Rephormula - Background

Background

Ephel Duath was formed in Padova, Veneto, in February 1998, initially as a studio project, by the duo of Davide Tiso (vocals, guitar, keyboards) and Giuliano Mogicato (vocals, guitar, bass). The project debuted in October that same year with the demo Opera. This recording sold over 1,000 copies and topped MP3.com's heavy metal charts with over 20,000 free downloads, which drew attention of the newly-founded Italian label Code666 who signed the band in late 1999. The duo recorded and mixed the album at Fear Studio in Ravenna, Italy. Phormula was released in May 2000 and was well-received by critics, who generally praised the creativity of musicians as well as their experimental combination of electronic music and extreme metal. However, this success did not prevent the departure of Giuliano Mogicato in June 2001. In a 2008 interview with Avantgarde-metal.com, Davide Tiso discussed the departure of Mogicato:

We have been a great communion for a lot of years, but after the Phormula recording session, my bandmate Giuliano became completely confused regarding the Ephel Duath’s future. He wanted to move the new sound to some "anti-metal" form; Ephel Duath in his conception would be an instrumental band with percussion, cello and others acoustic instruments. I preferred to continue alone, because I thought he would destroy the spirit of the band.

Later in 2001, the Code7 agency (a division of the Code666 label) sent the band to sign a four-album deal with Elitist Records, a sub-label of Earache Records. In early 2002, Earache/Elitist decided to re-release Phormula, adding two remixed songs and a sampling of Ephel Duath's original demo, 1998's Opera, as bonus tracks, and changed the title to Rephormula.