GORGOROTH Bassist On Dispute Over Band's Name, Side Projects

Metal-Rules.com conducted an interview with GORGOROTH bassist King ov Hell during this year's winter NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) show, which was held January 17-20 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

Metal-Rules.com: What were the events that led to the split with [guitarist] Infernus?

King: The reason why we, we stopped working with him was basically because we had troubles. We are working on a professional level, and nothing personal against him as a person or anything, but when it came to.... it wasn't possible to track or do the art we want to represent. In 2007 we decided to continue to do it with me and Gaahl.

Metal-Rules.com: Was it a difficult decision to decide to continue using the name of a band that you and Gaahl were not original members of?

King: We have put so much art into the name GORGOROTH. I can also understand why Infernus wants to keep the name because he's like founder of the band, but you have to think that after spending 10 years of my life in this and also being the driving force musically for ten years and it feels natural for me to remain GORGOROTH.

Metal-Rules.com: The members of GORGOROTH have been plagued by legal proceedings throughout the last several years including charges of blasphemy, rape, and grievous bodily harm. Is all the courtroom drama behind you now?

King: Yeah, basically, you can never predict the future, of course, but at this point nobody is going to prison and nobody is charged for any criminal acts or anything. So hopefully it will continue like that. It's a good thing too having this kind of controversy because it like it gets your name out. But on the other hand it's also distracting because it's.... you know, it doesn't seem that way that Gaahl is always probably going to prison or being in prison or something. Hopefully it will be more calm and focused.

Metal-Rules.com: Seeing as how the second wave of black metal is almost exclusively a Norse thing, what's your opinion when you see the American black metal bands with the corpse paint and the same kind of imagery playing music that sounds like it comes from Scandinavia?

King: I'm not alert of many bands trying to.... This whole heart of black metal is going your own way and in Norway you have bands like MAYHEM, GORGOROTH, IMMORTAL they have a very strong identity and have created their own sounds. I can tell that many bands are inspired and tried to adept into being like.... great DARKTHRONE riffs or IMMORTAL riffs and they're not right. That is not the essence of Satanism, it's being me, being your own way, going your own path. If you're trying to be someone else or copy something else it's fake.

Metal-Rules.com: You have a side project in the works with Rob Caggiano from ANTHRAX. How did that come about?

King: I met Rob Caggiano after a GORGOROTH concert, actually, in London in 2005. He's a great guitar player and actually interested to some of my ideas in different kinds of bands. I'm in SAHG and I'm part of I with Abbath from IMMORTAL and also this Rob Caggiano thing, and that also keeps GORGOROTH more pure, I believe, because I can, you know, get all of the other ideas out. You have to....You are not like one-track-mind guy. You have many, many ways of thinking music and I have to express myself in different ways, but GORGOROTH is the only band that express more than music.

Read the entire interview at Metal-Rules.com.

King ov Hell was interviewed by Metal Sanaz for MySpace's "A Place for Metal" during this year's winter NAMM. Watch the three-minute clip below.