His deep occult knowledge, a profound magical education and a wide range of spiritual experiences qualify him as a competent lyricist in the field of Sitra Ahra, goetic magic and the Draconian Path in general - not only for Ofermod and Nefandus. Belfagor has also written lyrics for Funeral Mist, Marduk and Watain, among others.

Due to his criminal past, Belfagor is not without controversy and even today there are various rumours circulating about the cancellation of live shows in 2024.  We have given him the opportunity to comment on the current or past allegations - but we emphasise that our focus is primarily on him as an adept of the Draconian Path and not on a past that he has renounced anyway.

Therefore, this very comprehensive and extensive, three-part interview revolves around the dark, occult concepts behind the lyrics of Ofermod, the spiritual development of Belfagor and his membership in Dragon Rouge.

UG: You are currently busy recording the new Ofermod album. Is everything going as you had planned - and when can we expect the new opus? 

B: Yes, we are currently working on a full length album that will be entitled "Drakosophia" with nine songs making the album over a 50 minutes long experience of sonic sorcery bound to the draconian path. I don't know when we will be ready to release the new album. 

This far the guitars and drums are recorded. The drums were recorded in Austria by insanely talented percussionist Florian Musil, while the guitars were recorded in the Endarker Studio here in Norrköping, Sweden. The bass guitar will once again be performed by our producer Magnus Devo Andersson, who for a very long time played the bass in Marduk but decided to retire from that duty for about a year ago and focus wholeheartedly on his role as producer. 

Our vocalist Nebiros stopped answering to mail from both myself and our record label, so we decided to take in a man with both the voice, covered with graveyard dirt and being otherworldly as if a howling Shugal demon at night haunting you with its gruesome presence. Adeptus is the name of our new vocalist, a man whom I have correspondent with for about a decade, sharing magical experiences as well as scriptures that are not meant for other eyes other than the ones trusted by the authors. From the beginning he was a big fan of Ofermod but our relationship grew into a profound friendship and a spiritual brotherhood unlike any other, despite the long distance between the two of us. We have many common friends and allies within the Left Hand Path movement and satanism so we know exactly where we have each other. He is preparing like a true professional to the task at hand to enter the studio in the beginning of July and record the vocals. While we talk over the phone with each other he sits with pen and paper and takes notes of what I want for the album. Something like that would never happen with Nebiros, not to talk down on him, but he is more occupied by spending quality time with his family than with the demons of the Goetia, and we need this latter for Ofermod. Someone who is inhuman and has the voice of Pelle Dead and old Nocturno Culto combined, that ghoulish and ugly voice that comes from the stomach instead of the Donald Duck voice that is seated in the throat. The first time I heard a demo of Adeptus singing it blew me away to an isolated desert where only rabies diseased Coyotes roam in packs, looking for a prey, and then the demon that is Adeptus as the leader of the pack, but not quite animal and definitely not human, but a being of the Night dwelling in the wilderness of the pitch black desert among the blood thirsty animals.

UG: Will the new album be released via Odium Records?

B: No, the album will not be released by Odium Records, who only did a split album with Ofermod, Black Altar and Acherontas. Usually I say no to every kind of project where we are supposed to appear on the same album with other bands, but having been in contact with Dariusz for many years, and having known Niko of Acherontas also for at least a decade, I was convinced into participating on the split album "Drakonian Elitism" that was released by Odium Records. I did the vocals myself on this release, and to be honest, I regret not having Nebiros on the material as I am far from happy with how my voice has deteriorated over the years because I have not rehearsed my vocals at all since 2014 when I sang on the album "Reality Cleaver" by Nefandus. The coming Ofermod album will once again be released by Shadow Records and Regain Records as a cooperation like almost all of our releases have been during the past ten years or so. I am very happy with how our cooperation works with them so I have no intention of looking for another label for Ofermod. I have artistic freedom and am in constant contact with Regain Records' boss Perry, both concerning personal matters as well as professional matters, so Ofermod stay loyal to the union of the two labels who take care of the business side of the band. It used to be Marcus Tena of Shadow Records who had to act as my personal therapist haha, but nowadays I have contact with Per Gyllebäck of Regain Records several times a week. We are like a family of creators of Orthodox Black Metal and our bonds are strong after so many years of collaboration. 

UG: Have any Dragon Rouge members or other individuals from the LHP scene contributed lyrics to the upcoming album "Drakosophia"? 

