Belphegor (band)
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Belphegor is an Austrian
blackened death metal Blackened death metal (also known as black death metal) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal that fuses elements of black metal and death metal. The genre emerged in early 1990s when black metal bands began incorporating elements of death me ...
band from
Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...
. They originally formed in 1991 under the name Betrayer before changing their name in 1993, deriving their current name from the demon of the same name.


History


Early years (1991–1997)

Belphegor was founded as Betrayer in 1991 by vocalist and bassist Maxx, guitarists
Helmuth Helmuth is both a masculine German given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: __NOTOC__ Given name *Helmuth Theodor Bossert (1889–1961), German art historian, philologist and archaeologist *Helmuth Hübener (1925–1942), Ger ...
and Sigurd, and
drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western music ensemble, bands that play Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, or Contemporary R&B, R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeepi ...
Chris. The band released their first demo ''Kruzifixion'' in April 1991, and ''Unborn Blood'' later on. After adopting the name Belphegor in 1993, they released another demo, ''Bloodbath in Paradise'' on Maxi-CD format. At somepoint before or after the release of this demo, Maxx departed from the band, resulting in Helmuth assuming his role as both vocalist and guitarist of Belphegor since. In between 1993 and 1996 session member A-X performed bass, after which bassist Mario "Marius" Klausner joined the band as a full-time member. The band was briefly signed to Perverted Taste Records, the label on which the demo ''Obscure and Deep'' was released in 1994. This release featured a cover of the
Black Sabbath Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...
song "
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath ''Sabbath Bloody Sabbath'' is the fifth studio album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released in November 1973. It was produced by the band and recorded at Morgan Studios in London in September 1973. The writing process for the al ...
". Their first album, ''The Last Supper'', was released by Lethal Records in January 1995. At this time the band's logo was also redesigned to include two inverted crosses surrounded by blood.


Last Episode and Phallelujah Productions (1997–2002)

The band's second album '' Blutsabbath'' was released in October 1997, featuring Man (of Mastic Scum) on session drums. This was followed by an eighteen date tour of Europe in April and May 1998 with
Behemoth Behemoth (; , ''bəhēmōṯ'') is a beast from the biblical Book of Job, and is a form of the primeval chaos-monster created by God at the beginning of creation. Metaphorically, the name has come to be used for any extremely large or powerful ...
and
Ancient Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient h ...
. The band's debut album ''The Last Supper'' was rereleased in 1999 and came clad in all new artwork and featured an additional six extra tracks from the ''Obscure And Deep'' EP. The following year, the third album '' Necrodaemon Terrorsathan'' was released by Last Episode (nowadays known as Black Attakk), where Man again performed session drums. The band eventually left Last Episode and later denounced them as a "rip-off label". In January 2001, Belphegor headlined a few shows at outdoor venues at 'Fuck The Commerce IV', 'With Full Force VIII' and 'Hell On Earth' in Germany with support from Dunkelgrafen and Dawn of Dreams. In 2002, Belphegor played at the
Summerbreeze ''Summerbreeze'' is a dance mix compilation produced by trance artist DJ Tiësto Tijs Michiel Verwest (; born 17 January 1969), known professionally as Tiësto ( , ), is a Dutch DJ and record producer. He was voted "The Greatest DJ of All T ...
, Brutal Assault and Morbide Festspiele prior to further German gigs in December. It was also around then when Belphegor first recruited drummer Torturer (Mor Dagor) and bassist Barth. After releasing their live album ''Infernal Live Orgasm'' on their own label ''Phallelujah Productions'', they signed with
Napalm Records Napalm Records is an Austrian independent record label focused on heavy metal, hard rock and folk/folk rock/folk metal. Originally, Napalm focused on black metal bands, such as Abigor and Summoning, and folk metal bands, such as Falkenbach a ...
.


