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Skribent: Jon Lövstad
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Datum för publicering: 2009-05-13 20:49
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INTERVJU - INFERNUS, GORGOROTH
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Infernus reder ut allt strul med stämningar och ovänskap..
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March 10th marked another milestone in the Gorgoroth saga as the District Court of Oslo settled on a verdict in the "Gorgoroth trademark case". Rewind back to the fall of 2007: Gaahl and King ov Hell try to fire founder and sole remaining original member Infernus from the band, continuing to tour and operate under the monicker Gorgoroth now trademarked by King of Hell. Infernus later sued the former bandmembers to resolve the case, and in the verdict given he finally won the rights to the Gorgoroth name back, rendering the trademark registration invalid. We called up Infernus to get his comments on the victory...
Final verdict has been delivered in the court case between you and former members Gaahl and King of Hell - is it good to have the name, rights and honor back?
- Yes!
You've been continuing with your version of Gorgoroth while this has been going on: a full band line-up is gathered and, you've started recording a new album. What's the status in the Gorgoroth camp?
- Obviously, this has been stealing a lot of our energy. With the verdict given we're seeing how we can focus on the nicer things. Finishing the recording, putting our full effort into making it as good as we can. Then there's rebuilding our organization with regards to playing live - we're primarily a live act, you know. The plan is to get back into "live mode" as soon as possible, but we're selective and we're not saying yes to everything. This time everything's gonna be on our terms.
Right, it's been the other fraction who's been playing live, touring under the Gorgoroth name in this period. Do you feel that this has been a strain on you?
- I feel that they've been going around representing something I can't stand for, a creation that is not mine, something that was not Gorgoroth. That's why I sued them, they've been posing as something they haven't had the right to. Obviously, the band's integrity is weakened when there's two camps going under the same name.
Exactly. As the founder of the band and the mainstay since the formation, so you think the press and the scene has been focusing too much on Gaahl as a vocalist and frontman compared to Gorgoroth as a whole during the band's rise and increase in popularity?
- I'd like to say that in general, the term "frontman" has a bad ring to it. That's all I'll say about that.
Back to the new record, you started doing recordings earlier this winter but postponed the guitars due to the court process. What's the current timetable, do you know when the album hits the street?
- No, we're aiming for a fall release on Regain Records, but we simply have to be 100% pleased with it. Having worked for so long now, a couple of months give or take doesn't matter. Originally, the plan was to be in Brazil recording the guitars during January, in Fabio from Ophiolatory's studio (Ophiolatory is one of the bands on Infernus' label Forces of Satan Records). That didn't work out due to the court schedule. We chose to not postpone the process and just went with it to get it resolved. I've hired David "Blackmoon" Parland as a guitar technician for the time being, helping me doing the guitar tracks in Tomas Asklund's Monolith Studio. It looks like everything will be done in Stockholm.
Are you based out of Sweden now or should we still regards you as a band from Bergen?
- We have a studio and rehearse in Sweden, due to the fact that co- producer and drummer Tomas Asklund has got a studio there. We have to fly in most of the band anyway, so it's rather practical to meet and work in Stockholm
Do you have any expectations for the new album, in terms of fan reception and how they'll react to the new material? The last two Gorgoroth albums was mainly written by King and Gahl, are there any new directions or will this too be a Gorgoroth we will be finding familiar?
- I'd like to think so, but I can't speculate in how the fans will respond. To use an old cliché - I'm primarily writing to please myself, if others like it as well that's just a bonus. That said, the material on the new album is rather varied, so there ought to something for everyone there.
Your former vocalist Pest is back in the band after ten years, anything you'd like to add about that collaboration?
- We've been waiting a long time to work together, that's for sure.
We've been keeping in contact throughout all these years, but he had to quit back in 1997 due to having to focus on other things in life.
That being said, we'll leave Infernus to enjoy the victory and focus on his recordings!
Gorgoroth's current lineup consists of Pest (vocals), Infernus (guitars), Tormentor (guitars), Frank Watkins (bass) and Tomas Asklund (drums).
Pix: Gorgoroth live in Quito, Equador on September 25, 2007 - the final gig together. All photos by Alexander Langsholt.
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