OV HELL: 'The Underworld Regime' First-Week Sales Revealed

"The Underworld Regime", the debut album from OV HELL — the new black metal project featuring DIMMU BORGIR vocalist Shagrath and ex-GORGOROTH bassist King — sold around 700 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 75 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.

An e-card for "The Underworld Regime" is available at this location. Released in North America on April 13 via Prosthetic Records, the CD's cover art was created by the Brazilian graphic designer Marcelo Vasco, who has previously worked with such bands as SATYRICON, ENSLAVED, KEEP OF KALESSIN, BORKNAGAR, GORGOROTH, BELPHEGOR and JOB FOR A COWBOY.

"The Underworld Regime" was released in Europe on February 8 via Indie Recordings. The CD was recorded at Earshot Studio and features Shagrath on vocals, King on bass, Frost (SATYRICON) on drums, Ice Dale (ENSLAVED) on guitar and Teloch (NIDINGR, GOD SEED) on guitar. The album was produced by Herbrand Larsen and mastered at the Livingroom studios by Espen Berg and Shagrath in November 2009. King composed all of the music for "The Underworld Regime", while Shagrath wrote all lyrics, with contributions from Silenoz and Sarah Owens.

"The Underworld Regime" track listing:

01. Devil's Harlot
02. Post Modern Sadist
03. Invoker
04. Perpetual Night
05. Ghosting
06. Acts of Sin
07. Krigsatte Faner
08. Hill Norge

Commented Shagrath: "The majestic OV HELL has become a band that reflects our roots — raw, ugly, arrogantly blasphemous — with uncompromising truth from two influential Norwegian musicians needing to express our primitive side, straight out OV HELL."

Added King: "It's been a little hell to actually see this music form into a band, but when I'm now listening to the final result, it has been worth the hard work we have put into this album!"

Two sample tracks from "The Underworld Regime" can be heard in the YouTube clip below.

In a recent interview with MetalNews.pl, King stated about OV HELL's debut album, "It is always hard to describe your own music and it usually ends up like meaningless self-promotion of your own album. It will, however, contain music most people would define as black metal. I'm not claiming we have reinvented the wheel, but I don't think have heard any band to date we could be seen as copycats of. I have not heard all the bands in the world and can, of course, be mistaken.

"The album will contain a mixture of our different musical preferences and the personalities involved, which hopefully will lead to something original and new. I have to say, though, that I am more occupied of developing myself spiritually and musically than strive to be viewed as original by fans."

"The will to relive 1994 in black metal these days should be against all that black metal is all about. Presenting others' art and ideas almost 15 years later, mostly based on nostalgic reflections, show that you don't have the capacity to adapt to your own chaos and so on develop to a strong individual unique being. Recycling your own ideas will show that you are not capable of change and in other words should be viewed as dead.

"A person who is not able to change opinions, learn from his mistakes and have the ability to grow and change should not shout for people's attention but be quiet.

"I am grateful that I have had musicians with me on this record that do NOT possess these qualities."