Napalm Records (2003–2005)

After having signed up with
Napalm Records Napalm Records is an Austrian independent record label focused on heavy metal, hard rock and folk/folk rock/folk metal. Originally, Napalm focused on black metal bands, such as Abigor and Summoning, and folk metal bands, such as Falkenbach a ...
, the lineup of vocalist and guitarist Helmuth, guitarist Sigurd, bassist Barth and drummer Torturer recorded the fourth album '' Lucifer Incestus'', produced by Alex Krull of Atrocity. The album was released in December 2003, and a European tour followed. Belphegor entered Mastersound Studio in Fellbach during September 2004 record their fifth album '' Goatreich - Fleshcult'', again produced by Alex Krull. The band undertook a mini-tour in November with Disastrous Murmur, and played at the
X-Mass Festival X-Mas Festival was a heavy metal festival/ tour held annually in Europe from 1999 to 2005. It was organized by the Belgian booking agency Metallysee. The 2006 and 2007 editions have been cancelled, and the future of the festival is in doubt. ...
alongside
Napalm Death Napalm Death are an English grindcore band formed in Meriden, West Midlands, in 1981. None of the band's original members have been in the group since 1986, but since ''Utopia Banished'' (1992), the lineup of bassist Shane Embury, guitarist Mi ...
,
Marduk Marduk (; cuneiform: Dingir, ᵈAMAR.UTU; Sumerian language, Sumerian: "calf of the sun; solar calf"; ) is a god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of Babylon who eventually rose to prominence in the 1st millennium BC. In B ...
,
Finntroll Finntroll is a Finnish folk metal band from Helsinki. They combine elements of black metal and death metal with a type of Finnish folk music called humppa. Finntroll's lyrics are mostly in Swedish, the only exception being the song "Madon Laulu" ...
and Vader. In February 2005, ''Goatreich - Fleshcult'' was released in various formats, including a vinyl edition limited to 1000 copies. Digipack variants added the instrumental track 'Heresy Of Fire' as a bonus. That same month, drummer Torturer left the band and was replaced by Nefastus (Tomas Janiszewski). In April, Belphegor headlined the eighteen-day ''Goatreich - Fleshcult Europe Tour Pt. I'' with support from
Arkhon Infaustus Arkhon Infaustus is a French blackened death metal band from Paris. They formed in 1997, are signed to Osmose Productions, and have released four albums to date. History Arkon Infaustus was created in late 1997 by Dk Deviant, joined by Tortu ...
,
Asmodeus Asmodeus (; , ''Asmodaios'') or Ashmedai (; ; ; see below for other variations) is a king of demons in the legends of Solomon and the constructing of Solomon's Temple."Asmodeus" in '' The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia B ...
and In Aeternum. The band soon departed from Napalm Records, on the grounds the label "did not support them enough" and they were "fed up with this respectless treatment."


Early years with Nuclear Blast (2005–2009)

