Infernus

Roger Tiegs (born 18 June 1972), better known by his stage name Infernus, is a Norwegian black metal musician and Satanist. He is the sole founding member and chief ideologist of the black metal band Gorgoroth, 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 Gorgoroth in Sunnfjord in 1992 after allegedly making "a pact with the Devil". 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, meant to be released on a video album by Metal Mind Productions. 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's "Satanic Blood" under the name Norwegian Evil. After leaving Nuclear Blast in 2004, Infernus and Gorgoroth signed on Swedish record label Regain Records, 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 Gorgoroth live EP Bergen 1996, followed by albums by the Italian black metal band Black Flame, the Brazilian death metal band Ophiolatry, and the Serbian black metal band Triumfall.

Gorgoroth name dispute In October 2007, singer Gaahl and bassist King 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 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.' In an interview conducted in March 2009 following the conclusion of the Gorgoroth name dispute with former colleagues Gaahl and King of Hell, he explicitly reaffirmed that he was 'the ideological backbone of Gorgoroth.' He has expressed opposition to the Church of Satan 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 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 or so-called atheist.'

Gallery

Discography