As reported by Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet.no, the members of Norwegian black metal band Immortal are embroiled in a legal battle over the name of the band. In December 2014, singer and guitarist Olve Eikemo, a.k.a. Abbath, claimed rights over to the band name through his company Eikemo Compositions, but his action was stopped by the lawyer representing guitarist and lyricist Harald Nævdal, a.k.a. Demonaz, and drummer Reidar Horghagen, a.k.a. Horgh, who want the Immortal to be equally shared by all three members.
Abbath claims to have legitimately tried to secure the rights to the name and logo after Demonaz and Reidar Horghagen left the band last summer.
In his last letter to the Norwegian Industrial Property Office, Abbath claims to have believed that Demonaz and Horgh wanted to quit Immortal, since both left the rehearsal room of the group and stopped paying their share of the rent in summer 2014.
“In summer, Olve received a message from Harald and Reidar in which the two stated that they want to take a break from Immortal after a quarrel had taken place between the band members.
The band rents a rehearsal room whose costs are divided between the three members. Harald and Reidar did not want to pay their share since the group, in their eyes, was not active. Olve, as main songwriter of Immortal, depended on the rehearsal room and was ready to cover all its expenses alone. The other two members left and then stopped paying their share of the rent. Olve interpreted this as their desire to leave the band.
The objection of Nævdal and Horghagen to the application of Eikemo appears as an attempt to prevent Olve from exercising his profession. He has spent 25 years trying to personify the character Abbath and his music under the trademark Immortal. It is unreasonable that the former members of the band audition to prevent him to register the trademark Immortal, largely because they are not qualified to and presumably because they do not intend to take part in the future activities of the band.”
The letter also stresses that Nævdal has no longer played guitar since 1997 after an injury in the arm stroke him, and that the role of Horghagen in the band was only to play drums. Lastly, Abbath argues that, as a composer and frontman of Immortal, he is virtually synonymous with the band and that, as a professional musician, he depends on the income generated by Immortal and therefore he cannot take breaks.
The letter then reveals that Immortal owe a new album to Nuclear Blast Records and Abbath has almost completed the work for the album with the help of other musicians.
Nævdal stated to Dagbladet that he has looked over the letter of Eikemo:
“I have read it and our lawyer has read it. We will answer. The letter of Abbath contains incorrect information.”
A decision of the Norwegian Industrial Property Office is awaited in January or February 2015.
The trio Abbath, Demonaz, Horgh is responsible for all Immortal albums since 1996. Because of an injury in the arm in 1997, Demonaz, founding member, text writer and originally guitarist of the band, was forced to quit playing guitar; ha has however continued to a member of Immortal. Speaking to Lords of Metal in 2007 he stated the following about his status in the band: “Me and Abbath started this band, and I got problems with my arms back in 1997. Instead of finding another guitar player, Abbath just took over the guitar and we went for a new bass player. But I still tour with the band, you know”.
Abbath has also been married to Demonaz’s sister and actually two were previously brothers-in-law; Abbath has stated the following about this point: “Yes, I was married to Demonaz's sister, and I have a [teenage] son with her. She's still one of my best friends. So Demonaz and I are really like a family. There's no fucking around. Demonaz is my brother. I'm an only child. He has two sisters but no brother. But we have each other. Family is important. We have strong bonds."
Text by Herjann
herjann@unholyblackmetal.com
Abbath claims to have legitimately tried to secure the rights to the name and logo after Demonaz and Reidar Horghagen left the band last summer.
In his last letter to the Norwegian Industrial Property Office, Abbath claims to have believed that Demonaz and Horgh wanted to quit Immortal, since both left the rehearsal room of the group and stopped paying their share of the rent in summer 2014.
“In summer, Olve received a message from Harald and Reidar in which the two stated that they want to take a break from Immortal after a quarrel had taken place between the band members.
The band rents a rehearsal room whose costs are divided between the three members. Harald and Reidar did not want to pay their share since the group, in their eyes, was not active. Olve, as main songwriter of Immortal, depended on the rehearsal room and was ready to cover all its expenses alone. The other two members left and then stopped paying their share of the rent. Olve interpreted this as their desire to leave the band.
The objection of Nævdal and Horghagen to the application of Eikemo appears as an attempt to prevent Olve from exercising his profession. He has spent 25 years trying to personify the character Abbath and his music under the trademark Immortal. It is unreasonable that the former members of the band audition to prevent him to register the trademark Immortal, largely because they are not qualified to and presumably because they do not intend to take part in the future activities of the band.”
The letter also stresses that Nævdal has no longer played guitar since 1997 after an injury in the arm stroke him, and that the role of Horghagen in the band was only to play drums. Lastly, Abbath argues that, as a composer and frontman of Immortal, he is virtually synonymous with the band and that, as a professional musician, he depends on the income generated by Immortal and therefore he cannot take breaks.
The letter then reveals that Immortal owe a new album to Nuclear Blast Records and Abbath has almost completed the work for the album with the help of other musicians.
Nævdal stated to Dagbladet that he has looked over the letter of Eikemo:
“I have read it and our lawyer has read it. We will answer. The letter of Abbath contains incorrect information.”
A decision of the Norwegian Industrial Property Office is awaited in January or February 2015.
The trio Abbath, Demonaz, Horgh is responsible for all Immortal albums since 1996. Because of an injury in the arm in 1997, Demonaz, founding member, text writer and originally guitarist of the band, was forced to quit playing guitar; ha has however continued to a member of Immortal. Speaking to Lords of Metal in 2007 he stated the following about his status in the band: “Me and Abbath started this band, and I got problems with my arms back in 1997. Instead of finding another guitar player, Abbath just took over the guitar and we went for a new bass player. But I still tour with the band, you know”.
Abbath has also been married to Demonaz’s sister and actually two were previously brothers-in-law; Abbath has stated the following about this point: “Yes, I was married to Demonaz's sister, and I have a [teenage] son with her. She's still one of my best friends. So Demonaz and I are really like a family. There's no fucking around. Demonaz is my brother. I'm an only child. He has two sisters but no brother. But we have each other. Family is important. We have strong bonds."
Text by Herjann
herjann@unholyblackmetal.com