[Line Up] Hellhammer intègre Gorgoroth (Split ?)

gorgoroth split up

copy of bulletin sent out 21st of october 2007:

i am writing to inform you about the fact that there has been taken a decision to split up the band, infernus on one side, gaahl and king on the other. we can not continue working together any longer. what is still not agreed upon is who rightfully get to keep the bands name, as it is both parts will to continue. since this will be a question of legal affairs, i am afraid this might take time to get sorted out. i am sorry for that.

infernus, 21.10.2007

regarding the INFERNUS/GORGOROTH situation, october 31st

i will here present you a press statement which is my intention to be the last in the line of short open letters to the media, where i have informed fans, friends and co-workers on the somewhat strange situation that occurred some one and a half week ago and its progression until now.

first i will open with a short summary, for those of you who did not get it all from the beginning. late friday afternoon, october 19th, i got to know that my former band members had made the decision that we should split the band and that their intentions were to continue - without me - under the name and logo of gorgoroth. that people get tired of each other or have reasons for not getting along after a quite long and at times pretty close partnership i find fully natural and understandable. it goes without saying that you learn to know both eachother's positive and negative sides. i will nevertheless not participate in any open discussion on the nature or personalities of anyone involved, that is well below my standards. neither will i do anything to defend myself against whatever accusations people might come up with in a situation like this.

i have a strong belief that people are able to judge themselves, based on the chronology of how things happened, and from the actions that have already been taken.

when being told that we should split ways, i immediately proposed that we should do the european tour as planned, then let lawyers do the legal discussions for us, settling the question of ownership of the band's name and logo. as its founding member, building the trademark in the formative years, and with a clear intention on keeping the pact with the devil i made in sunnfjord, 1992, i would of course not agree on giving away the name i rightfully own to our 3rd vocalist and 6th or 7th (!) bass player. for whatever reasons they might have. the vocalist has been considering quitting the band numerous times. the other actually quit last year due to difficulties combining playing in a clear cut satanic metal band as gorgoroth with the fact that he is full time employed as a primary school teacher. it was my intention to do the tour and then, after the tour, come to terms with the legal problems as smoothly and professionally as possible. i am sorry for the european audience which at the moment must witness this embarrassing circus it has become, and i am sorry for the russians and ukrainians we were supposed to have done a mini tour for from 23rd to 28th of january. late sunday evening, october 21st, i received a text message from the vocalist stating that the november tour would go on without me, and that they had consulted legal advice on the matter. and that next day they would release a press statement on the issue.

to keep things straight, i will focus on legal matters here. it took me ten minutes to get confirmed that what they did was of a highly illicit character. according to norwegian law of march 3rd, nr. 4. 1961, § 2 & 7 it is. it is also difficult for me to see how they thought it was possible to achieve what they wanted by doing what they did. next morning i contacted attourney egil horstad from vogt & wiig. in a letter to their legal representantive he presents the case and parts of the paragraphs, which is now translated into english and available to whoever's interested at my personal myspace page, blog section. ( www.myspace.com/160310525) it also refers to one of metal history's worst cases of backstabbing and greed to date. the same monday i got confirmation that the bass player already before we went on the september tour to south america - without informing me - applied for copyright of the name and the logo. it seems like he actually believed it would be as easy as that to get it transferred to himself as his own personal belonging ad infinitum! it is available to the reader as https://dbsearch.patentstyret.no/Vis_patent.aspx?idappl=200710859&domene=V&version=1&tyapplication (https://dbsearch.patentstyret.no/ - "varemerke" - look for "gorgoroth)

regarding the upcoming european tour, which it seems that they intend to do in the name of gorgoroth: i have personally been in touch with henk at vain productions offering him a good deal if he would delay it, until i have a new line up ready. and my lawyer has explained to him the possible legal consequenses of him making the wrong choice in this situation. i am convinced they could be able to start up a new and rather good band on their own, and he should rather do a separate tour for that band, whatever else they would choose to call it.

now for my future plans: i will devote myself 99% to the present situation and the mess that occurred to help getting clarity in it and to take whatever legal action towards whoever is exploiting the name and reputation of the band. this includes some certain third parties, as there seems to be a few rotten apples among them. this is a necessity for me at the time being, so that i am sure who i can trust when starting to restructure and plan my return. i am afraid this might have to take the time it needs.

i promise for satan that i will come back, and i am already now at an initial stage consulting possible future partners, including a new line-up for studio and live. so far both ex-members and other more or less sinister musicians from norway and abroad have shown interest. choosing the right partners will be difficult, as i have high demands for these. i will update the world on this when the time is right.

first things first. when the legal matters are properly settled, i will implode for a while letting media be an arena for other ones. during restructuring i will finish off the writing of new material for the next studio album - quantos possund ad satanitatem trahunt - to be released through regain records. in between 50 and 70% of the music has already been written (some of it even prerecorded) as goes for two or three lyrics. for the rebirth of the live band it is considered necessary to get this done first, as it is my intention to erase as much as possible of the traces of the last years' periods output. the new live band will focus on old material and brand new and shall in one form or another by satan last for another 15 years!

that is about what i have to say at the moment. i will only accept doing a few select interviews and these should be requested via jarne brauns at regain records. i will use the opportunity to not only thank the faithful and dedicated fans around the world for this seemingly endless support i have received the last week, but also joe hollow, satannichen, frank watkins and the obituary guys for letting me use their networks and capacities in this time when i do not have access to my own website or even the band's myspace. thank you a thousand times and praise hail satan!

infernus, gorgoroth, october 31st 2007

GORGOROTH vient de splitter, King (Basse) et Gaahl (chant) continueront cependant la tournée européenne sous le nom de Gorgoroth en trouvant un remplaçant à Infernus. King et Gaal annonce qu'ils continueront de travailler ensemble à l'avenir, à composer et tourner, Infernus annonce pour sa part qu'en cas d'usage futur de leur part du patronyme GORGOROTH, il recourera à la justice. Ils sembleraient donc que King et Gaahl ait viré Infernus le fondateur de GORGOROTH, les deux estimant être les piliers du GORGOROTH de ces 8 dernières années...

