Ofermod

Taking their name from the archaic Swedish word for "bravado," Ofermod were formed in 1996 by vocalist Jonas Tengner (aka Nebiros, Nord, etc.) and guitarist/bassist/drummer Mika Hakola (aka Michayah, Belfagor, etc.), but would spend the next decade mostly haunting the edges of the Scandinavian black metal scene like some kind of bashful phantom. In 1998, the duo unleashed a single entitled "Mystérion Tés Anomias"; in 2004 came a two-song demo, "Netivah Ha-Chokmah"; and a year later, an EP also called Mystérion Tés Anomias arrived, which in fact merely compiled Ofermod's hardly staggering four-song oeuvre from the previous ten years. And any hopes that the group might soon record more of its intentionally crusty black metal (akin to bands like Watain, Dark Funeral, and Gorgoroth) were dashed in March 2006, when Michayah was sent to prison on assault and robbery charges. If nothing else, though, his incarceration seemed to bring some motivation to Ofermod upon his release, as the duo (who had worked with numerous session accompanists over the years) finally got to work on, and delivered, a full-length album named simply Tiamtü. Released exclusively on cassette in 2008 through Satanic Propaganda Records, it was later reissued on CD by Southern Lord.