Roger Tiegs (born 18 June 1972), better known by his stage name Infernus, is a Norwegian

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with tr ...

musician and

Satanist Satanism refers to a group of religious, ideological, or philosophical beliefs based on Satan—particularly his worship or veneration. Because of the ties to the historical Abrahamic religious figure, Satanism—as well as other religious ...

. He is the sole founding member and chief ideologist of the black metal band

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

, formed in 1992, in addition to being the founder and head of Forces of Satan Records. While mainly a guitarist, Infernus has also participated as bassist, drummer and vocalist on several recordings released both by Gorgoroth and other bands.

Biography

The formation of Gorgoroth

Infernus founded the black metal band

Sunnfjord Sunnfjord ( - in contrast to Nordfjord) is a traditional district in Western Norway located in Vestland county. It includes the municipalities of Askvoll, Fjaler, the southernmost parts of Kinn, Sunnfjord, and the southernmost parts of Brem ...

in 1992 after allegedly making " a pact with the Devil". The first

demo, '' A Sorcery Written in Blood'', was released in 1993, and led the band to acquiring a record deal with French label Embassy Productions. The first full-length Gorgoroth album, ''

Pentagram A pentagram (sometimes known as a pentalpha, pentangle, or star pentagon) is a regular five-pointed star polygon, formed from the diagonal line segments of a convex (or simple, or non-self-intersecting) regular pentagon. Drawing a circle around ...

'', was released in 1994. In the following years, the band experienced several line-up changes, with Infernus being the sole original member to continue in the band. Joining members of black metal bands such as

Ulver Ulver (Norwegian for "wolves") is a Norwegian Experimental electronic music, experimental electronica band founded in 1993, by vocalist Kristoffer Rygg. Their early works, such as debut album ''Bergtatt – Et eeventyr i 5 capitler, Bergtatt'', ...

Immortal Immortality is the ability to live forever, or eternal life. Immortal or Immortality may also refer to: Film * ''The Immortals'' (1995 film), an American crime film * ''Immortality'', an alternate title for the 1998 British film '' The Wisdom of ...

, Enslaved, and Molested, Infernus participated as bassist on

Borknagar Borknagar is a Norwegian progressive metal band with black metal and folk influences. It was founded in Bergen in 1995 by Øystein Garnes Brun primarily as a black metal band before later switching to a more melodic and progressive style. Borkn ...

's self-titled debut album, released in 1996. After signing a deal with German label Malicious Records, Gorgoroth released the albums ''

Antichrist In Christian eschatology, Antichrist (or in broader eschatology, Anti-Messiah) refers to a kind of entity prophesied by the Bible to oppose Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ and falsely substitute themselves as a savior in Christ's place before ...

'' in 1996 and ''Under the Sign of Hell'' in 1997, with Infernus writing all the music and the majority of the lyrics, in addition to performing both guitar and bass duties on the albums.

Gorgoroth tenure with Nuclear Blast

After the release of ''Under the Sign of Hell'' and a European headlining tour in 1997, Gorgoroth was signed by the major German metal label

Nuclear Blast Nuclear Blast Records is a German record label with subsidiary, subsidiaries located in Germany, the United States and Brazil. It was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Donzdorf. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label moved on ...

. In 1998, Infernus and Gorgoroth-guitarist Tormentor, who had joined the band in 1996, released an album as black metal side project called Desekrator, which also included members of Enslaved and

Old Funeral Old Funeral was a Norwegian death metal band from Bergen. History Old Funeral was one of the first bands to form in the Norwegian extreme metal scene, formed in 1988. By 1992, the band had already dissolved. Since the breakup, many members (su ...

. Infernus wrote the majority of the first two Gorgoroth albums released on Nuclear Blast, ''

Destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

'' (1998), and ''

Incipit Satan ''Incipit Satan'' is the fifth full-length album by Norway, Norwegian black metal band Gorgoroth. It was released on 7 February 2000 by Nuclear Blast, and reissued in 2006 by Back on Black Records. ''Incipit Satan'' was the first album with King ...

'' (2000), while Tormentor, wrote the albums' title tracks. After performing live with Gorgoroth on several festivals and tours both in Europe and South America, Infernus became one of the founding members of the black metal band Orcustus in 2002, a band consisting of members and ex-members of Gorgoroth,

Gehenna Gehenna ( ; ) or Gehinnom ( or ) is a Biblical toponym that has acquired various theological connotations, including as a place of divine punishment, in Jewish eschatology. The place is first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as part of the border ...

, and Enslaved. '' Twilight of the Idols - In Conspiracy with Satan'', Gorgoroth's third release on Nuclear Blast, was released in 2003.

Rape conviction

In 2003, Infernus was accused of repeatedly raping a woman for hours with a friend at an after-party in his apartment. He was initially sentenced to three years in prison in 2005, but appealed the sentence and was acquitted of rape but convicted of gross negligent rape and sentenced to one year in prison. He served four months in prison in the winter of 2006 and 2007 before being released on parole.

Gorgoroth controversy in Kraków and transfer to Regain Records

On 1 February 2004, Infernus and Gorgoroth performed a live show in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

, meant to be released on a video album by

Metal Mind Productions Metal Mind Productions (MMP) is a Polish record label founded in 1987. The label focuses on rock and heavy metal. MMP is also publisher of ''Metal Hammer'', the largest and the oldest heavy metal magazine. As a concert agency, it organises Meta ...

