Nocturnal Breed arose when several black metal players from Dimmu Borgir—Ed Damnator, also known as Sven Atle Kopperud on bass and guitar, alongside Rick Hellraiser, whose real name is Nagash and who handled drums—joined forces with Gehenna’s Man Destroyer, born Kenneth Svartalv and responsible for vocals, guitars, and bass. Tired of unrelenting grimness, they chose instead to pursue high-speed thrash in the raw, proto-blackened style forged by 1980s German and Brazilian acts such as Sodom, Destruction, Vulcano, and Sarcófago. Their first statement arrived with the 1997 album Aggressor, after which shifting lineups undertook occasional tours and issued scattered recordings: the 1998 Triumph of the Blasphemer EP paired with the No Retreat...No Surrender full-length, the 2000 LP The Tools of the Trade, the 2004 singles “Motörmouth” and “Warthog,” and finally the 2007 album Fields of Rot. By that point Man Destroyer stood as the sole remaining original member, fronting a new configuration that featured vocalist and guitarist Ben Hellion, guitarist A.E. Rattlehead (also known as Akke of Crest of Darkness), and drummer Tex Terror.
