Gorgoroth

Gorgoroth performed its first concert at Lusa Lottes Pøbb in Oslo on 3 May 1994 as part of the Black Metal Nights festival. The band subsequently performed with Enslaved in Bergen and Haugesund and played its first concert outside Norway in Annaberg-Buchholz, Germany, on 10 December 1994. During 1994, the band also recorded its second album, originally titled "Død" and later released as "Antichrist".

Vocalist Hat left Gorgoroth in September 1995 but completed the vocal recordings for "Antichrist". Infernus subsequently recruited vocalist Pest from Obtained Enslavement. In December 1995, Gorgoroth supported Cradle of Filth at the London Astoria, marking the first live appearance of Pest and bassist Ares with the band. Gorgoroth signed with Malicious Records in 1995 rather than Moonfog Productions. Malicious Records released "Antichrist" in 1996 and reissued "Pentagram".

Gorgoroth toured Europe with Satyricon and Dissection in April 1996 and later performed in Bergen with Hades Almighty and Gehenna, where the live EP "The Last Tormentor" was recorded. The band also performed in Bischofswerda, Germany, with Behemoth. Gorgoroth became established within the Norwegian and European black metal underground, alongside bands such as Mayhem and Emperor. The band recorded "Under the Sign of Hell" in 1996, with guitarist Tormentor joining later that year. The album was released in 1997, followed by a European headlining tour with Mystic Circle. Later that year, Gorgoroth signed with Nuclear Blast.

The band's move to Nuclear Blast was controversial among some members of the black metal underground. Its first album for the label was "Destroyer", released in 1998. Gaahl joined the band during this period and provided vocals on the title track. Infernus wrote most of the music and lyrics, while Tormentor contributed to the title track and former vocalist Pest wrote lyrics for four songs. In May 1998, Gorgoroth performed five dates in Germany as part of Cradle of Filth's European tour, with Old Man's Child and Einherjer also appearing. The band also performed at Wacken Open Air and Tuska Open Air Metal Festival and appeared in Oslo with Gehenna and Dødheimsgard.

Gorgoroth recorded "Incipit Satan" in 1999. The album incorporated industrial, dark ambient, noise and blues influences while retaining elements of the band's black metal style. The album was primarily written by Infernus. Drummer Vrolok and bassist T-Reaper had left the band before the recording and were replaced by Erlend Erichsen, also known as Sjt. Erichsen, and King ov Hell. Erichsen left after the recording. "Incipit Satan" was released in 2000 following a European tour supporting Morbid Angel. Gorgoroth subsequently headlined a European tour with Old Man's Child and Krisiun as supporting acts and performed at the first Hole in the Sky festival in Bergen, which was held in memory of former Gorgoroth drummer Grim. On 23 June 2000, the band headlined the Knüppelnacht stage at the With Full Force festival in Leipzig.

Following concerts in Norway during 2000 and 2001, Gorgoroth performed at Milwaukee Metalfest in August 2001, its only concert in the United States. The band also undertook short tours of Mexico and Colombia. In 2001, Gorgoroth contributed a cover of Mayhem's "Life Eternal" to a tribute album. The recording featured Gaahl on vocals, Infernus and Tormentor on rhythm guitars, T-Reaper on lead guitar and bass, and Vrolok on drums. It was the only released Gorgoroth recording not to appear on a full-length studio album.

In February 2002, Gaahl was taken into custody after being accused of assaulting a man at an after-party. He was sentenced to 12 months in prison later that year in connection with the incident and a previously imposed sentence. Tormentor left Gorgoroth in 2002, citing difficulties working with King. The band subsequently recorded "Twilight of the Idols" in Bergen. The album represented a return to a more conventional black metal style, with much of the material written by King ov Hell and drummer Kvitrafn. Gorgoroth performed at Garage in Bergen in April 2003, with Tormentor returning for the concert. "Twilight of the Idols" was released in May 2003. The band also performed at the Hole in the Sky festival in August, where Apollyon of Aura Noir appeared as a session guitarist.

On 1 February 2004, Gorgoroth performed at a concert in Kraków, Poland, that was recorded for a planned DVD release. The performance included animal heads mounted on stakes, approximately 80 litres of sheep's blood, Satanic symbols and four naked performers on crosses. Polish authorities investigated the concert over allegations concerning religious offence and animal cruelty. The band was not charged after it was determined that its members were unaware that the performance violated Polish law. The concert organiser was later fined 10,000 złoty in 2007 after being found to have known about the legal issues without informing the band or intervening. The police confiscated the recorded footage, and Gorgoroth was removed from the Nuclear Blast tour. The band and Nuclear Blast subsequently ended their contract by mutual agreement.

Following tours in South America and a performance at the Inferno Festival in Norway, drummer Kvitrafn announced his departure in April 2004. Dirge Rep and guitarist Teloch were recruited for the band's European and Central American tours later that year.

In early 2005, Infernus was sentenced to three years in prison in connection with a sexual assault case stemming from an incident in 2003. He appealed the conviction. Gorgoroth continued performing in Europe, including at the With Full Force Festival, and toured with 1349 in November 2005. On 10 December 2005, the band performed in Trondheim, its final concert until 2007.

