ENTOMBED Singer Loses Bid To Stop Former Guitarist From Selling Beverages Under Band Name

The battle between members of the Swedish metal band ENTOMBED over the rights to the group's brand name took another turn earlier this month when the Swedish Patent And Registration Office rejected ENTOMBED singer Lars-Göran "LG" Petrov's bid to stop guitarist Alex Hellid's trademark registration to sell beverages under the "Entombed" moniker.

Hellid and Petrov have been embroiled in a legal battle over the ENTOMBED name for several years. In 2014, Petrov was awarded the right to use the band name in connection with future recording and touring activities, a decision which Hellid appealed without success. The guitarist then went on to register a trademark for spirits production under the "Entombed" name. This move did not sit well with Hellid's former bandmate, who filed a letter of protest against Alex's registration of the name, claiming that it could be confused with band activities. He also said that Hellid acted in "bad faith" when he registered name and that there was a desire to "deceive the public."

Petrov's protest, however, found no favor with the Swedish Patent And Registration Office, which rejected his claims on the issue in a March 8 ruling.

In an interview with Revolution-Music.dk, Petrov defended his band's decision to release an album under the name ENTOMBED A.D. in order to avoid a legal battle with Hellid who didn't want his former bandmates to use the ENTOMBED moniker: "It had to be done, because without an album you can't tour," he explained. "I mean, you can tour, but if there's seven years between albums, it's ridiculously long. So we did the right thing, and we did what bands should do, and still do — release an album and go on tour and headbang and have a good time with friends, and that's what it's all about."

He continued: "There was too much bullshit — crying and whining about things. It's just ridiculous.

"Some people are comfortable staying at home, but then just step aside and let us do our thing.

"We added two letters, but it's still the same band — [only] without people that wanna stay at home, or take millions of years [coming up with] a [new] riff."

Asked if he thinks the ENTOMBED name has been damaged as a result of the drama surrounding the split with Hellid and the decision to continue as ENTOMBED A.D., Petrov said: "Nah, not really. A thousand people have a thousand different opinions — good and bad. But we do what we felt was right. And we're out here touring, and that's the most important [thing], I think. And leave the childishness aside and play metal, basically."

ENTOMBED A.D.'s second album, "Dead Dawn", was released on February 26 via Century Media.