STATEMENT FROM GAAHL ON EUROPEAN TOUR AND REASONS FOR NOT CONTINUING TO WORK WITH INFERNUS

I have registered some concern from friends and fans about the upcoming European tour in November because of the last day's happenings. I can guarantee that the tour will go on as scheduled.

Gorgoroth has not split up but continued on in a different form. We will do this tour in honor of our working partners, booking agency, promoters and the audience who already bought tickets to the concerts. The alternative would be cancellation, which under no circumstance would I allow at this point in time.

Originally I had the intension of leaving Infernus with some sort of integrity. The way this case has developed I have no other choice but to reveal some of the reasons why I can no longer work with him.

First and foremost, it's the disrespect he has shown our working partners; record labels, session-musicians, promoters (by sending unserious demands in raiders etc.) and producers we have worked with over the years which has lead to this decision.

In addition, he has not been a creative force for the last 8 years. He has shown no interest in the art defining Gorgoroth during that same period of time. He has not shown up for rehearsals and has broken agreements on several occasions. This is also an important reason in explaining why he is not part of Gorgoroth at the time being. He has broken the codex of honor and is not living by his own rules, the rules he set for himself and his surroundings on all levels.

I have tried for several years my best to continue in the original form in hopes for a change and I have done so in honor of his previous work in Gorgoroth and the fact that he is the founding member. I..ve hoped that he would become the artist he once was several years ago and I've realized that it will never happen. It's gotten to a point were King and I can't create a fire as long as someone is there pouring water over it.

I..m not personally involved in the formal part of this, but we have prepared for any given result of this matter. I know our partners have worked on our behalf preparing for what we knew would happen, for example, preparing the legal name copyright and other formal tasks. I'll let the lawyers on both sides argue as much as they want. What is the truth is the truth --- and whoever claims otherwise is a false prophet and will be treated accordingly.

We have reached the conclusion to continue Gorgoroth as a duo because the alternative would be no Gorgoroth at all at this time. King and I have given Gorgoroth content for the last 8 years and will bring our art with us into the future. We are already on our way to start a new and improved area of our work. You will, in the following weeks, be presented our agenda to continue to spread true Norwegian black metal through recordings and concerts. We will, with or without the name Gorgoroth, raise the flame higher and brighter than ever.

The past defines the future, but sometimes you must leave something behind to be able to grow.

Gaahl Bergen 23 October 2007

Gorgoroth statement December 13th 2007

Regain Records has finally decided how to go further with the Gorgoroth matter.



Regain Records will continue the co-operation with the bands original member Infernus with a new line-up. This new line-up will be announced by Infernus through the new official website www.gorgoroth... Regain Records recognizes Infernus as the rightful owner of the bands name, logo and trademark, and is prepared to take any legal steps necessary to prevent any 3rd part from exploiting it, artistically and commercially. A long time commitment between Infernus and Regain Records has been signed and Gorgoroths next album entitled " Quantos Possund Ad Satanitatem Trahunt" - as well as the follow-up - will be released on Regain Records.

www.regainrecords.com

www.gorgoroth.com

Norwegian authorities grant Gorgoroth
rights to King and Gaahl:

Norwegian authorities at Patentstyret (Norwegian patent office) have made the verdict on the dispute over the further use of the trademark and logo "Gorgoroth". It has been legally determined that King and Gaahl retain the rightful ownership and use of the name and logo, now and in the future.

King and Gaahl will not give a detailed public statement on this verdict however they have both remained confident this result would indeed be the final conclusion.

Any third parties who use the name Gorgoroth will from now on be met with legal prosecution.

Gorgoroth, King and Gaahl, will not continue to work with Regain Records given their disloyal acts concerning Gorgoroth and are currently carefully choosing a new label for the release of their next full-length album.

King and Gaahl are now focused on making music for the next album and with planning some very special shows for 2008. As previously announced, Gorgoroth will headline at Wacken Open Air.

Frenchie a écrit:Dans le bon sens, dans le bon sens, c'est vite dit : c'est donc celui qui à le moins d'idées qui récupère les droits

Alexandre a écrit:
Pour commencer, c'est son (Infernus) groupe; il ne faut quand même pas l'oublier. Il est là depuis la formation de Gorgoroth (1992). Il a intégré les autres (Gaahl & King) par la suite (1998 & 1999). Et ces mecs ont bénéficié du statut acquis par le groupe (mené par Infernus), avant leur arrivée.

Frenchie a écrit:

Alexandre a écrit:
Pour commencer, c'est son (Infernus) groupe; il ne faut quand même pas l'oublier. Il est là depuis la formation de Gorgoroth (1992). Il a intégré les autres (Gaahl & King) par la suite (1998 & 1999). Et ces mecs ont bénéficié du statut acquis par le groupe (mené par Infernus), avant leur arrivée.

Oui, c'est vrai...comme Enthroned était le groupe de Sabathan