King ov Hell
Encyclopedia
Tom Cato Visnes better known as King ov Hell or simply King, is a Norwegian musician and ex-teacher. He is best known as the former bassist of black metal
band Gorgoroth
, but he is also the co-founder of Ov Hell
, God Seed, Jotunspor, Sahg
and I
. He also worked as a primary school teacher in Bergen
until 2008.
was recorded. Although all the material for this album had already been written before King joined the band, he did write the music for five tracks on their next album, Twilight of the Idols
(2003), and all of the music for Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam
(2006), which was nominated for a 2006 Spellemann award in the 'Metal' category. King also reunited with former Gorgoroth drummer Kvitrafn to form a band, the "noisy black metal" project Jotunspor. Gleipnirs Smeder, their first album, was released in 2006 by the newly-founded record label Satanas Rex. King was also the bassist for supergroup I
, the side-project of Abbath Doom Occulta of Immortal
which also featured members of Enslaved
and Audrey Horne
, as well as former Immortal drummer Armagedda. The band released the album Between Two Worlds in 2006.
King quit Gorgoroth in June 2006, due to having problems fronting some of the ideological aspects of Gorgoroth's agenda. He rejoined the band in 2007 in time for the recording of the music video for the track "Carving a Giant", taken from the 2006 album. In September 2007, King filed a trademark application to the Norwegian Industrial Property Office
for the name and logo of Gorgoroth, and the following month he and vocalist Gaahl attempted to fire founding member Infernus, igniting the Gorgoroth name dispute
. In March 2009 the Oslo City District Court ruled that by doing this, Gaahl and King had instead excluded themselves from the band. Following the conclusion of this dispute, he and Gaahl assumed the name God Seed. Following the decision of Gaahl to retire from metal music in July 2009, King dissolved God Seed and formed Ov Hell
with Shagrath
, using the music he wrote in 2008 that was later intended to be used on the debut God Seed album for the debut album of his new band, with lyrics written by Shagrath.
In March 2008, it was announced that King would be playing session bass on the next Shining album, VI / Klagopsalmer
. However, in October 2008 there was an announcement on the official Shining MySpace page saying that King did not take part on the new album after all, since a new permanent bassist had been recruited in time for the recording.
King has also worked in bands outside of the black metal genre. He is a member of Sahg
, a doom metal
influenced band. On their 2006 Regain Records release, Sahg 1
, King played drums on one track. He was the bassist and composer for the Spellemann Award winning rock band Audrey Horne
, billed as Tom. He left the band in 2007. King was also the bassist in the Norwegian drum and bass
band Clububba. They were active during the early 2000s.
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
band Gorgoroth
Gorgoroth
Gorgoroth is a Norwegian black metal band based in Bergen. Formed in 1992 by Infernus , the band is named after the dead plateau of evil and darkness in the land of Mordor from J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. The group is currently signed to Regain Records and have released...
, but he is also the co-founder of Ov Hell
Ov Hell
Ov Hell is a Norwegian black metal supergroup started by Shagrath and King ov Hell in 2009. The band's debut album, The Underworld Regime, was released in February 2010 by Indie Recordings.-Background:...
, God Seed, Jotunspor, Sahg
Sahg
Sahg is a four-piece Norwegian metal band formed in the summer of 2004. After years of involvement on different ends of the Norwegian rock and metal scene, four hard rock devotees teamed up under the name Sahg. The band consists of King on bass, Olav on lead vocals and guitar, Thomas on guitar and...
and I
I (band)
I is a Norwegian heavy metal supergroup formed in 2006 in Norway. I contains members from various black metal bands; Immortal , Gorgoroth , and Enslaved...
. He also worked as a primary school teacher in Bergen
Bergen
Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....
until 2008.
