 1994 (demo)	Dodheimsgard	bass
1995	Høstmørke	Isengard	everything
1995	Transmissions from Empire Algol	Neptune Towers	everything
1995	Panzerfaust	Darkthrone	drums, guitar, bass
1995	Nordavind	Storm	drums, additional vocals
1995	Kronet Til Konge	Dodheimsgard	bass, additional vocals
1995	Moonstoned	Valhall	drums
1995	Promo 1995 (demo)	Dodheimsgard	bass, additional vocals
1996	Total Death	Darkthrone	drums; additional guitar and bass
1997	Heading for Mars	Valhall	drums
1999	Ravishing Grimness	Darkthrone	drums
2001	Plaguewielder	Darkthrone	drums
2003	Hate Them	Darkthrone	drums
2004	Sardonic Wrath	Darkthrone	drums; additional vocals
2006	The Cult is Alive	Darkthrone	drums; additional vocals and guitar
2007	F.O.A.D.	Darkthrone	drums; additional vocals
2008	Dark Thrones and Black Flags	Darkthrone	drums; vocals and guitar (shared)
2009	Red Planet	Valhall	drums
2009	Engangsgrill (demo)	Fenriz' Red Planet	everything
2009	Fuck You All	Fuck You All	bass
2010	Circle the Wagons	Darkthrone	drums; vocals and guitar (shared)
2013	The Underground Resistance	Darkthrone	drums, vocals (shared), Guitar solo on track 2, Bass on track 4

Guest appearances

• Ulver – vocals on "A Song of Liberty Plates 25–27" from the album Themes from William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1998)
• Aura Noir – additional vocals on Increased Damnation (2000) and The Merciless (2004)
• Red Harvest – additional vocals on "Absolut Dunkel:heit" from the album Cold Dark Matter (2000)
• Cadaver Inc. – additional vocals on Discipline (2001)
• Audiopain – additional lyrics on Revel in Desecration (2002)
• Trashcan Darlings – additional vocals on "Dehumanizer" from the album Episode 1: The Lipstick Menace (2002)

External links

• Fenriz' Band Of The Week Blog
• Peaceville Records
• Fenriz discography at MusicBrainz
• Fenriz interviewed by Travis Jeppesen
• Interview with Fenriz and Nocturno Culto for The Lodge