Immortal have become synonymous to grim and frostbitten music kingdoms. Clad in icy darkness since 1991, Immortal were always spearheaded by the tyrannical voice of bassist-then-guitarist Abbath… until earlier this year, when he left Immortal and started his solo project (where he is also joined by God Seed, Ov Hell and ex-Gorgoroth bassist King; and mysterious drummer that goes by the name of Creature – but identified by inside sources as Baard Kolstad of Borknagar).
Abbath leaving Immortal was followed by wide media coverage. Despite the coverage, however, Immortal’s front (now represented only by founding member, lyricist and original guitarist Demonaz; and longtime drummer Horgh) was surprisingly quiet.
This all changed today, the morning of 4 December 2015, when Demonaz and Horgh published the following statement (in the newly re-launched website for the band) regarding the story behind Abbath’s departure:
“After the Immortal trademark case was closed by ‘PATENTSTYRET’ (Norway’s Patent Office) in November 2015, Demonaz and Horgh can finally share their side of the story for the first time.
The conflict was not about anyone leaving the band as Abbath claimed. It was all about his personal problems. He had cancelled rehearsals and ruined the band’s progress for a very long time. We were forced to confront him about it.
Abbath recently told Australian website (TheMusic.com.au) that we wanted things solely on our own timetable and that we claimed he needed rehab.
The band had to reschedule rehearsals all the time because of him. Even then, he did not show up. He told the band, friends, and family that he needed to go to rehab again. He had got help from a clinic before. We offered to wait for him to recover this time also. Sadly he changed his decision.
Instead of trying to solve his problems, he went behind our back and secretly applied for a trademark ownership of the bands logo and name. It was hard to believe that his problems had led him to such a point.
When his attempt to get the rights was discovered by the band, he all of a sudden went solo. His accusations against the band in media changed from day to day. The fans started to question his version and wanted us to speak about what really happened. Unfortunately, we had to wait until the case was all closed, to make a statement.
His trademark application was denied and the case closed by Patentstyret in November, 2015. One of the reasons was because he had only contributed as a co-writer of music in Immortal. Nor did he contribute any lyrics or titles to the bands albums. The fact is that the music has always been a result from the band as a unit.”
Not only that, but the Norwegians are working on a new album!
“Immortal will record the new and long awaited album in 2016, which will be released by Nuclear Blast Records.
We are well prepared and looking forward to present the new material to the fans. We did not want to rush things, but take the time to deliver another high quality Immortal album.
More news is coming soon.”
That’s great news for all lovers of Blashyrkh. The question remains however: who will play the guitar and, more importantly, who will sing in Abbath’s place?!?
Abbath, meanwhile, has his debut album (as Abbath) ready. The self-titled album will be released via Season Of Mist in January and can be pre-ordered here.
