Biography

Averse Sefira was formed in 1996 by guitarist and vocalist Sanguine Mapsama and bassist Wrath Sathariel Diabolus. Their demo, Blasphomet Sin Abset, was released later that year. It featured a drum machine in lieu of a live drummer. Three years later, in 1999, their first full-length album, which was entitled Homecomings March, was released on Arrogare Records, their own label which was created specifically for the purpose of releasing that album. Again, the band had to make use of a drum machine instead of a real drummer. It was in some ways the band's most strictly black metal release, the album lacked the chaotic death-metal influence of their later works, and was almost entirely a melodic mid-paced affair, in a style similar to Mayhem

Mayhem (band)

Mayhem is a Norwegian black metal band formed in 1984 in Oslo, Norway and regarded as one of the pioneers of the influential Norwegian black metal scene...

's De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas

De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas

De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas is an album by Norwegian black metal band Mayhem. Songwriting began as early as 1987, but due to the suicide of vocalist Dead and murder of guitarist Euronymous , the album's release was delayed until May 1994...

or early Gorgoroth

Gorgoroth

Gorgoroth is a Norwegian black metal band based in Bergen. Formed in 1992 by Infernus , the band is named after the dead plateau of evil and darkness in the land of Mordor from J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. The group is currently signed to Regain Records and have released...

. Homecomings March is also noted for its ambient interludes, known as "aversions", in between each track, which were composed by "Lady of the Evening Faces". Some fans consider these to be one of the album's strengths, while others consider the material to be intrusive. A remastered version of the album was released in 2003, with the interludes as separate tracks.

2001 had the band releasing a second album, Battle's Clarion. For this album, the band, for the first time, had a live drummer, The Carcass, who was previously a member of Texas death metal band Death of Millions, and was, at one point, a touring drummer for Incantation. The music on this album took on a profound death metal influence, at times reminiscent of early Deicide

Deicide (band)

Deicide is an American death metal band formed in 1987. Their first two albums, Deicide and Legion, are ranked second and third place in best-selling death metal albums of the SoundScan era.-As Amon/Carnage :...

 or Morbid Angel

Morbid Angel

Morbid Angel is an American death metal band based in Tampa, Florida. UK music magazine Terrorizer ranked one Morbid Angel album in its “Top 40 greatest death metal albums”, with their 1989 debut Altars of Madness appearing at number 1...

, but was still easily identifiable as black metal - the imagery and emotions evoked by the songs pertained to epic battle, rather than the savagery and chaotic lawlessness of death metal. The aversions were shorter and more integrated into the actual songs on this album, an improvement which fans greatly appreciated.

After Battle's Clarion, the band toured internationally for a few years intermittently, both with well-known bands such as Dark Funeral

Dark Funeral

Dark Funeral is a black metal band from Stockholm, Sweden, founded by guitarists Blackmoon and Lord Ahriman in 1993. They are one of the bands to have emerged in Sweden during the Second wave of black metal....

 and underground acts such as
Antaeus

Antaeus (band)

Antaeus is a French black metal band formed in 1993 offering eerie ambient and chaotic black metal.The group's slogan is "Anti God, Anti Music, Anti You". Their debut album, Cut Your Flesh and Worship Satan, was a collection of re-recorded demo tracks...

 and Watain

Watain

Watain is a Swedish black metal band from Uppsala, formed in 1998. The band's name is taken from a recording by the American black metal group Von.- History :...

. The band quickly gained a reputation for putting on a fierce live show and gained followings in Europe and South America, particularly in Brazil.

Four years after Battle's Clarion, in 2005, the band returned to the studio to record their third full-length album, Tetragrammatical Astygmata. For the first time, the band had a powerful production, provided by Necromorbus Studio; the sound was powerful and, while far from sterile, incredibly clear. This album saw the band continuing both in the more sonorous direction employed on Homecomings March and the chaotic direction first seen on Battle's Clarion; extremely chaotic moments were tempered with sonorous riffs that lent the band both an impressive range of dynamics and space for contemplation amongst a chaotic, feral setting. A newly found sense of harmonics, similar to Immortal

Immortal (band)

Immortal is a black metal band from Bergen, Norway, founded in 1990 by current frontman/guitarist Abbath Doom Occulta and former guitarist Demonaz Doom Occulta...

's Pure Holocaust

Pure Holocaust

-Personnel:*Demonaz Doom Occulta – guitars*Abbath Doom Occulta – bass, drums, vocals*Grim is credited for drums on the album and appears on the cover, however drums were played by Abbath.-External links:* * *...

, aided in the creation of the band's sound as well as connecting it to the contemplative moments and consequently allowing them to reflect on the chaos, rather than seeming like disjointed and irrelevant sentimental moments in otherwise raging pieces. Interludes on this album were more limited than on any prior work, occasionally making a brief appearance to connect two songs.

Advent Parallax was issued on February 25 by Candlelight Records. And again it was produced by Tore Stjerna

Tore Stjerna

Tore Gunnar Stjerna has played guitar and drums in the following bands; Watain, Chaos Omen, Corpus Christii, Funeral Mist , Ofermod, Zavorash, Desolation, In Aeternum . He is also a producer who owns Necromorbus Studio....

 (Necromorbus).

Studio releases

• Homecomings March - (1999)
• Battle's Clarion - (2001)
• Tetragrammatical Astygmata
  Tetragrammatical Astygmata
  "Tetragrammatical Astygmata" is the third full-length studio release from the Austin-based black metal band Averse Sefira. It was the last of their albums to be released on an independent metal label; in 2006, the band would jump to Candlelight and release their label debut in 2008...
  
  - (2005)
• Advent Parallax
  Advent Parallax
  Advent Parallax is the fourth full-length studio album released by American black metal band Averse Sefira. It was released in 2008 on Candelight Records, with a vinyl pressing by independent label The Ajna Offensive...
  
  - (2008)

Live and compilation releases

• A Union in Blood - Live in Bordeaux [Live] - (2003)
• Bestien in Engelgestalt [split w/ Secrets of the Moon] - (2003)

Demos and bootlegs

• Blasphomet Sin Abset [Demo] - (1996)
• Promotional Demo 1999 [Demo] - (1999)

Current members

• Sanguine Mapsama - Guitar, Vocals
• Wrath Sathariel Diabolus - Bass, Backing Vocals
• The Carcass - Drums
• Lady of the Evening Faces - Interludes and Effects

External links

• Official site
• Interview by A.N.U.S.
• Averse Sefira at Discogs
  Discogs
  Discogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...