B: As on the previous full length "Mysterium Iniquitatis" I have had individuals from the occult movement contributing with ca. half of the lyrics this time, with mostly high ranking members of the Ordo Draconis lending us their pens, but also known figures such as occult author and artist Edgar Kerval from Colombia and the devout Witch Niundi from the USA, who is initiated into the mysteries of the ancient Norse traditions but is well versed in draconian tradition also, as well as a satanic adept from the USA named Naldo Martinez. All three of them appeared on our previous album as well. The Ordo Draconis adepts who have contributed with written material this time are founder and Head of the Order Thomas Karlsson who also wrote a lyric for our latest album, and Master of the Temple in Hellas Greece, Yiannis Kteis, who also plays in Serpent Noir, and Master of the Temple in Stockholm Sweden, Johannes Kvarnbrink, who is active with his band Mortuus but is known also as a former member of Ofermod. 

UG: How did the collaboration with Odium Records and Black Altar come about - and how did the work proceed on a musical level? After all, you had the opportunity to perform together at Braincrusher Fest this year. 

B: Dariusz of Odium Records and I used to write to each other about all sorts of things, like the latest gossip within the Black Metal underground and after many years of writing with him I finally got to hear his band Black Altar with Lars Broddeson on the drums, and he played the drums on Ofermod's album "Thaumiel" back in 2012 when he also played in Marduk, so I was impressed with the video that Black Altar released on YouTube, so when he started talking about a split album I was very pessimistic about the idea of sharing an album with other bands no matter how much I liked the bands. But after some time, I don't want to use the word nagging, but prep talking about the project he finally managed to convince me to participate on the album. 

Musically I did all the guitar work and vocals this time, the bass guitar was handed by Devo Andersson as usual, and the drummer was borrowed from Polish Death Metal legends Vader. I just can't remember the name of the guy because we were not in contact with each other during the recording process but everything was handled by Dariusz and Devo. 

Musically I am most satisfied with the song "Agios Ischyros Belial" which is an intensive Death Metal inspired track with some and heavier parts as well. I wanted to show some variety in my capacity as a composer from the other material that we have released recently, and I think that I managed to do that. The last song of our part of the split "... Levitation" was musically a cooperation with Azazel.
 

UG: Unfortunately, you had to cancel the South American tour with Black Altar in April 2024 for health reasons - and regrettably all other gigs this year were also cancelled. There is some wild speculation about this, but what is the actual reason for Ofermod not playing live? 

B: The reason for the South American tour being cancelled was because I became suddenly sick with high fever and thus couldn't go through with the kind of bodily and mental work it is to travel so far, not to mention performing on stage in that condition. I can guess that the maggots like to speculate and create gossip to fill their empty lives with some sort of meaning by living through individuals like me when they have nothing of worth to fill their own existence with! *laughs* That is typical pašu behaviour while the spiritual man's life is filled with more worthy ways to spend it than living through idols or enemies. After seeing the footage from the gig in Germany I decided that I don't want to spill my energy reservoirs in vain, because I have a medical condition which I will keep to myself for now, upon hearing how my voice has deteriorated since I last could rehearse on a regular basis and thus record and album like "Reality Cleaver" by Nefandus on which my voice is very ugly and slimy and grotesque, the way a Black Metal voice is supposed to be, while I couldn't achieve such greatness at all at the Braincrusher festival, and I am an absolute perfectionist, so that if I dedicate myself to something I also expect the results to be awe inspiring. This is something that I am not able to live up to in my current state and condition, thus I will not perform live until I have reached the physical ability to achieve perfection with my voice again. If this never comes to be, then so be it. In that case my career as a live artist is over, which is nothing I feel bitter about since I am quite a misanthropic being, so crowds of drunken Metalheads annoy me. 

I have been blessed to have experienced worthy live ceremonial magic with Ofermod years ago so I don't shed tears if I never again perform live with the band. Besides, as I am not the real vocalist of the band on most of our albums it feels a little bit like being on stage with a cover band when I don't do the same thing as on our recorded sorcery. I feel more at home playing the guitar on stage than being the front man and doing the vocals on songs that are carried by Nebiros on our releases to the heights of the qliphotic spheres that they represent, even though I sing on a couple of our releases. But even though I would, hypothetically, want to play the guitar on stage, I still have the mentioned physical condition to get treated before such a wish could be made into reality. So let the bugs speculate. They dwell in a pile of shit most of their lives, so let them have the pleasure of gossiping while circulating around the excrements that are their altar of existential worth.

