First and most obvious question: Why did Ofermod re-form, and how did
this new, bolstered lineup come to pass?

My withdrawal from the scene was never permanent, merely a re-focusing of
the mind, not to stare myself blind with hatered upon something that in the
big picture is futile anyway. Ofermod has during all this time been alive in
my mind, but I had to create a distance between myself and this wretched
whore of a black/death metal scene, mostly not to distrurb my devotion to
the occult sciences. Today I am balanced enough to dedicate myself
wholeheartedly to the magnum opus of my religion and to the formation of the
coming magnum opus of Ofermod, Pentagrammaton, a manifestation of and a
channel for this religion. the new lineup was hand picked from amongst the
most fanatic, religious followers or the principle of the radiant darkness,
all withdrawn into Naught, of anient esoteric tradition, and thus must never
be seen upon as ordinary musicians coming together to perform ordinary music
for ordinary people. We are brothers in spirit, preaching the death of
ordinary people. This is one of the very foundations of Ofermod.

No patch on the early 7", but the new songs stand even taller, more
ominously - and 'Rape the World' is just utterly classic, this midtempo
march a direction I'd love to see Ofermod explore. What sorts of aesthetic
goals did you have for the two new songs, then?

We always aim for our material to be better than anything else, and are
thus very careful not to be consciously influenced by any other band. Rape
the world, on the other hand, is indeed a conscious effort to be a musical
reflection of the earlier days of Black metal, and is a symbolic way for us
to piss and shit in the face of todays scene. But, it is a musical direction
we will not be exploring more at the moment. The material for our coming
fullength album is more in the vein of Khabs am Pekht, but the tempo
throughout the album will be quite varied. Still, everything fits together
perfectly. It doesn't get boring like everything else tends to get after a
while. Before composing, I put myself into a trance-like and recieving state
of mind through which the upper or inner world manifests reflections of the
various emanations of divinity, unbeing, Chaos, Ain soph Aur. Thus, the
music I create becomes a channel for the inner and outer hidden, ancient and
powerful forces we have aligned ourselves with.

Likewise, would you perhaps say that these new songs are a clearer, more
powerful vision of what you want(ed) Ofermod to be?

Well, Khabs am Pekht is a perfect continuation of the unique sound of
Ofermod, and quite ominous of how Pentagrammaton will sound. It is this
atmosphere we are chasing when we compose, though the material will not be
musically identical, there is an occult presence manifesting itself
throughout the entirety of the material for the coming album. Rape the World
is also blessed with a very special feeling, but in another way, being
musically quite untypical material for Ofermod. Lyrically these two new
songs on the MCD are both quite representative of the Direction towards
which we are stering the reincarnated and spiritually elevated Ofermod.

Obviously, the inclusion of the 7" songs on the MCD are both b/c of the
demand over the years but also to chart where Ofermod has come from
aesthetically. In the years that followed, curiously these two songs had
something of an effect on underground black metal, particularly in your
home country; for example, the considerable likes of Malign, Watain,
Ondskapt, and even Funeral Mist later on showed shades of Ofermod. Do you
ever take stock of the influence these two songs had, even arguably on
Deathspell Omega's most-recent work?

I do recognize the influence Ofermod has had on the bands you mentioned,
and I am honoured, especially as bands such as Watain and Ondskapt etc. are
our brothers in spirit in the organized terror we will bring upon the so
called black and death metal scene in order to reinstall the code of the
original cult. Mark my words, we have gathered around enough cold blooded
murderers for a smaller army, and still our cult keeps constantly growing,
not only here in Sweden and Euorupe but all over the world. Also, we are
determined to make orthodox black and death metal expand, indeed, to force
ourselves out of this trap called the underground. I am tired of having to
sell heroine for money, when I just as well could earn my living through my
music, and, what is more important, present our evangelium to larger masses
of people.

To that end, those just-named bands are amongst the religious ranks, so
the reasoning would go that Ofermod similarly wielded influence
religiously/spiritually on the UGBM ranks. Regardless, your thoughts on this
sub-sect both within Sweden and abroad: a vital movement, or just another
mini-trend?

