Ofermod is a Swedish

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

death metal Death metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep death growl, growling vocals; aggressive ...

band, formed in 1996 by Michayah Belfagor.

History

Ofermod were formed in 1996''Ofermod''. In: ''Funeral Maelstrom Of Hate'', no. 6, 2004. by Nefandus drummer, backing vocalist and lyricist Mika "Belfagor" Hakola. The band recorded the single ''Mystérion Tés Anomias'' in Tore "Necromorbus" Stjerna's Necromorbus studio in January 1998 and released it through Pounding Metal Productions. In 2000, Belfagor retired from his musical activities to concentrate on his

occult The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mysti ...

studies and practices. This, together with the closure of Shadow Records, led to the cancellation of the band's planned debut album. 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 December 2004, the band recorded two songs for the ''Mystérion Tés Anomias'' re-release through Norma Evangelium Diaboli; on the re-release, Hakola used the new pseudonym "Michayah", and Nebiros called himself Leviathan.Ofermod: ''Mystérion tés anomias'', Norma Evangelium Diaboli 2005. The band's first album ''Pentagrammaton'', which was supposed to feature Moloch of Teitanblood sharing vocals with NebirosStahlschrulle
''Ofermod - Interview''
. and "mark the ten year anniversary of OFERMOD" in 2006, was "partly finished in late 2005/early 2006", but delayed because "Michayah was sent to prison, for assault, robbery and a few other incidents, in early March 2006". He was released in August 2006, but sentenced to serve more time the same year, "due to new acts of violence". ''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 former

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 ...

bassist Magnus "Devo" Andersson and released under the title ''Tiamtü'' in 2008. The band released their second album ''Thaumiel'' in 2012 with singer and guitarist J. Kvarnbrink; aka "Tehôm" of the bands Mortuus and Head of the Demon, replacing Nebiros who left the band in 2011 to rejoin Malign; though he briefly rejoined the band in 2012 for some live performances, and produced once again at Endarker Studio by Magnus Andersson. By 2012, Ofermod had a new line-up including bassist Robin "Rudra" Fjäll and drummer Simon Samuelsson. The band released their second EP ''Serpents Dance'' in 2014 and their third full length album ''Sol Nox'' in 2017. Johannes Kvarnbrink amicably departed the band upon completion of ''Sol Nox'' and according to Hakola he left due to feeling he had achieved his potential and had nothing more to offer the band; even stating that the album was a masterpiece that he could not top. From July 2017 until September 13, 2019, Mika Hakola was the only member of the band left.

Music and ideology

Ofermod are based on the forces of

Sitra Achra In the ''Zohar'', Lurianic Kabbalah, and Hermetic Qabalah, the ''qlippoth'' (, originally , plural of ''qəlippā''; literally "peels", "shells", or "husks"), are the representation of evil or impure spiritual forces in Jewish mysticism, the ...

. Belfagor claims to write the lyrics in connection with

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...

and astral travels and composes the music in semi-

trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...

.Terry Demeter: ''Ofermod''. ''Breath of the Dragon''. In: ''Unrestrained Magazine'', no. 39, pp. 74f. Belfagor tries to avoid being consciously influenced by other bands.Nathan T. Birk: . Ofermod's musical style supposedly influenced other Swedish black metal bands such as

Watain Watain is a Swedish black metal band, formed in 1998.Eduardo Rivadavia: ''Watain Biography'' Allmusic, Macrovision Corporation. The band's name is taken from an early recording by the American black metal group Von.Ronald Ziegler''Merchandise w ...

and Ondskapt.Stahlschrulle
''Ofermod - Tiamtü''
On ''Tiamtü'', Ofermod "has eschewed breakneck speed for brutish, evocative music, which has far more technically in common with Death Metal than Black Metal".Stewart Voegtlin
''TheLeftHandPath.com - Interview: Ofermod''
Their EP's style has been likened to bands such as Watain (whom Ofermod supposedly influenced),

Dark Funeral Dark Funeral is a Swedish black metal band from Stockholm, founded by guitarists Blackmoon and Lord Ahriman in 1993. They emerged during the second wave of black metal. Their lyrical themes have traditionally pertained to Satanism and anti ...