Biography
King joined Gorgoroth in 1999 just before the band's fifth album Incipit SatanIncipit Satan
Incipit Satan is the fifth full-length album by Norwegian black metal band Gorgoroth. It was released in February 2000 through Nuclear Blast and reissued in 2006 by Back on Black Records.The music was written entirely by guitarists Infernus and Tormentor...
was recorded. Although all the material for this album had already been written before King joined the band, he did write the music for five tracks on their next album, Twilight of the Idols
Twilight of the Idols (album)
Twilight of the Idols is the sixth album by Norwegian black metal band Gorgoroth. It was released in 2003 through Nuclear Blast and reissued in 2006 through Back on Black Records....
(2003), and all of the music for Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam
Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam
- Credits :Musicians:* Gaahl – vocals* Infernus – guitars* King ov Hell – bass* Frost – drums Other personnel:* Mixed by Gorgoroth and Herbrand Larsen in Bergen....
(2006), which was nominated for a 2006 Spellemann award in the 'Metal' category. King also reunited with former Gorgoroth drummer Kvitrafn to form a band, the "noisy black metal" project Jotunspor. Gleipnirs Smeder, their first album, was released in 2006 by the newly-founded record label Satanas Rex. King was also the bassist for supergroup I
I (band)
I is a Norwegian heavy metal supergroup formed in 2006 in Norway. I contains members from various black metal bands; Immortal , Gorgoroth , and Enslaved...
, the side-project of Abbath Doom Occulta of Immortal
Immortal (band)
Immortal is a black metal band from Bergen, Norway, founded in 1990 by current frontman/guitarist Abbath Doom Occulta and former guitarist Demonaz Doom Occulta...
which also featured members of Enslaved
Enslaved (band)
Enslaved is a progressive black metal band formed in June 1991 in Sveio, Norway, and currently based out of Bergen, Norway.-History:Enslaved was formed in June 1991 by Ivar Bjørnson and Grutle Kjellson when they were 13 and 17 years old, respectively. The band name was inspired by an Immortal demo...
and Audrey Horne
Audrey Horne (band)
Audrey Horne is a hard rock/post-grunge band from Bergen, Norway. The band took its name from Sherilyn Fenn's character in the cult TV series Twin Peaks...
, as well as former Immortal drummer Armagedda. The band released the album Between Two Worlds in 2006.
King quit Gorgoroth in June 2006, due to having problems fronting some of the ideological aspects of Gorgoroth's agenda. He rejoined the band in 2007 in time for the recording of the music video for the track "Carving a Giant", taken from the 2006 album. In September 2007, King filed a trademark application to the Norwegian Industrial Property Office
Norwegian Industrial Property Office
The Norwegian Industrial Property Office , also known as Norwegian Patent Office , is a government agency responsible for registration of patents, trademarks and design in Norway. The agency is subordinate the Ministry of Trade and Industry and located in Oslo...
for the name and logo of Gorgoroth, and the following month he and vocalist Gaahl attempted to fire founding member Infernus, igniting the Gorgoroth name dispute
Gorgoroth name dispute
The Gorgoroth name dispute was in the context of the use of a name for a Norwegian black metal band - which was derived from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium - between band founder Infernus and members Gaahl and King ov Hell...
. In March 2009 the Oslo City District Court ruled that by doing this, Gaahl and King had instead excluded themselves from the band. Following the conclusion of this dispute, he and Gaahl assumed the name God Seed. Following the decision of Gaahl to retire from metal music in July 2009, King dissolved God Seed and formed Ov Hell
Ov Hell
Ov Hell is a Norwegian black metal supergroup started by Shagrath and King ov Hell in 2009. The band's debut album, The Underworld Regime, was released in February 2010 by Indie Recordings.-Background:...
with Shagrath
Shagrath
Shagrath is a Norwegian musician best known as the vocalist of Dimmu Borgir.-Biography:Stian Thoresen was born on November 18, 1976 in Jessheim, outside of Oslo, Norway....
, using the music he wrote in 2008 that was later intended to be used on the debut God Seed album for the debut album of his new band, with lyrics written by Shagrath.
