Discovering Bands: Ofermod - (1998 - 2014) [ Full Discography]

sexta-feira, 11 de dezembro de 2015

Ofermod - (1998 - 2014) [ Full Discography] - Bandcamp/Youtube Stream

BIOGRAPHY

The band name means "bravado" in old Swedish, it can also be translated into "arrogance". The group was originally a solo project in 1996 by guitarist Michayah, who at that time called himself Belfagor and was also active in the band Nefandus. In 1997, vocalist Nebiros joined the band. The duo entered Necromorbus Studios in January 1998 and recorded a 7" EP entitled "Mystérion Tés Anomias" which was released later that same year in 500 copies through PMP (Pounding Metal Productions). Bass player Mist left the band in 1999.

In 2000, Belfagor retired from his musical activities to concentrate on his occult studies and practices. After this, the band went on hiatus for several years, due both to Michayah's wish to get away from the "scene" and to some legal problems.

In 2003, while in prison, Hakola started composing again. In 2004, he was joined by singer Nebiros again, and they recruited drummer Tore "Shiva" Stjerna, who had produced the Mystérion Tés Anomias single. After he served another prison sentence, Hakola got in contact with guitarist Atum, and through him with bassist Tehôm.

In 2004 the band was re-formed with Shiva (a.k.a. Necromorbus) on drums. The previously-recorded EP was remastered and re-released through Norma Evangelium Diaboli in 2005 with two new tracks added and recorded in December 2004. On the re-release, Hakola used the new pseudonym "Michayah", and Nebiros called himself Leviathan. These were recorded with a new line-up, which together with Michayah and Nebiros consisted of guitarist Atum and bass player Tehôm, both previously in the band Dödfödd. During 2005 the line-up of the band increased with the additional vocalist Moloch.

The band's first album Pentagrammaton, which was supposed to feature Moloch of Teitanblood sharing vocals with Nebiros and "mark the ten year anniversary of OFERMOD". In March 2006, Michayah was sent to prison for assault, robbery and some other charges. He was released in August, but was taken into custody a few days later, and sentenced to serve more time due to additional acts of violence. This delayed the release of the new album, which was partly finished in late-2005/early-2006 under the longstanding working title "Pentagrammaton" was therefore further delayed until 2007. The album remained unreleased because "obviously the forces of chaos did not want this album to be released". Belfagor took time to solely re-work the material, which was produced by Marduk bassist Magnus "Devo" Andersson and released under the title Tiamtü in 2008.

Michayah has stated that he used to be a member of a criminal gang, but has since given up that lifestyle to focus on his religion and music. Belfagor (Mika Hakola) recently started a new group of bands for mutual support, called The Black Luciferian Flame. The band's debut album was initially to be titled "Mystery of Iniquity" and released by Shadow Records, but it was never recorded.

Swedish metal band Ofermod has its roots in black metal, but its members currently refer to their own music as "Orthodox Qliphotic Death Metal" in an attempt to de-emphasize the satanistic associations of the former term in favour of more complex occult themes present in their later work.

Ofermod are based on the forces of Sitra Achra. Belfagor claims to write the lyrics in connection with meditation and astral travels and composes the music in semi-trance. Belfagor tries to avoid being consciously influenced by other bands. Ofermod's musical style supposedly influenced other Swedish black metal bands such as Watain and Ondskapt. On Tiamtü, Ofermod "has eschewed breakneck speed for brutish, evocative music, which has far more technically in common with Death Metal than Black Metal".

Their EP's style has been likened to bands such as Watain (whom Ofermod supposedly influenced), Dark Funeral (whom Belfagor called one of "the non-serious bands that use the Satanic thing as an image but actually have no idea of this phenomenon's esoteric aspects") and Gorgoroth by Allmusic journalist Eduardo Rivadavia. Marduk guitarist Morgan Håkansson, for whose album Wormwood Belfagor wrote the lyrics to "Phosphorous Redeemer", described their early music as "raw black metal", whereas the style on the Tiamtü album "include[s] some death metal, like a bit of MORBID ANGEL" (whose debut album Altars of Madness made a great impression upon Belfagor).

The band originally worshipped the Devil and termed the music "Orthodox Black Metal". The new tracks on the EP re-release were characterised as "Orthodox Death Metal", "for the band no longer use the word 'Satan' (ha-shatan) as a description of their religion, but leave the holiest essence of the Lord silent, as it forever should be, for it existed before the cosmos and eventually will bring to its primal form: No-Thing = Utter Spiritual Death". Yet Ofermod are still connected to Satanism; Belfagor stated that "our lyrics and most of all the presence conjured into our album in the process of making it is SATANIC in every way possible", and that he considers black metal and death metal to be "exactly the same, when it comes to the Cult, as it is the same satanic forces of Chaos we religiously devote ourselves to".

The band refers especially to the Kabbalah and chaos as the dark counterpart to creation, which is seen as the true evil by Ofermod, but Belfagor also uses terms like evil for his own views, being evil from a cosmic perspective. According to Belfagor, "[t]he materialization of existence must and will be inverted, emanation by emanation, for it is a curse life has inflicted upon itself through manifestation"

Formed in: 1996

Status: Active

Years active: 1996-Present

LINE UP

J Kvarnbrink - Vocals, Guitars

Mika Hakola (Michayah Belfagor) - Guitars, Additional Vocals

R.Fjäll - Bass

S.Samuelsson - Drums

Country of origin: Sweden

Location: Norrköping/Stockholm

Genre: Black/Death Metal

Current label: Spinefarm Records