Anaal Nathrakh is a British extreme metal band formed in 1999 in Birmingham, England. They are currently signed to Metal Blade Records. The band's name is Irish for snake's breath (anál nathrach) and was taken from Merlin's Charm of Making in John Boorman's 1981 film Excalibur. The band recorded two demos in 1999, which were later released as an album. The band took their founding cues from Norwegian black metal bands such as Mayhem, Burzum, and Darkthrone. The duo recorded two demos before delivering their first full album, The Codex Necro, in 2001, that, according to The A.V. Club, "set a standard of blackened death that still hasn’t been equaled".