The controversial King ov Hell is quite the caustic personality. In addition to being a master provocateur, King (real name: Tom Visnes) is also one of the most prolific black metal artists in the scene... he has played - bass, mostly, but also guitars - in bands such as Gorgoroth, Abbath, God Seed as well as the controversial pagan black metal band Jotunspor, heavily inspired by the likes of Graveland and Neraines.
And while he is mostly well liked within the scene, he has also been known to have an "unfiltered" personality when it comes to dishing out interviews against his former band Gorgoroth (which he calls sheep and posers). The guitarist Infernus, who was recently injured, is one particular target of King's ire.
To be fair, King ov Hell is far from the only one who has complained about Infernus' antics. The former Gorgoroth vocalist Gaahl as well as Darkthrone's Fenriz have also made their thoughts clear on what they think of Infernus and his "theatrical" and "flamboyant [sic]" personality.
King ov Hell Unloads Against Infernus, Praises Abbath and Burzum
If there was ever any doubt that King ov Hell "doesn't really like" either Infernus or Gorgoroth the band itself, any hopes of reconciliation have been put to rest in a recent interview with the legendary Morsay Magazine (I recommend you read it in full)... but that part comes later.
To open the interview, King ov Hell is asked a trivial question on how he started playing bass.
King ov Hell: I started playing bass in the same way as most bass players start I guess. I was 12 and the band already had a guitar player. I didn't have any goals becoming a musician as a teenager. I still don't consider myself as a musician. I just happen to play and compose music.
Of course, it doesn't take long for the interviewer to ask him the "tiresome" question of what he thinks of Infernus, who had just been injured in an attack, and if he ever plans on "rejoining" Gorgoroth again in the future.
King ov Hell: I am so tired of this dispute. The fact that people care so much about it seems totally absurd to me. We were three people in Gorgoroth who have spent most their entire adult life devoted to that band. We put our creative energy into it at different times. Infernus is now Gorgoroth with new members. It seems like all of this has awoken the wolf in him after years of being a bottom sheep and a sausage [censored], which is a good thing. I wish him the best for the future. Time will tell how it all ends.
But King doesn't have animosity against all black metal artists, just certain ones affiliated with the Gorgoroth "orthodox black metal" drama queens. For instance, he praises Abbath of Immortal (King ov Hell also played in the eponymous band).
King ov Hell: [Abbath and I] have been friends for a long time. We did one album together already back in 2006. We are very different, but at the same time much alike. It's been a bumpy road with both ups and downs. Its chaotic at times, but at least its never a dull moment.
He then gets into some more serious philosophical questions.
"There is Nothing Elitist about Genre Shopping Sheep" says King ov Hell
On the state of the modern black metal scene, the bassist is as pessimistic - some would say level headed - as you'd expect.
King ov Hell: Honestly I've never followed the scene too much in terms of things being popular or not, so I wouldn't really know. Most of the older bands are getting older, of course, and some of them have dropped out. [...] I don't know if it is. As I said, I'm more focused on doing my own music and creating my own art and having my own thoughts than trying to conserve a musical expression or take part of a group having the same philosophy or ideas on world order or metaphysics and stuff like that. To me, it seems like people are going to black metal in the genres shopping identity. If you go from rap music, you go to metal or black metal and they're shopping identities. That's not what we are doing. That's why some people have troubles with us, as well, because we're not limiting ourselves to any certain way of thinking. We think for ourselves.
He goes on a rant about copycat metal bands (see Dark Funeral) who only exist to duplicate what had already been done to death in the 1990s.
King ov Hell: Stagnation is one of the worst things in the world. People who want to reproduce what was given them in the early 90's is a sad sight. Even worse the ones who want to be true and sound like the first Mayhem or Darkthrone records. They are just sheep. There is nothing elitist, individual or unique in such an approach.
When asked what he thought of influential black metal figures, such as the "godfather" Euronymous and Varg Vikernes, King ov Hell answers that he has no opinion on the matter. However, he does name Burzum as the most influential band, particularly for their album "Filosofem" (note: I would have answered "Hvis Lyset Tar Oss", but to each their own as they say...).
King ov Hell: I have no opinions on the matter. I have never met him. I do however find "Filosofem" to be one of the best Black metal albums ever released. I don't care [if Varg Vikernes goes to jail] but I'm glad "Filosofem" was released.
I personally think the comments about "genre shopping sheep" are more relevant than ever, in an era where being "black metal" is more about how you dress, what you say in interviews, and how "Pitchfork" reviews you can get, rather than composing actual atmospheric and contemplative music.
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