UG: Playing orthodox black metal means much more to you than being on stage in front of an enthusiastic audience and sharing your passion for music. And unlike many BM musicians, your dedication to the dark arts doesn't end at the end of a show, but remains a fundamental part of your life. 

But how do you deal with the fact that many metalheads don't understand the intention behind Ofermod's music and just want to get drunk and have fun with their friends?

B: That's why I almost always have gone back to the hotel long before the festival or concert we have performed at has been over, to avoid getting into fights and what not with the kind of people who don't see it as a sacred act of worship when we stand on stage, but are only there to mingle and enjoy good music without a deeper understanding of what we represent with our art. I have been in too many fights, beating people up at the venues in the past, so I learned to retire from the public spaces to the more private parties together with other artists with similar personalities as myself, with whom I feel like being one closed satanic family. Like when LSK, or Marianne as her real name was, still was alive and on tour together with Ofermod with one of her less known bands, and we did ritual work in communion with Lucifer while the rest of the band members were busy partying. I won't claim that we behaved like monastery members during the entire tour as we had wild times with the rest of the company during that two weeks long tour of Germany for ca 15 years ago, but we isolated ourselves from the rest of the group of musicians every now and then to devote our time and energy to spiritual matters. That is what the entire old line up of Ofermod did often when playing live, if doing nothing else than a 20-minute Kundalini working before going up on stage, at least some of us would engage ourselves in such practices, just like we do at home or in an official temple but for a longer time than what is possible to do when being out performing with the band. While the other bands put on their mascara we meditated, using different esoteric methods that we carry with us as initiates of the Left Hand Path. And putting on the demonic paint as well as pouring the chilling oxe blood over our heads was part of the ritualistic pattern of who and what we are. But as serious as we were with our sonic sorcery, as wild and fun loving could we be in the right company after a finished live ceremony. 

It's a matter of keeping a balance between the serious and the party side of performing Orthodox Black Metal for audiences in a scene where most people are in a mindset of getting drunk and having a jolly good time in a crowd of likeminded insects in the eyes of the true satanist. Balance is key. 

UG: You and Shadow have more in common than just a devotion to orthodox BM. You also share an interest in the Draconian Current - even if your spiritual paths are related to different manifestations of this current. 

Does your co-operation extend into these spiritual realms or is it just limited to music? 

B: We occasionally talk about and share with each other articles and other literature concerning the draconian tradition and the various currents that exist in the Left Hand Path movement of today, and we work with the same adepts in various ways when it comes to our individual paths or world views when all this occult sacred work manifests in our correspondence with each other. Otherwise we are consumed by all the details that doing this kind of unholy art for a living means workwise, so we talk much about mundane stuff that enables the spiritual stuff to occur with each other. We have never done ritual work in a private setting with each other yet though.

UG: Now let's talk about the topics that relate to your experiences regarding Dark Arts as well as LHP teachings and practices. However, I would like to start with the story of how it all began...

At what age did you have the very first impulse to start dealing with the dark, satanic or qliphotic energies and entities? Was there a particular paranormal or spiritual experience in your childhood or youth - or was it rather an inexplicable fascination with the dark/satanic? 

B: I was five years of age, or maybe a little younger, when I had a memory, a lucid dream, of how I died in my former life as a young Finnish soldier in the winter war when Russia tried to invade Finland. I died of a Russian grenade exploding behind me, to my left, while I was shooting down enemy soldiers with my machine gun. I didn't obey orders and stay hidden until a better chance for victory against the troops walking our way in the wintery forest landscape, but yelled "let's go out to die brothers!" and stood up and started shooting. I was too young to know that there had been such a war in my parent's homeland. This was my first experience out of the ordinary. And the apartment we lived in when I was a little kid was haunted. We learned from an old lady who came and told my mother, that her husband had drowned in the bathtub. We often heard banging noises from the bathtub and steps from the narrow hallway that lead to my room. I felt a female presence at that age also, which I started to call "noita", which means Witch in Finnish. But I was about twelve or thirteen when I started to worship the Devil and offering my blood as a sacrificial gesture while summoning Him in the mirror in the pitch-black bathroom. That was when I bought a copy of the Necronomicon and LaVey's Satanic Bible and were inspired by the rituals in these books to create my own primitive ways to contact and invoke the presence of the Devil. I might add that I changed from listening to Metallica, Testament, Sepultura and Kreator to being mesmerized by the debut album of Deicide, the first two albums of Morbid Angel and just a short while after that a mysterious band that I heard on a local radio show called Power Hour. They played a song entitled "Freezing Moon" by a Norwegian band called Mayhem. I was swept away by the birth of the second wave of Black Metal as it resonated with my belief in the Devil as my Lord. I had drawn 666 in every school book that I had ever since I was seven and influenced by Iron Maiden and other Heavy Metal bands, but it was at the age of twelve that I cut myself for the first time to form an inverted cross on my arm, or I actually both burned and cut it into my flesh. I studied Christian theology as a teenager while forming a common religious foundation with my closest friend Peter Ståhl who is active nowadays with the Nordic ambient project Leidungr of which I was a member in the beginning of the project but am no longer part of it. Peter was the first close friend of mine who also said proudly that he was a satanist back in the day when I got to know him. He was from a neighbouring city called Linköping and we spent many days at each other's homes when I was 16 and he 21, and we did rituals of Devil worship together, isolated from the rest of the crowd we hung around with when it was time to party and take part of criminal activities of all kinds. 

