Parakletos: Offerlammets Makt (Remastered Edition) | Bringing An Old Album Back To Life
(2024 – Old Skull Records)
It’s always a welcome sight when material is brought back into the spotlight through remastering and reissues. This is the case with Parakletos and their debut album, “Offerlammets Makt,” which was originally released in 2004 by Rivel Records and, naturally, went out of print after so many years. Now, however, this great work of Christian-themed Black Metal—the debut album by the Finnish band Parakletos—is available once again. The band, which had been on hiatus for a long time, is back, and their first priority is to make this album available to the public once more.
This album was recorded and released in 2004 by the two members of the project: Ljungeld (pseudonym of Niclas Buss) and Smaelek (pseudonym of Emil Jahn Christian Stenros). Both handled the recording of all instruments and vocals, as well as the production. It was, so to speak, an independent production, supported at the time by Rivel Records.
“Offerlammets Makt” places Parakletos firmly in the realm of melodic and symphonic Black Metal, with a masterful use of dark, classical orchestrations that lend the music a melancholic, furious, and meditative atmosphere—all at the same time.
The first thing we hear is a sort of instrumental introduction, with a keyboard setting the tone for what Parakletos is about to deliver. It’s the first track, “Ut I Frostnattens Mörker,” but things don’t really get going until the tremendous “Se Guds Lamm,” a fast-paced, pounding piece with a clear classical inclination in its conception, featuring background orchestration that sets the tempo. The riffs are killer and fit seamlessly into Parakletos’s sound.
Next up is “Frestelsen,” a mid-tempo track with a fiery rhythm and a highly melodic structure, accompanied by Smaelek’s classic guttural vocals, which give Parakletos a unique personality. Almost as a continuation of the rhythm, “Fader Vår” appears, a piece accompanied by a beautiful orchestral symphony.
The classical and symphonic elements are much more pronounced in “Äktenskapsbryterskan,” driven by a fast tempo and riffs that set an intense, steady rhythm. At this point, it’s abundantly clear that Parakletos’s music could easily be performed live with a philharmonic orchestra. Their classical influence comes as no surprise at this point, but its fusion with the most extreme elements of metal truly steals the show on this album.
The mood shifts completely with “Nattvarden – Herrens Måltid,” a track that opens with an intriguing string arrangement, drawing us into a song where intense guitar strumming sets the pace for a tastefully crafted, epic anthem.
“I Denna Mörka Timme” is indeed that epic, melodic section with a slow tempo and pace that the album was crying out for. The guitar arrangements are superbly crafted and set the pace for one of the album’s most significant moments. With “Skalpelsens Krona,” Parakletos returns to the attack, at the speed we’ve come to expect, but with interludes that shift the intensity at will.
With “Smärtornas Väg,” Parakletos moves closer to the well-known “Viking” style of Nordic black metal bands, with those chords that constantly rise and fall, creating that special atmosphere, while still following the classic line that characterizes the Finns. “Torbönstämman I Dödsriket” is merely an instrumental piece, featuring classical guitars that draw us into the atmosphere of what follows.
And what follows is “Uppståndelsen,” one of the most interesting moments on “Offerlammets Makt,” and one that could well serve to define, in a nutshell, what this work is all about. Its rhythm isn’t frenetic, but rather maintains the speed of the chords with precision, and its guitar riffs give it an air that’s somewhere between medieval, epic, and classical, rounding out another of the album’s great moments.
The album closes with “Den Eviga Morgonen Gryr,” a kind of melodic, captivating ballad that features a recitation or prayer accompanying an instrumental section where the orchestration contributes to the meditative and contemplative atmosphere it creates.
Since this release is actually a reissue, the album comes with a surprise: a bonus track featuring the 2018 version of the song “Se Guds Lamm,” which at this point is one of the best reasons not to lose sight (or hearing) of Parakletos, showcasing their evolution in sound over time.
Without a doubt, “Offerlammets Makt” is a good album, showcasing the first step of this project called Parakletos in a Nordic-style setting, where offerings within the realm of Extreme Metal abound. Perhaps originality isn’t their strong suit, though to be fair, we must give them their due. At the time it was recorded, material like this might not have been so accessible, although at this point in time, it’s not a huge surprise.
Nevertheless, the balance achieved between a sound centered primarily on the symphonic and classical, combined with the intense intensity of Black Metal, which adds that epic and atmospheric element to the mix, is noteworthy.
The cover of “Offerlammets Makt” features an illustration that, in a way, plunges us right into the atmosphere of the album—and the music itself. A forest, clouds, darkness, and in the background, the warm sunlight. A true emblem for those who seek parallels and explanations in album covers (we are among them!). This new edition includes a booklet with the lyrics (specifically in Swedish), which may be difficult to understand on their own since the language is not easily accessible. Nothing that can’t be fixed today with a simple translator.
The sound production is rather modest, considering this is an independent release. The result emphasizes the orchestral/symphonic elements, with the guitars taking a backseat, but even so, the concept is effectively realized. Smaelek’s vocals are a real gem; raw and distinctive enough to leave their mark on every Parakletos song and make them stand out, by the way. The idea of creating a sort of extreme symphony has taken its first step. And that, in itself, is enough.
What stands out are the songs, with their variations, shifts in atmosphere, and different facets, making “Offerlammets Makt” an album that never repeats itself, offering diverse moods and moments. Is it surprising? Well, no, but I’d make room for it in my collection of Nordic and symphonic Black Metal bands.
This release deserves a vinyl edition, but at least it has been remastered and reissued, making it available again in physical format. Below, we’ve included the band’s contact information—they’ve resumed activity and are releasing new material, by the way—and to give you a taste of what it’s like, we’ve also included the track “Se Guds Lamm” from this album….
https://www.facebook.com/parakletosofficial
https://www.instagram.com/parakletosband