(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 Western esotericism, also known as the Western mystery tradition, is a wide range of loosely related ideas and movements that developed within Western society. These ideas and currents are united since they are largely distinct both from orthod ...

aspects") and

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 ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

journalist Eduardo Rivadavia.

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 some death metal, like a bit of

MORBID ANGEL Morbid Angel is an American death metal band based in Tampa, Florida, formed in 1983 by guitarist, primary composer and sole remaining original member Trey Azagthoth, vocalist and bassist Dallas Ward, and drummer Mike Browning. Widely considere ...

" (whose debut album '' Altars of Madness'' made a great impression upon BelfagorBelfagor: ''5 Klassiker''. In: ''Rock Hard'', no. 269, October 2009, p. 83.). 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 Satan, also known as the Devil, is a devilish entity in Abrahamic religions who seduces humans into sin (or falsehood). In Judaism, Satan is seen as an agent subservient to God, typically regarded as a metaphor for the '' yetzer hara'', or ' ...

' (ha-shatan) as a description of their

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

, but leave the holiest essence of the Lord silent, as it forever should be, for it existed before the

cosmos The cosmos (, ; ) is an alternative name for the universe or its nature or order. Usage of the word ''cosmos'' implies viewing the universe as a complex and orderly system or entity. The cosmos is studied in cosmologya broad discipline covering ...

and eventually will bring to its primal form: No-Thing = Utter Spiritual Death". Yet Ofermod are still connected to

Satanism Satanism refers to a group of religious, ideological, or philosophical beliefs based on Satan—particularly his worship or veneration. Because of the ties to the historical Abrahamic religious figure, Satanism—as well as other religious ...

; 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 Kabbalah or Qabalah ( ; , ; ) is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. It forms the foundation of Mysticism, mystical religious interpretations within Judaism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ...

and

chaos Chaos or CHAOS may refer to: Science, technology, and astronomy * '' Chaos: Making a New Science'', a 1987 book by James Gleick * Chaos (company), a Bulgarian rendering and simulation software company * ''Chaos'' (genus), a genus of amoebae * ...

as the dark counterpart to creation, which is seen as the true

evil Evil, as a concept, is usually defined as profoundly immoral behavior, and it is related to acts that cause unnecessary pain and suffering to others. Evil is commonly seen as the opposite, or sometimes absence, of good. It can be an extreme ...

by Ofermod, but Belfagor also uses terms like ''evil'' for his own views, being evil from a cosmic perspective. According to Belfagor, " e materialization of existence must and will be inverted, emanation by emanation, for it is a curse life has inflicted upon itself through manifestation".

Line-up

;Current members *Mika Hakola - guitar (1996-) vocals (2022-) ;Past members *Mikael Schelin - bass *Jonas Tengner - vocals (1997-2011, 2012, 2021-2022) *Tore Gunnar Stjerna - drums (2004-2005) *Johannes Kvarnbrink - bass (2004-2005) guitar, vocals (2012-2017) *Karl Emil Lundin - guitar (2004-2005) *Ignacio Muñoz - vocals (2005-2006) *Robin Fjäll - bass (2012-2016, 2019-2021) *Simon Samuelsson - drums (2012-2017) *Joakim "Jocke" Wallgren - drums (2015) *Kristoffer Andersson - guitar (2015) *Lars Thomas Ulf Broddesson - drums *Naldo Martinez - vocals (2019-2022)

Discography

;Albums * ''Tiamtü'' (2008) * ''Thaumiel'' (2012) * ''Sol Nox'' (2017) * ''Pentagrammaton'' (2020) * ''Mysterium Iniquitatis'' (2021) ;EPs * ''Mystérion Tés Anomias'' (1998) * ''Serpents Dance'' (2014) * ''Black Metal Terror'' split with Malign, Triumphator,

(2019)

References

{{Reflist Swedish black metal musical groups Swedish death metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1996 Musical groups from Norrköping