Thomas Kronenes (born 16 September 1975), best known by the stage name Pest ( Norwegian for "pestilence" or "plague"), is a Norwegian

black metal Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw (lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an em ...

musician, mainly known for his work in the band

Gorgoroth Gorgoroth is a Norwegian black metal band based in Bergen. It was formed in 1992 by guitarist Infernus, who is also the only original member remaining, and the band have since released nine studio albums. Gorgoroth are a Satanic band and have ...

. While a part of Gorgoroth he performed vocals, and also played guitar in the group for a very short time in 1996.

Biography

Pest was one of the founding members of the Norwegian

symphonic black metal Symphonic black metal is a subgenre of black metal that emerged in the 1990s and incorporates symphonic and orchestral elements. Notable symphonic black metal bands include Cradle Of Filth, Dimmu Borgir, Emperor, and Carach Angren. History ...

band Obtained Enslavement, which was formed in

Stord Stord is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland. Stord is sometimes called "Norway in miniature" since it has such a variety of landscapes: coastline, fjords, forests, agricultural ...

, Norway, in 1989. Obtained Enslavement released two demos in 1992 and 1993 before their first full-length album, ''Centuries of Sorrow'', was released in 1994. In 1995, Pest was approached by Infernus of

with an offer to join the band as their new vocalist, after the previous vocalist

Hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

had decided to leave the band. Pest performed his first concert with Gorgoroth in December 1995, supporting

Cradle of Filth Cradle of Filth are an English extreme metal band formed in Suffolk in 1991. The band's musical style evolved originally from black metal to a cleaner and more "produced" amalgam of gothic metal, symphonic metal and other metal genres. Their ly ...

at the

London Astoria The London Astoria was a music venue at 157 Charing Cross Road, in London, England. Originally a warehouse during the 1920s, the building became a cinema and ballroom. It was converted for use as a theatre in the 1970s. After further developme ...

, and provided the vocals for the song "Possessed (by Satan)" on the band's second album, ''

Antichrist In Christian eschatology, the Antichrist refers to people prophesied by the Bible to oppose Jesus Christ and substitute themselves in Christ's place before the Second Coming. The term Antichrist (including one plural form)1 John ; . 2 John . ...

'', released in 1996. Gorgoroth went on a European tour with

Satyricon The ''Satyricon'', ''Satyricon'' ''liber'' (''The Book of Satyrlike Adventures''), or ''Satyrica'', is a Latin work of fiction believed to have been written by Gaius Petronius, though the manuscript tradition identifies the author as Titus Petr ...

and

Dissection Dissection (from Latin ' "to cut to pieces"; also called anatomization) is the dismembering of the body of a deceased animal or plant to study its anatomical structure. Autopsy is used in pathology and forensic medicine to determine the cause o ...

in April 1996, followed by one-off gigs in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, secon ...

, Norway and in Bischofswerda, Germany. Pest provided all the vocals on Gorgoroth's third full-length album, '' Under the Sign of Hell'', which was recorded in spring 1996 and released in 1997. Obtained Enslavement, with Pest still on vocals, released their second full-length album, ''Witchcraft'', the same year. Gorgoroth went on their first headlining

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an tour in fall 1997, after which Pest decided to leave the band to concentrate on his work in Obtained Enslavement. He did, however, contribute lyrics and vocals to several tracks on Gorgoroth's 1998 album, ''

Destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed ...

''. Obtained Enslavement released two more albums: ''Soulblight'' in 1998 and ''The Shepherd and the Hounds of Hell'' in 2000. They performed their last ever concert in June 2000 at the first Hole in the Sky festival in

, Norway. The band then split up since Pest would be moving to the US. There, he studied at

Middle Tennessee State University Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU or MT) is a public university in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Founded in 1911 as a normal school, the university consists of eight Undergraduate education, undergraduate colleges as well as a college of Postgr ...

and became a world history teacher at Coffee County Central High School in

Manchester, Tennessee Manchester is a city in Coffee County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 12,213 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Coffee County. The city is located halfway between Nashville and Chattanooga on Interstate 24. Manchester i ...

. Since moving to the US, Pest has been involved in several American

bands, most notably as a vocalist on the forthcoming

Blood Stained Dusk Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in the ...

album, ''Black Faith Inquisition''. On 4 December 2008, it was announced that Pest had rejoined Gorgoroth. He was fired by Infernus on 21 August 2012, as stated on Gorgoroth's official internet page.

Associated bands

- 1995–1997, 2008–2012 * Obtained Enslavement - 1989–2000 *Blood Stained Dusk - since 2005 *Octagon (US)

Discography

Gorgoroth

*''

'' (Tracks 1,4,6) (1996) *''

The Last Tormentor Gorgoroth is a Norwegian black metal band based in Bergen. It was formed in 1992 by guitarist Infernus, who is also the only original member remaining, and the band have since released nine studio albums. Gorgoroth are a Satanic band and have ...

'' (EP) (1996) *'' Under the Sign of Hell'' (1997) *''

'' (Tracks 2,4,5,7) (1998) *'' Bergen 1996'' (EP) (2007) *'' Quantos Possunt ad Satanitatem Trahunt'' (2009) *'' Under the Sign of Hell 2011'' (2011)

Obtained Enslavement

*''Obtained Enslavement'' (demo) (1992) *''Out of the Crypts'' (demo) (1993) *''Centuries of Sorrow'' (1994) *''

Witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have ...

'' (1997) *''Soulblight'' (1998) *''The Shepherd and the Hounds of Hell'' (2000)

Blood Stained Dusk

*''Black Faith Inquisition'' (2008)Official Moribund Records website
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pest Living people 1975 births Black metal singers Norwegian black metal musicians Norwegian male singers Norwegian rock singers Norwegian expatriates in the United States Gorgoroth members