Anaal Nathrakh "The Whole Of The Law"

The Whole of the Law is the ninth full-length studio album by British extreme metal band Anaal Nathrakh. It was released on 28 October 2016 on Metal Blade Records.

The cover artwork is from the painting Dante and Virgil by William-Adolphe Bouguereau.

Anaal Nathrakh is taken from the movie Excalibur and means "Serpent's Breath". The band's name is pronounced [ˈɛənæl ˈnæθræk] ("ANN- all [as in "shall"] NATH-rak").

The band originally started as a raw black metal band. With the release of Domine Non Es Dignus, they shifted more towards a grindcore/black metal sound. 

Lyrical themes must be drawn from context as the band has stated repeatedly that they will not publish lyrics.

Vocalist Attila Csihar (Mayhem, Aborym, Keep of Kalessin, Tormentor) is a friend of the band and contributes guest vocals from time to time, and, in particular, on When Fire Rains Down from the Sky, Mankind Will Reap as It Has Sown and Eschaton.

Anaal Nathrakh played a Peel Session (a studio recording for the BBC aired by legendary DJ John Peel) in 2004, with Nick Barker and Shane Embury on drums and bass, respectively. For years, the band maintained they would never perform live on stage, however they played two gigs in December 2005. Whether these were the first of many or the only ones they will perform was unclear until the release of Eschaton when the band announced that they would return to the stage in the album's insert. Shortly afterward, the band was confirmed for the 2007 edition of the Inferno Festival in Oslo. They have continued to make festival appearances and play short, but fairly regular tours ever since.


In 2000, a re-recorded version of "Pandemonic Hyperblast" was posted on the band's old site. The track was originally intended to be included on a compilation CD entitled No Holy Additives, but for reasons beyond the band's control, was too late to be included. The recording was not the same as the one later included on the band's debut, The Codex Necro.