Trond Bråthen a.k.a Trondr Nefas/Alastor Nefas: Urgehal, Beastcraft

"Trondr Nefas: Daemon calling"

Trondr Nefas was born Trond Bråthen in 28th May, 1977 in Norway. He was a front-man and guitarist, most notable for his work at Urgehal and Beastcraft. He has also played in Vulture Lord, Angst Skvadron, Endezzma, In Lingua Mortua among others. He is a globally  celebrated figure in the black metal community who will be forever remembered for his undiluted love and devotion  towards the genre.

Trond began his musical journey in 1992 when he formed Urgehal with rhythm guitarist Enzifer. Urgehal is a Norwegian black metal band who were among the only few Norwegian black metal acts to have stayed true to its roots since its inception. Urgehal is a perfect blend of black, speed and thrash metal with Trondr's sinister sounding vocals.They released six full-length albums, four EPs and two demos before Trondr's untimely departure in 2012. Urgehal was also one of the few remaining bands who used "True Norwegian black metal" label on their music releases. While on Beastcraft, he did a nifty job on the bass and 6 strings.

From a musical standpoint, Urgehal unarguably stands out from the others whereas Beastcraft takes a different turn with its rusty, low-fi yet melodic black metal sound good enough to keep you enchanted. All of his projects have stood out from each other material wise, showcasing his versatility and talent.

On 12th May 2012, Trondr was found dead in a cabin in a forest of Norway. He was only 35. His sudden, mysterious death came as a shock to all the black metal fans around the world. According to their official Facebook page, Trondr's demise was described to be "peaceful and natural" and it also stated that he died due to natural causes at one of his favourite places, sorrounded by woods and crystal lakes. Trondr was in the process of making a documentary movie called "A black metal year in Norway" which embodied the lifestyle, natural beauty and metal community in Norway through his own perspective but due to his departure, the film and its release has been put to a halt. The continuance/status of the film and its release is still a big question mark but we hope we'll get to watch Trondr's side of the story soon.

At Bunker Festival 2012 in Oslo, members of Urgehal, Endezzma, Kyrpt, Angst Skvadron and Tsjuder regrouped to perform under the same roof as an act of respect and tribute to the  legendary Trondr Nefas.

Born on: 28th May, 1977

Birthplace: Norway

Band(s) involved: Urgehal, Beastcraft, Bloodsworn, Endezzma, In Lingua Mortua, Kvist, Angst Skvadron, Vulture Lord

Passed on: 12th May, 2012

Cause of death: Natural causes

INTERVIEWS

So far, I haven't found nor read any of the interviews conducted with Trondr, but when I do, the first thing I'm gonna do is post it here.

A BLACK METAL YEAR IN NORWAY (DVD TRAILER)