Belphegor signed with
Nuclear Blast Nuclear Blast Records is a German record label with subsidiary, subsidiaries located in Germany, the United States and Brazil. It was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Donzdorf. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label moved on ...
in 2005, and commenced recording the album ''
Pestapokalypse VI ''Pestapokalypse VI'' is the sixth studio album by Austrian blackened death metal band Belphegor. It was produced by Andy Classen at Stage One Studio and released in 2006. Track listing Personnel ; Belphegor * Helmuth Lehner - vocals, guita ...
'' in producer
Andy Classen Andy Classen is a German record producer, sound engineer and musician. Holy Moses He began his career in 1980 as a guitarist for the German thrash metal band Holy Moses, fronted by his ex-wife Sabina Classen. In 1989 the band bought a house i ...
's (who also produced the band's debut album ''The Last Supper'') Stage One Studios in November. After having played bass on six of the nine tracks on the new album, bassist Barth was forced to leave the band and terminate his career after suffering a hand injury that left him unable to continue performing. This led to Belphegor withdrawing from a tour with Hate Eternal in April 2006, and Helmuth was forced to record the remaining bass lines on the new album himself while
Robin Eaglestone Robin Mark Eaglestone (born 1976) is an English musician. Biography He was the bassist for the extreme metal band Cradle of Filth. Also known as Robin Graves, he joined Cradle of Filth in 1992 as 2nd guitarist for the recording of the ''Invokin ...
(ex-
Cradle of Filth Cradle of Filth are an English extreme metal band formed in Suffolk in 1991. The band's musical style evolved originally from black metal to a cleaner and more "produced" amalgam of gothic metal, symphonic metal and other metal genres. Their ly ...
, Imperial Black) was recruited as a session bassist for live performances between April and October. Barth's full-time replacement was Serpenth, who joined the band in October. ''Pestapokalypse VI'' was released in October 2006, and drummer Nefastus soon left the band. Session drummers have since been recruited including Lille Grubber, Blastphemer (Jan Benkwitz) and former Belphegor drummer Torturer. That same month Nuclear Blast issued a special ammunition box variant of the ''Pestapokalypse VI'' album, limited to just 500 copies and packed with the CD in digipack, a patch, a belt and "emergency provisions". A vinyl version of the album was also restricted to 500 copies. ''Pestapokalypse VI'' was further promoted by a promotional videos for the songs ''Bluhtsturm Erotika'' and ''Belphegor - Hell's Ambassador'' directed by Florian Werner. Belphegor were set to play the X-Mass Festival again in December 2006, however the festival was cancelled. Nevertheless, they were among the bands supporting Danzig on their Blackest of the Black tour in North America in December 2006 – January 2007, and they toured North America again in February–March 2007 with
Unleashed Unleashed may refer to: Art and entertainment Film and television * ''Unleashed'' (2001 film), a film featuring Jeff Anderson * ''Unleashed'' (2005 film), a 2005 martial arts film starring Jet Li, Morgan Freeman and Bob Hoskins * ''Unleashed ...
,
Krisiun Krisiun is a Brazilian death metal band, founded by brothers Alex Camargo (bass, vocals) (Born March 11, 1972), Moyses Kolesne (guitars) (Born August 11, 1973) and Max Kolesne (drums) (Born June 12, 1974). Since its formation in 1990, the gro ...
, and
Hatesphere Hatesphere is a Danish thrash metal band from Aarhus, formed in 2000 by guitarist Peter "Pepe" Hansen. As of 2016, the band consists of vocalist Esben "Esse" Elnegaard Kjaer Hansen, guitarists Peter "Pepe" Lyse Hansen, and Kasper Kirkegaard, ba ...
. With support initially from
Kataklysm Kataklysm is a Canadian death metal band. As of 2024, they have released fifteen studio albums, two EPs, and two DVDs. Kataklysm received their first Juno Award (the Canadian equivalent of the Grammy Awards, Grammy) for Best Album of the Yea ...
and
Unleashed Unleashed may refer to: Art and entertainment Film and television * ''Unleashed'' (2001 film), a film featuring Jeff Anderson * ''Unleashed'' (2005 film), a 2005 martial arts film starring Jet Li, Morgan Freeman and Bob Hoskins * ''Unleashed ...
and later from Arkhon Infaustus, Belphegor headlined the ''Midvinterblot European Tour Part II'' in May. The band also played at the famous
Wacken Open Air Wacken Open Air (, abbreviated as W:O:A) is a Heavy metal music, heavy metal music festival, held annually since 1990 on the first weekend of August in the village of Wacken, Schleswig-Holstein, Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Almost all ...
festival in August. In September, the band coheadlined with
Gorgoroth Gorgoroth is a Norwegian black metal band based in Bergen. It was formed in 1992 by guitarist Infernus, who is the sole original member remaining, and has released nine studio albums. Gorgoroth are a Satanism, Satanic band and have drawn contro ...
in most of the venues on the latter's tour of South America. In January 2008, founding member Sigurd underwent eye surgery, and because of this it was not known whether he would resume with his role in Belphegor. A few months later however, Helmuth said Sigurd had chosen to leave the band permanently following their tour of Europe in late 2007. For Belphegor's North American tour in February 2008 he was replaced by Anthony Paulini, and he was eventually replaced by Morluch as full-time guitarist. In April 2008, ''Bondage Goat Zombie'' was released featuring Helmuth on vocals and both lead and rhythm guitars, Serpenth on bass and Torturer on drums. As well as a standard CD release this album came in a variety of formats including a limited edition digipack complete with a DVD hosting video clips, behind the scenes footage, a studio "making of" documentary, live footage and a "freak" section, and a further limited option in Stahl helmet packaging complete with dogtag as well as a red vinyl version limited to 1000 copies. This was followed by an appearance at the
Hellfest Summer Open Air Hellfest (), also known as Hellfest Summer Open Air, is a rock festival focusing on heavy metal music, held annually in June in Clisson, France. Its high attendance makes it the French music festival with the largest turnover. It is also one o ...
festival in France in June 2008, and they supported
Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...
and
Grave A grave is a location where a cadaver, dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is burial, buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of buria ...
on the
Ithyphallic A phallus (: phalli or phalluses) is a penis (especially when erect), an object that resembles a penis, or a mimetic image of an erect penis. In art history, a figure with an erect penis is described as ''ithyphallic''. Any object that symbo ...
tour of Europe in September 2008. In October 2008, the band once again toured North America with
Amon Amarth Amon Amarth () are a Swedish melodic death metal band from Tumba, Sweden, Tumba, formed in 1992. The band take its name from the Sindarin name of Mount Doom, a volcano in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. Their lyrics mostly deal with Viking myt ...
.