In March 2008, it was announced that King would be playing session bass on the next Shining album, VI / Klagopsalmer
Klagopsalmer
Klagopsalmer is the sixth album by Shining. It was released on June 30, 2009 by Osmose Productions.Track 4 is a cover of Seigmen's Ohm...
. However, in October 2008 there was an announcement on the official Shining MySpace page saying that King did not take part on the new album after all, since a new permanent bassist had been recruited in time for the recording.
King has also worked in bands outside of the black metal genre. He is a member of Sahg
Sahg
Sahg is a four-piece Norwegian metal band formed in the summer of 2004. After years of involvement on different ends of the Norwegian rock and metal scene, four hard rock devotees teamed up under the name Sahg. The band consists of King on bass, Olav on lead vocals and guitar, Thomas on guitar and...
, a doom metal
Doom metal
Doom metal is an extreme form of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other metal genres...
influenced band. On their 2006 Regain Records release, Sahg 1
Sahg 1
-Track listing:#"Intro: Parade Macabre"#"Repent"#"The Executioner Undead"#"The Alchemist"#"Rivers Running Dry"#"Whisper Of Abaddon"#"Godless Faith"#"Soul Exile"#"Boundless Demise"#"Black Passage"-Personnel:*Produced by Sahg and Brynjulv Guddal...
, King played drums on one track. He was the bassist and composer for the Spellemann Award winning rock band Audrey Horne
Audrey Horne (band)
Audrey Horne is a hard rock/post-grunge band from Bergen, Norway. The band took its name from Sherilyn Fenn's character in the cult TV series Twin Peaks...
, billed as Tom. He left the band in 2007. King was also the bassist in the Norwegian drum and bass
Drum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
band Clububba. They were active during the early 2000s.
Discography
| Year | Title | Band |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Incipit Satan Incipit Satan Incipit Satan is the fifth full-length album by Norwegian black metal band Gorgoroth. It was released in February 2000 through Nuclear Blast and reissued in 2006 by Back on Black Records.The music was written entirely by guitarists Infernus and Tormentor... |
Gorgoroth |
| 2003 | Twilight of the Idols Twilight of the Idols (album) Twilight of the Idols is the sixth album by Norwegian black metal band Gorgoroth. It was released in 2003 through Nuclear Blast and reissued in 2006 through Back on Black Records.... |
Gorgoroth |
| 2005 | Confessions & Alcohol Confessions & Alcohol Confessions & Alcohol is Audrey Horne's first release as an EP. It was released in 2005 on Tuba Records / DogJob.The song, "Confessions & Alcohol", also appears on the album, No Hay Banda.-Track listing:All tracks written by Audrey Horne.... |
Audrey Horne |
| 2005 | No Hay Banda No Hay Banda No Hay Banda is Audrey Horne's debut album. It was released in 2005 on Tuba Records / DogJob. The album title "No hay banda" literally means "There is no band" in Spanish... |
Audrey Horne |
| 2006 | Gleipnirs smeder | Jotunspor |
| 2006 | Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam - Credits :Musicians:* Gaahl – vocals* Infernus – guitars* King ov Hell – bass* Frost – drums Other personnel:* Mixed by Gorgoroth and Herbrand Larsen in Bergen.... |
Gorgoroth |
| 2006 | Between Two Worlds | I |
| 2006 | Sahg 1 | Sahg |
| 2008 | Sahg 2 | Sahg |
| 2008 | Black Mass Krakow 2004 Black Mass Krakow 2004 Black Mass Krakow 2004 is a live concert DVD by Norwegian black metal band, Gorgoroth. It was released on June 9th in Europe and on July 8th in the US. The DVD features the band's controversial 2004 concert that was filmed in a TV studio in Kraków, Poland... |
Gorgoroth |
| 2010 | Sahg 3 | Sahg |
| 2010 | The Underworld Regime The Underworld Regime -Personnel:*Shagrath – lead vocals*King ov Hell – bass guitar, backing vocals*Teloch – lead guitar*Ice Dale – lead guitar*Frost – drums... |
Ov Hell |