Formed in Umeå, Sweden in 1995, Bewitched had one goal: to bring metal back to its raw, aggressive roots. Founded by Vargher and Blackheim, and soon joined by Reaper and Wrathyr, the band first made its mark with the Hellspell demo before recording their debut album, Diabolical Desecration, released in 1996 by Osmose Productions.
Extensive touring across Europe followed, cementing Bewitched’s reputation as a relentless live force. Over the next decade, they forged an uncompromising discography spanning five full-length albums – Pentagram Prayer (1997), At the Gates of Hell (1999), Rise of the Antichrist (2002), and Spiritual Warfare (2006) – alongside EPs and live releases, before falling silent.
That silence, it turns out, was only temporary.
In the 2020s, Bewitched returned to the stage with a ferocity that made clear the years away had only sharpened the blade. From headlining shows in Colombia to laying siege to the Balkans, from storming European festival stages to a mini-tour across Brazil, the Hellcult has made its presence felt from the frostbitten heartland of Scandinavia to the blazing stages of South America — and shows no sign of slowing down.
Driven by founding member Vargher on guitars and vocals and the ever-devoted Wrathyr on bass, Bewitched today also count Hellfire on guitar and Zoidor behind the drums among their ranks. Thirty years in, they carry every one of those years into each performance.
