Shylmagoghnar (/ʃilməɡɒxnɑːr/) is a Dutch melodic black metal and death metal band from Zuid-Limburg.

Shylmagoghnar
Nimblkorg playing guitar 2023
Nimblkorg playing guitar 2023
Background information
OriginSouth Limburg, The Netherlands
Genres
Years active2004–present
LabelsNapalm Records
MembersNimblkorg
Past membersSkirge
Websiteshylmagoghnar.com

The name is a collection of syllables, which founding members Nimblkorg and Skirge selected because they had personal resonance with them. They wanted to create a name which sounds otherworldly to match the music.[1][2][3] The exact meaning of the name is kept a secret.[4][5]

History

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The band was formed by Nimblkorg (born: Kevin Bertrand[6]) and Skirge (born: Coen van der Weerden[6]) in 2004, as a high school project between friends. Nimblkorg started out as a guitarist and Skirge as a lyricist/vocalist, but over time they both starting taking on multiple instruments and musical roles.[7][2][5] Nimblkorg also felt drawn to the production side of music, which led to the band's body of work being fully home-produced.[7][8][9]

After a decade of practice and rewriting their demos, they would create and self-release their debut Emergence in 2014. This album garnered attention from the label Napalm Records, with which they signed a worldwide contract in 2016.[10] This was followed by the second album release, Transience in 2018, together with a vinyl re-release of the debut album Emergence.[11]

After this release, Skirge would leave the band due to personal life issues and Nimblkorg continued as a solo artist.[9] He produced the album Convergence,[8] which was released through Napalm Records in 2023.[12] The album received favorable reviews. Metal Hammer Germany reviewed in their December issue of 2023 that "Convergence is euphorically jubilant at first, lost in thought later, followed by it shimmering like a mathematical puzzle, only to get raunchy shortly after", ranking it within the issue's top 10.[13]

The band has stated to not have any interest in live performance, nor see it as an end goal. According to Nimblkorg, this is because he does not enjoy being in public and instead sees music as an introspective journey.[2][14] He prefers to experiment with finding ways to create music which connects to the listener on a personal level.[6]

Genre and influences

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Early influences for the band were a mix between death and black metal musicians (for example Immortal, Dimmu Borgir, Summoning, Death, Morbid Angel, Satyricon.[7]), but a part of the inspiration came from video game soundtracks (Commodore 64 soundtracks, Blood, The Settlers). There have also been influences by musicians outside of the metal genre, like Kate Bush, Jean-Michel Jarre, Basil Poledouris, Tom Waits, Edvard Grieg, Claude Debussy and Smetana[9][2][7]

The band expresses that they do not intend to be part of any specific genre – instead using whichever style they feel fit the current song.[14]

Nimblkorg also mentions that many musical ideas are inspired by melodies or lyrics heard in dreams[9][15] or during episodes of mental illness. Nimblkorg suffers from schizoaffective disorder.[16]

Members

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Current members

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Nimblkorg – Guitars, bass, drums, synthesizers, piano, flute, violin, vocals (2004–present), lead vocals (2018–present)

Past members

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Skirge – Lead vocals, synthesizers on "The Sun No Longer" (2004–2018)

Discography

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  • Emergence (2014)
  • Transience (2018)
  • Convergence (2023)

References

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  1. ^ Bowar, Chad (2018-06-30). "Meet The Band: Shylmagoghnar". Heavy Music HQ. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  2. ^ a b c d "metalmusicclan: INTERVIEW TO SHYLMAGOGHNAR by Metal Music Clan (English version)". metalmusicclan. 2019-07-12. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  3. ^ "Limburger Lautmalereien". www.rockhard.de (in German). Retrieved 2024-01-27.
  4. ^ "Sounds from Apocalypse interview". Sounds from Apocalypse. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  5. ^ a b "Metal Hangar 18 « Интервю с SHYLMAGOGHNAR « Страница 2" (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  6. ^ a b c "Interview Shylmagoghnar". Progwereld (in Dutch). 2019-06-25. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  7. ^ a b c d BMS, Publicado por. "SHYLMAGOGHNAR – INTERVIEW". Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  8. ^ a b Zaniboni, Matt (2023-11-20). "NIMBLKORG (SHYLMAGOGHNAR): "All Of The Albums Have A Soul Of Their Own And Will Never Replace Each Other In My Eyes"". Metal Express Radio. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  9. ^ a b c d "SHYLMAGOGHNAR – Il paradiso sperperato". Metalitalia.com.
  10. ^ "Shylmagoghnar – Sign With Napalm Records". Metal Storm. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  11. ^ "Shylmagoghnar: Sign Worldwide Album Deal With Napalm Records". Metal Invader.
  12. ^ "Shylmagoghnar – Convergence – Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives". www.metal-archives.com. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  13. ^ "Metal Hammer Germany : Scanned review of Convergence, Issue 12 2023, page 87 (in German)" (PDF). December 2023.
  14. ^ a b Gehlke, David E. (2018-08-17). "Shylmagoghnar – Navigating the Cosmic Tide". Dead Rhetoric. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  15. ^ "Shylmagoghnar gibt Einblick in Traumtagebuch – News". Metal1.info (in German). Retrieved 2024-01-27.
  16. ^ Metal Health interview Nim from Shylmagoghnar, retrieved 2024-01-26
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Shylmagoghnar at AllMusic