Sweden is home to many great bands. This site could talk just about those and have more than enough to keep us busy. But today we want to shine a light (or a patch of darkness, your choice) on the band Ofermod. Already five full lengths under their belt, they bring us their 6th full length called Drakosophia. And what a piece this is!
Ofermod consists of two main members, Belfagor on the guitars, songwriting and a part of the lyrics. The debut on this record is for Adeptus, he does the lead vocals and the bigger part of the lyrics. But how can they create a full album without many instruments? Well they do not. They get help from a list of session musicians very well known:
The drums were performed by Florian Musil, known for his work at Theotoxin, and to my liking, also performs currently live for Benighted and Schammasch. Bass duties and the producer role is for the count of Devo Andersson. Ex-Marduk, Cardinal sin and many more greatly respected acts. Backing vocals were done by Lars Broddesson and Thomas Eriksson (the first also ex-Marduk, Funeral Mist and Black Altar).
With a network of people like this, it seems we have a golden release at our hands. Experienced people doing what they do best: black metal!
This release from Offermod, Drakosophia consists of almost 45 minutes of total destruction. This new album is a continuation of the path they have walked before this: Luciferianism, chaos-Gnosticism, magic and occultism. In just nine tracks they do it again, bringing you to the deepest parts of this realm and indulge you in chaos.
Fans of this band expect more of the same, yet greatly performed metal by skilled musicians. This is not a run of the mill band, each release deserves its own spot. The mix is great, every instrument can be heard. It really sounds (and is) a top notch production.
The flow of the album is great. It starts without an intro (+ points!) and sets the mood directly. This power is kept on till almost the middle point of the album. It remains fast but for Ofermod terms, it is slow. During those parts they keep the atmosphere intact and yet they are building up.
Luckily after one slower track they keep the power on the music, this is really where this band fits right in. They can keep the dynamic alive in every part, but excel in mid-tempo to fast parts. The tracks are interesting, riffs are written well and the mix keeps everything intact. This is a must have for blackmetal fans!
Releasing on the 3rd of October through Shadow Records (and distributed by Regain Records), Ofermod did it once again! I already ordered the limited vinyl as this is a must have in my collection. Looking forward to spinning it some more!
92/100
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