The heavy metal band that fought a legal battle for its own name

Countries & Cities · Published 12 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: In 2007, a bitter dispute erupted when two members claimed they had fired the band's founder. The resulting courtroom battle wasn't just about music; it was a fight to determine who truly owned the identity of one of Norway's most controversial black metal acts.

Formed in 1992 by guitarist Infernus, the Bergen-based band Gorgoroth has long been defined by its Satanic imagery and extreme stage presence. Their history is marked by significant legal and personal upheaval. In 2004, a concert in Kraków, Poland, sparked a police investigation after the band used 80 litres of sheep's blood, impaled sheep heads, and naked models on stage. The band's name itself is a reference to the dark, lifeless plateau found in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. Their early years were equally intense, with a 1993 demo that caused local parents in Fjaler to contact the police.

While the band avoided criminal charges, the controversy led to their contract with Nuclear Blast being terminated. In October 2007, the band faced an existential crisis when members Gaahl and King ov Hell announced they had 'fired' Infernus. They claimed the guitarist lacked creative interest and sought to claim the rights to the band's name. This period of instability followed a move to the Nuclear Blast label, a transition that many underground purists found controversial. The band's reputation for extreme performance was further cemented by their 1996 European tour alongside Dissection and Satyricon.

King ov Hell had even filed a trademark application the previous month. The duo argued that they had 'creatively defined' the band's sound during their tenure. However, the dispute reached a legal conclusion in March 2009. A court verdict officially recognized Infernus as the legitimate user of the Gorgoroth name, ruling that Gaahl and King ov Hell had effectively excluded themselves from the group when they attempted to remove the founding member. This victory allowed Infernus to continue the band's legacy, even as the lineup continued to shift through various eras of Norwegian black metal history. The legal resolution finally ended the era of Gaahl and King's leadership. Following this, Infernus focused on new material, eventually recruiting the vocalist Pest back into the lineup by late 2008.

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