In January 2006, Infernus was acquitted of the original rape charge but convicted of grossly negligent rape and sentenced to one year in prison. His co-defendant's sentence was upheld. Gorgoroth released "Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam" in June 2006 through Regain Records. Frost performed the drum parts on the album. Shortly after its release, King temporarily left the band. The band's official website attributed his departure to difficulties concerning some ideological aspects associated with Gorgoroth. King later stated that he was dissatisfied with Infernus' contribution to the band and subsequently returned in 2007. "Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam" was nominated in the Metal category at the 35th Spellemann Awards.

Gaahl served a prison sentence from spring until December 2006 in connection with his 2002 assault conviction. Infernus served a four-month prison sentence between October 2006 and March 2007. After his release on parole, he began working on new material for a forthcoming album.

In January 2007, Norwegian police investigated statements made by Gaahl in the documentary "Metal: A Headbanger's Journey" concerning church burnings. Later that year, Gaahl's life was featured in the television series "True Norwegian Black Metal". Gorgoroth also filmed a video for "Carving a Giant", a song from "Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam". In July and August 2007, the band returned to live performances at festivals in Norway, Germany and the Czech Republic and subsequently toured South America with Belphegor. These were the final Gorgoroth concerts to feature Gaahl and King.

In October 2007, Infernus announced that Gaahl and King had left Gorgoroth. Gaahl and King disputed this account and stated that they had removed Infernus from the band. King had previously applied for a trademark relating to the Gorgoroth name. The dispute concerned control of the band's name and other matters relating to the group's activities. In March 2009, a court ruling recognised Infernus as the legitimate user of the Gorgoroth name and determined that Gaahl and King had excluded themselves from the band by attempting to remove its founding member.

Following the split, Infernus continued work on material that became "Quantos Possunt ad Satanitatem Trahunt". In December 2007, Tomas Asklund and Frank Watkins joined the band as drummer and bassist respectively. Watkins later adopted the stage name Bøddel. In 2008, Infernus relocated to Stockholm, Sweden, where he rehearsed material for the album with Asklund at Monolith Studio. Tormentor later rejoined the band, and Pest returned as vocalist in December 2008.

The Kraków concert was released on DVD in June 2008 as "Black Mass Krakow 2004" by Metal Mind Productions. The release reached number four on the Norwegian music DVD chart during its first week and subsequently peaked at number three. Regain Records also announced the release of "True Norwegian Black Metal - Live in Grieghallen", a studio recording made in October 2007. The recording featured Infernus on guitars and bass, Gaahl on vocals, Teloch on session guitar and Garghuf on session drums. Distribution of the album was temporarily halted in July 2008 amid the ongoing dispute over the Gorgoroth name.

Recording of "Quantos Possunt ad Satanitatem Trahunt" began after the conclusion of the name dispute. Asklund recorded the drum parts at Monolith Studio, followed by Infernus' guitar parts, Bøddel's bass and Pest's vocals. In May 2009, Gorgoroth announced that it would return to live performances at the Hole in the Sky festival in Bergen on 29 August 2009. The band performed mainly older material at the festival, as well as "Aneuthanasia", its first live performance of a song from "Quantos Possunt ad Satanitatem Trahunt". The album was released in October 2009.

Gorgoroth subsequently toured Europe and performed at several European festivals during 2010. In September 2010, the band also toured South America. The band announced in October 2010 that it would re-record "Under the Sign of Hell". The resulting album, "Under the Sign of Hell 2011", featured Pest on vocals and Tomas Asklund on drums and was released in December 2011. Phobos of Aeternus joined the band as a live drummer earlier that year.

In August 2012, Pest informed the other members that he would be unable to participate in the band's planned Latin American tour. Infernus subsequently dismissed him from Gorgoroth. Hoest of Taake performed vocals on the tour, while Atterigner of the Serbian band Triumfall was selected as vocalist for the band's next studio album, "Instinctus Bestialis".

"Instinctus Bestialis" was recorded in 2013, with mixing completed in June 2014 and mastering completed the following month. The album was released in June 2015. On 18 October 2015, bassist Bøddel, whose real name was Frank Watkins, died from cancer.

In 2019, Infernus and Phobos announced the creation of a beer named Radix Malorum in collaboration with Lysefjorden Microbrewery. In August 2023, Infernus was assaulted and hospitalised following Gorgoroth's appearance at the Beyond the Gates festival in Bergen, resulting in the cancellation of a planned tour of Mexico. On 29 March 2024, Atterigner performed live with Gorgoroth for the first time at the Inferno Metal Festival in Oslo.

Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorgoroth

Studio albums

Pentagram (1994)

Antichrist (1996)

Under the Sign of Hell (1997)

Destroyer or About How to Philosophize with the Hammer (1998)

Incipit Satan (2000, Satan Begins)

Twilight of the Idols (2003)

Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam (2006, To the Greater Glory of Satan)

Quantos Possunt ad Satanitatem Trahunt (2009, They Pursue Satanism as Much as They Can)

Instinctus Bestialis (2015, Bestial Instinct)