Walpurgis Rites - Hexenwahn (2009–present)

In January 2009, an announcement was made stating the band was working on a new album, and Nefastus again would be responsible for the drums. It was reported recording had begun in February 2009, and Nefastus completed recording the drum parts. On 23 February 2009, Helmuth announced the rhythm guitar and bass lines had been recorded in the second studio session. Ostensibly, the new album was tentatively titled ''Hexenwahn - Totenkult'':
As opposed to previous tales of the inquisition, this focuses upon the darker, more dismal of the mighty, powerful witches who conjure and worship demons. Those who have a pact with the forces of hell through the occult. The concept deals with demonology, witchcraft/ Hexenwahn, depraved suKKubi, blackest erotica, and as always, the grand devil, himself.
On 9 June 2009, the album's title was revealed to be '' Walpurgis Rites - Hexenwahn''. On 3 July 2009, it was announced that the recording was completed and that the album would be released in October 2009. Furthermore, Brazilian artist Marcelo Hvc commenced work on the album cover and imagery. The band embarked on another North American tour in April 2009, which was headlined by
Kreator Kreator is a German thrash metal band from Essen, formed in 1982. Their current line-up consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Mille Petrozza, Miland "Mille" Petrozza, drummer Jürgen Reil, Jürgen "Ventor" Reil, lead guitarist Sami Yli- ...
and
Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * Ex ...
, along with
Warbringer Warbringer is an American thrash metal band formed in 2004. Century Media Records signed Warbringer after seeing them at a local show in LA. Originally, a Century Media rep was at the show to see another LA thrash metal band but decided to sign W ...
and Epicurean. In November 2009, the band joined the Heathenfest tour in North America, along with
Eluveitie Eluveitie ( ; )Chrigel Glanzmann: "Eluveitie is a name in Gaulish language, which is an ancient Celtic language. Since it's not a living language anymore, nobody really knows how it's pronounced like. All we have today of this language is scient ...
,
Alestorm Alestorm are a Scottish heavy metal band formed in Perth in 2004. Their music is characterised by a pirate theme, and as a result, they have been dubbed a "pirate metal" band by many critics and their fanbase. The group currently consists of ...
,
Kivimetsän Druidi Kivimetsän Druidi, or KmD, was a Finnish folk metal band founded in 2002. "Kivimetsän Druidi" is Finnish for "druid of the stone forest". Band history KmD originally started as a two-man project by the Koskinen brothers. Lead guitarist and voca ...
, and
Vreid Vreid is a Norwegian black metal band formed in 2004 after the breakup of Windir following the death of lead singer and founder Valfar. The remaining members along with new guitarist Ese formed Vreid. The band's name is an archaic Norwegian word ...
. In December 2009, the band played in South America with
Obituary An obituary (wikt:obit#Etymology 2, obit for short) is an Article (publishing), article about a recently death, deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as Article (publishing), news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on p ...
. On 14 January 2011 Belphegor released another album entitled '' Blood Magick Necromance'' and toured the US with
Sepultura Sepultura (, "grave")Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 17. is a Brazilian heavy metal band formed in Belo Horizonte in 1984 by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera.Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 16. They were a major force in the groove metal, thrash met ...
in support of the album. The band was on hold after their 2011 South American tour until May 2012 due to Lehner going through a serious and difficult operation after being infected with
typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often th ...
. On 23 August 2014, the band performed at the Agglutination Metal Festival in
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, along with bands like
Carcass Carcass or Carcase (both pronounced ) may refer to: * Dressed carcass, the body of a livestock animal ready for butchery, after removal of skin, visceral organs, head, feet etc. *Carrion, the decaying dead body of an animal or human being, also c ...
and
Entombed A.D. Entombed A.D. was a Swedish death metal band formed in 2014, composed of former members of Entombed (band), Entombed after their breakup. They released their debut album, ''Back to the Front'', the same year. The band's final lineup consisted of ...
Belphegor released their tenth album, "Conjuring The Dead", on 8 August 2014 via Nuclear Blast. It entered the official German charts at #60, as well as reaching #33 in the Austrian album charts, #177 in
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, #13 Heatseekers #52 "Hard Music" charts in USA and #58 in Canada. It was their best chart result ever in these countries. Before Belphegor's show in
St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...
, the band's leader
Helmuth Lehner Helmuth Lehner (born 7 December 1968) is an Austrian musician, best known as the vocalist and guitarist of the black/death metal band Belphegor. Prior to Belphegor, he was in the heavy metal band Speed Limit, where he was known as Hel Lennart ...
was attacked by Anatoly Artyukh, an orthodox activist and the assistant of the deputy
Vitaly Milonov Vitaly Valentinovich Milonov (; born 23 January 1974) is a Russian politician, deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation since 2016. A member of United Russia, he has served as a Member of the State Duma for Saint Petersburg South sin ...
. The incident happened at the
Pulkovo Airport Pulkovo Airport ( rus, links=no, Аэропорт Пулково, p=ˈpuɫkəvə, Location identifier#Russian location identifier, Internal code: ПЛК) is an international airport serving St. Petersburg, Russia. It is the List of the busiest ...
on 19 April 2016. The band released their eleventh album, ''Totenritual'', on 15 September 2017. In April 2022, the band announced their twelfth album, ''The Devils'', would be released on 24 June. The album's release date was then pushed back twice due to manufacturing delays: once for 8 July, and then to 29 July.