. Due to the satanic nature of the live show, which featured sheep heads on stakes, "crucified" nude models, satanic symbols and eighty litres of sheep's blood, the band and video producers were accused of breaking the Polish blasphemy laws. The tapes from the concert were confiscated by the Polish police for 4 years, but the concert was finally released on DVD in the summer of 2008 as '' Black Mass Krakow 2004''. In 2005, Infernus and Tormentor, who had quit Gorgoroth in 2002, released a cover version of

Von The term () is used in German surnames either as a nobiliary particle indicating a noble patrilineality, or as a simple preposition used by commoners that means or . Nobility directories like the often abbreviate the noble term to ''v.'' ...

's "Satanic Blood" under the name Norwegian Evil. After leaving

in 2004, Infernus and Gorgoroth signed on Swedish record label

Regain Records Regain Records is a Swedish-based independent record label. The label predominantly released death metal and black metal albums. Regain Records was founded from what remained of the former label, Wrong Again Records, by Per Gyllenbäck in 1997. ...

, which released the next Gorgoroth album, '' Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam'', in 2006.

Forces of Satan Records

On 6 June 2006 Infernus started his own record label, Forces of Satan Records, dedicated to only releasing albums by bands with a "clear-cut Satanic profile". The label's first release was the

live EP '' Bergen 1996'', followed by albums by the Italian black metal band Black Flame, the Brazilian

death metal Death metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep death growl, growling vocals; aggressive ...

band Ophiolatry, and the Serbian black metal band Triumfall.

Gorgoroth name dispute

In October 2007, singer

Gaahl Kristian Eivind Espedal (born 7 August 1975), better known by his stage name Gaahl, is a Norwegian vocalist. He is best known as the former frontman of Norwegian black metal band Gorgoroth. He is also the founder and lead vocalist of Trelldom an ...

and bassist

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

attempted to fire Infernus from Gorgoroth, marking the start of the Gorgoroth name dispute. In March 2009, Infernus announced that he had won the rights to the Gorgoroth name following a trial with Gaahl and King. The court stated that King and Gaahl had excluded themselves from the band when they had attempted to fire the guitarist. The court further stated that Infernus cannot be excluded from Gorgoroth unless he himself should decide to quit. With the departure of Gaahl and King, Infernus recruited drummer Tomas Asklund of

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 of ...

and bassist Bøddel of

Obituary An obituary (wikt:obit#Etymology 2, obit for short) is an Article (publishing), article about a recently death, deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as Article (publishing), news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on p ...

, as well as former-Gorgoroth vocalist Pest and guitarist Tormentor for the recording of their next album.

''Quantos Possunt ad Satanitatem Trahunt'' and ''Instinctus Bestialis''

Gorgoroth released the album ''

Quantos Possunt ad Satanitatem Trahunt ''Quantos Possunt ad Satanitatem Trahunt'' (Latin for "They draw as many as they can toward Satanism") is the eighth studio album by Norwegian black metal band Gorgoroth. It was released on 21 October 2009 by Regain Records. This album marked th ...

'' in 2009. Infernus thanked both current and former members of the band, as well as several members of the black metal scene and community in the album's liner notes. In 2015, Gorgoroth released their ninth studio album, '' Instinctus Bestialis''.

Assault and hospitalization

In early August 2023, Infernus was assaulted and hospitalized following Gorgoroth's appearance at the Beyond the Gates Festival in Bergen. The injuries led to an absence from the band's following shows and the cancellation of a planned tour of Mexico in October. Infernus returned to live performances in late November.

Beliefs

Infernus is a theistic Satanist and, as the founding member of Gorgoroth, has built the band on his philosophy and religion, proclaiming himself as 'Satan's Minister on Earth.' When asked in March 2009 about what he specifically practiced, he described it as a

Gnostic Gnosticism (from Ancient Greek: , romanized: ''gnōstikós'', Koine Greek: �nostiˈkos 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems that coalesced in the late 1st century AD among early Christian sects. These diverse g ...

form of Satanism. In an interview conducted in March 2009 following the conclusion of the Gorgoroth name dispute with former colleagues

and King of Hell, he explicitly reaffirmed that he was 'the ideological backbone of Gorgoroth.'Infernus (Gorgoroth): Nu-mi pasa de Gaahl - METALHEAD.ro (2009) He has expressed opposition to the

Church of Satan The Church of Satan (CoS) is a religious organization dedicated to the religion of LaVeyan Satanism, Satanism as defined by Anton Szandor LaVey. Founded in San Francisco in 1966, by Anton LaVey, LaVey, it is considered the "oldest satanic reli ...

based on commercial frivolity, and when asked about this on a couple of occasions in 2009, he also said that he disagreed with their basic values:

'Basically, because they reject a
theist Theism is broadly defined as the belief in the existence of at least one deity. In common parlance, or when contrasted with ''deism'', the term often describes the philosophical conception of God that is found in classical theism—or the conc ...
view upon being. I do not regard man as the center of the universe. These are my views and they are not the views of any
humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...
or so-called
atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
.'

Gallery

File:Gorgoroth Infernus.jpg, Infernus in 2010 File:Gorgoroth HITS09 by Christian-Misje-2649.jpg, Infernus in 2009 File:Gorgoroth live at John Dee 04.jpg, Infernus in 2001 File:Infernus live with Gorgoroth in 2000.JPG, Infernus in 2000

Discography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Infernus 1972 births Living people Norwegian heavy metal bass guitarists Norwegian male bass guitarists Norwegian black metal musicians Norwegian rock bass guitarists Norwegian rock guitarists Norwegian Satanists Norwegian songwriters Musicians from Bergen Gorgoroth members Norwegian heavy metal guitarists 20th-century Norwegian multi-instrumentalists Black metal guitarists 21st-century Norwegian bass guitarists People convicted of sexual assault 21st-century Norwegian multi-instrumentalists