It is true that we were pioneers in creating a black and death metal cult
that is fundamentally religious. The cult of today is filled with fanatic
bands who deserves support and respect; Katharsis, Teitan Blood,
Proclamation, Deathspell Omega, Ondskapt, Watain and Malign, just to mention
a few. I seldomly listen to other bands from Sweden although I like their
music. But there is something special with bands such as Teitan Blood from
Spain, Necros Christos from Germany and ofcourse I am enraptured by
Deathspell Omega. Aside from Ofermod they are probably the best band around.
Every release by Norma Evangelium Diaboli is worth checking out. They truly
possess the virtue of discrimination, because so far they have not released
anything even half shitty. Just look at albums like Salvation by Funeral
Mist. The sheer energy and devotion it breathes awe inspiring. NED feels
like the only existing label worthy of releasing the material of Ofermod,
and being also big enough to gratify our needs as band and as a religious
phenomenon, sharing our passion for the cult there simply is no other option
for us from a strictly spiritual point of view.

Following that, what would you say the (current) relation between
Ofermod's message vs. medium is? Is one more important than the other? Or is
a strong medium required to give weight/depth to already-strong messages?

One cannot release something half-assed and expect people to swollow what
one has to say. Your taken more seriously if you have the capasity to put
your soul into your compositions. In our case, strong ideals walk hand in
hand with strong music, as it should be with every serious death metal band.
But it feels like within the so called underground every literable
motherfucker with a distorted guitar gets attention, and this is wrong. Only
the best deserves to survive, the rest should be killed immediatly. Instead
these worthless bastards are rewarded with record deals and thus enabled to
spread their shit and pollute the whole scene. The ones who should die first
are the record companies supporting these clowns.

So, what are your thoughts on 'preaching to the converted' (BM fanatics)
vs. reaching out to non-BM folks, much like Arkhon Infaustus and Watain have
recently? Meaning, do you hope to inspire intense reactions within a select
few, or spread your propaganda to a greater mass regardless of how they'll
potentially process it?

We want our evangelium to be spread as widely as possible, for those who
already are devoted worshippers of Pralaya, utter spiritual death, and
practical occultists need no preaching in their lives. We wish to be a
source of inspiration to those who already follow the code of our cult, and
a machinery of propaganda for everyone else to submit to. Ofcourse we are
interested in selling albums, but never our souls and integrity. If people
are scared away by our propaganda, then so be it. We really don't give a
fuck! Death metal and Death worship walk hand in hand. If people have a hard
time accepting this, they stay the fuck away from death metal bands such as
Ofermod.

Lastly, infrequent monuments or no, where can the Ofermod sound go next?

Whatever our sound may develope into in the future, one can always be
certain that one is listening to Ofermod. We have a sound that is our own,
and as much as bands try to copy this unique sound, they will never come
even close to obtaining the dignity we have reached with our art. Our music
is the heartbeat of Death.

/Michayah of the Holy Union

Below were answered after the questions above.

Why the shift from the demi-tag of 'Orthodox Black Metal' to 'Orthodox
Death Metal'?

Atum — Because we worship Death. The pure and total, existent beyond all we know
and may as humans ever know, the Death of the radiant Darkness from beyond
the creation and yet uncreated. We bow down before this the highest aspect
of our lord whom we seek to enter; the naught that is totally existent in
pure non-existence, the No-thing that eventually will withdraw all and
everything into himself, leave place for nothing but itself, that is not.
Life won't be anymore, even Death as we know him will exit the creation by
his own suicide - that is the killing of all life and sources of life and
worlds wherein life may dwell.
Are we supposed to attribute a name to a divinity of such an infinite
perfection? We don't and have therefore decided to create a new genre, not
to defile the Cult of Satan from which we've evolved that is Black metal. In
other words, it's a decision with humble respect to our roots and our
destiny. A correct description of our art dedicated our God; Orthodox Death
Metal.

Explain the importance of drugs in the context of Ofermod, and why we
should never stop the Madness.

Michayah — Drugs are not important for Ofermod as a band, but I personally have had my
share of all kinds of drugs throughout the years. Today I limit my use of
drugs to recreational purposes only, but in the past I used Heroine on a
daily basis, and can but recommend everyone to embrace this lifestyle
wholeheartedly for atleast some years. It is not only educational about the
human nature, but also a process that hardens the individual, with all the
violence and misery one has to face each and every day. If you want a
shortcut to the bliss of your personal paradise, make Smack your mistress,
and with every fix this is upon you. It is not madness but logic! The adept
has to experience as many perversities and vices as possible before he can
call himself a true adept. Even Frater Perdurabo gave this advice to his
disciples.

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