Members

; Current members *
Helmuth Lehner Helmuth Lehner (born 7 December 1968) is an Austrian musician, best known as the vocalist and guitarist of the black/death metal band Belphegor. Prior to Belphegor, he was in the heavy metal band Speed Limit, where he was known as Hel Lennart ...
- guitars (1991–present), lead vocals (1996-present) * Serpenth - bass, backing vocals (2006–present) ; Current live members *
James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military aviator. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morali ...
- drums (2021–present) * Wolfgang Rothbauer - guitars (2023-present) * Chris Bonos - bass, backing vocals (2025-present) ; Former members * Maxx - bass, lead vocals (1991–1996) * Chris - drums (1991–1996) * Sigurd Hagenauer - guitars (1991–2007) * Mario "Marius" Klausner - bass, backing vocals (1996–2001) * Bartholomäus "Barth" Resch - bass, backing vocals (2002–2006) * Tomasz "Nefastus" Janiszewski - drums (2005–2006) * Morluch - guitars (2008–2009) * Simon "BloodHammer" Schilling - drums (2015–2018) ; Former live members * A-X - bass (1993–1996) *
Robin Eaglestone Robin Mark Eaglestone (born 1976) is an English musician. Biography He was the bassist for the extreme metal band Cradle of Filth. Also known as Robin Graves, he joined Cradle of Filth in 1992 as 2nd guitarist for the recording of the ''Invokin ...
- bass (2006) * Jan "Blastphemer" Benkwitz - drums (2006) * Lille Gruber - drums (2007) *
Tony Laureano Tony Laureano is a heavy metal drummer originally from Puerto Rico. He has played for a number of metal bands (either as a full band member or a session drummer) including Dimmu Borgir, Nile, Angelcorpse, Malevolent Creation, God Dethroned, ...
- drums (2007) * Robert Kovačič - drums (2007–2009) * Anthony Paulini - guitars (2008, 2010) * Bernd "Bernth" Brodträger - guitars (2010–2011) *
Oli Beaudoin Oli Beaudoin is a Canadian drummer, record producer, composer and mixer. He has won a Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, ...
- drums (2011) * Bartholomäus "Barth" Resch - vocals (2012) * Schoft - guitars, backing vocals (2013–2014) * Martin "Molokh" Arzberger - guitars (2015-2016, 2020–2023) * Sascha "Impaler" - guitars, backing vocals (2015–2018) * Ricardo "Horus" Falcon - guitars (2018–2020) * Eugene "Ravager" Ryabchenko - drums (2018–2020) * Pawel Jaroszewicz - drums (2019–2020) * Julian David Guillen - bass, backing vocals (2024) ; Session musicians * Tomasz "Nefastus" Janiszewski - drums (2008–2009) * Martin "Marthyn" Jovanović - drums (2009–2015) * Florian "Torturer" Klein - drums (2000–2005, 2006–2008) * Man Gandler - drums (1996–2000)


Timeline


Discography


Studio albums


EPs


Live albums


Videos


References


External links


Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Belphegor 1991 establishments in Austria Austrian black metal musical groups Austrian death metal musical groups Austrian heavy metal musical groups Austrian musical quartets Blackened death metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1991 Nuclear Blast artists