If I told openly about the ceremonial work that often lead to pure psychodrama with blood everywhere, I would be considered a madman, so I will keep the details to myself. 

UG: How did this spiritual development continue after you became an adult? Did you feel ready to join a magical group at this age?

B: I got involved in more organized Devil worship at the age of 18 when I was presented to a crowd of likeminded individuals from Stockholm. We had an Order with the main focus to worship the Devil and a more hidden agenda as well which won't be talked about here nor anywhere else, but in addition to the satanic religious dogma which was mostly put into written word by myself we also experimented with certain occult methods to gain satanic gnosis as we viewed it back in those days. I still consider everyone involved in the Order, Ordo Tartari Germanitas, to be brothers of mine, although but a few of them do I talk to every now and then. I received the "Book of Lies" by Crowley as a birthday present from one of my satanic brothers when I turned 18, and I must confess that I understood very little of its contents back then haha! 

When I was about twenty I started to study and practice the Western Esoteric Tradition as it was taught by books of the hermetic adepts of the nineteen hundreds, and for about three years I even refused to call myself a satanist because of my hatred towards the kind of people the satanic movement was a magnet to, but I reclaimed the title more proudly than ever later on. 

I was 29 or 30 when I was introduced to the draconian tradition through the written word of Thomas Karlsson, and I received a vision during deep meditation of Lilith calling me home. I contacted Thomas by borrowing the computer at a friend's place and so began a year long correspondence between brother Thomas and me before I finally was permitted as a member into the ranks of Dragon Rouge. I started working with the initiatory system of the Order fanatically immediately and before I knew it I had not one but three personal mentors taking care of my development as a draconian adept. Today it was a while ago since I was officially a member, but I still work closely with high ranking adepts of the Order.

UG: Do you believe that Satan, Lucifer and the devil are one and the same entity, different aspects of an adversarial force, or do you consider them to be various, specific beings?

B: They are various specific entities. Satan is the counterpart of Moloch in Thaumiel. Satan works as a challenging spirit to those who ascend the Tree of Knowledge. Moloch is the God of initiation and rebirth as a newborn child into the apotheosis that lies beyond the furnace mouth of Moloch through which the adept, or evolved Nightside being, is born as a Creator instead of being a creation of a higher power. He/she dwells thus in a paradise of his/her own design after passing through the furnace of Moloch, thus burning away all that he/she was before this spiritual rebirth that takes place in a distant future after the Nightside being has experienced many different dimensions and levels of existing on the shadow side of the Tree of Life, which is God the cosmic Creator's side of the coin, so to speak. 

Lucifer is seated in the centre of Thaumiel and it is through opening of His Eye that all cosmic illusions are destroyed. 

I can mean different entities of the qliphotic labyrinthine underworld by using the word Devil. It can mean Belial as it can mean Lucifer or Satan, or Samael or even Lilith, and in one way they are all One being but still with different personalities and functions, but they are all aspects of the Great Dragon of Chaos, which was the Thoughtless Light of the Primordial Waters of No-Thing before God broke the peaceful subsistence of the Black Formlesss Dragon of Chaos, that in the qliphoth appears as the Great Red Dragon which is no longer completely Formlesss and Void, but my Lord, King and God to quote loosely one of the lyrics of the coming Ofermod album.

The whole interview was conducted by Belfagor for Ofermod and Aen Vessah for Undergrounded and is part one of a three pieces interview.

More information can be found here:
www.facebook.com/OfermodOfficial
https://ofermodsom.bandcamp.com/album/tiamt