Immortal? Not So Much: Abbath Goes Solo!

Well, I’ve got bad news and I’ve got good news.

The bad news is, Abbath [né Olve Eikemo] and his now-former bandmates in Immortal, Demonaz (né Harald Nævdal) and Horgh (né Reidar Horghagen), have yet to settle their legal battle over the group’s name. Consequently, for the time being at least, there is not going to be an Immortal. (Hey, their moniker was bound to bite them in the ass sooner or later.)

The good news is, Abbath is basically pulling a page from Tom G. Warrior playboook and continuing on as a solo artist who will basically make Immortal music without it being called Immortal (the key difference being that Tom G. Warrior gave his solo project a band name, Triptykon, presumably because it sounded cooler than “Tom G. Warrior” or “Thomas Gabriel Fischer,” while Abbath’s new project is just gonna be called “Abbath”). In fact, we already know that Abbath had more or less completed a new Immortal album without Demonaz and Horgh when shit got litigious, so we can assume that Abbath’s debut release will be this album.

When will that album be out? This, we do not know. However, Abbath has already announced two shows: one at The Forum in London on Friday, September 18, and on at Blastfest in Bergen, Norway in February of 2016. In addition to new material, Abbath is planning to play Immortal songs, including some deep cuts that haven’t been performed often, if at all, in the past.

My take on this news? I’m fine with it! Immortal clearly wasn’t gonna continue with Demonaz and Horgh, and it’s not like it was a secret that Abbath was the band’s most important member anyway. Like I said, this is basically Immortal without being called Immortal for purely legal reasons. No big whoop! A rose by any other name still smells as sweet, right?

[via Metal Hammer]