Ofermod - Pentagrammation - 2CD DIGIPAK

By now, OFERMOD should require no introduction. Formed back in the dark days of 1996, the band released their debut EP, Mystérion Tés Anomias, in 1998. Although a mere two songs, OFERMOD's opening salvo sowed the seeds for the orthodox black metal movement that would begin to blossom in the new millennium, alongside fellow SHADOW RECORDS alumni FUNERAL MIST and MALIGN. Crime and chaos followed mainman Belfagor everywhere he went, and the band's momentum remained halted. But that EP was reissued in 2005, just as Belfagor was putting together a new lineup to at last record OFERMOD's long-awaited debut album, the news of which he revealed in a couple interviews during that time. Mind you, this was back when information about black met
Although the lineup Belfagor had assembled featured a number of luminaries in their early stages - Moloch of Teitanblood and also then of Proclamation on vocals, and Atum of Dödfödd and Reverorum ib Malacht also on guitar - misfortune struck OFERMOD again as Belfagor went to prison in 2006 despite work on that long-rumored debut album having been done. That lineup dissolved, and when Belfagor eventually became a free man again, he recorded 2008's Tiamtü almost entirely himself, save for the vocals, which were handled by MALIGN's Nord. From there, OFERMOD would continue to release equally mighty works, but the tantalizing fruits of what was intended to be the band's full-length debut were never to be tasted…
Until now, as SHADOW RECORDS has the esteemed privilege of releasing that album, Pentagrammaton, in a suitably deluxe edition: the original recording featuring Moloch on vocals, and then a second recording featuring Belfagor on vocals. Momentous to say the very least, Pentagrammaton contains all the gnarly-yet-graceful black metal glory OFERMOD perfected so early on, here distilled to arguably its most potent essence. It's everything you'd expect from the band's long-rumored long-form debut, and yet so much more…the obsidian gleam is almost too much to behold. Then and now, OFERMOD are eternal.
And as tempting/interesting as it'd be to speculate how the black metal scene would've been affected had OFERMOD released Pentagrammaton when they originally intended, allow these words from Belfagor to be the final punctuation on the matter:
Pentagrammaton was recorded under miserable conditions in genuine affliction, torment and chaos above all in Necromorbus Studio anno 2005. Mixed and mastered originally & remixed and remastered in 2020 by Tore Stjerna. Track 3 written by Atum. Track 7 written by Chivah. All other tracks written by Belfagor. All lyrics written by Belfagor, except "Unfolding Paradox in Final Redemption" which was written by Moloch.

Pentagrammaton is released in honor of Belial as a product of Shadow Records in 2020, 15 years after it was recorded