Immortal’s frontman and founding member has been writing and rehearsing fervently, with a deluge of new material ready to be recorded; unable to come to an agreement in order move forward with the other members of the band, he has formed a new line up. Whilst grateful and respectful for the contributions of Demonaz, Horgh and Apollyon, the time is now right for Abbath to present his art to the world and continue to evolve the legacy.

The next two years will see the release of a new album alongside select live performances – the first of these to be announced is The Forum in London on Friday 18th September. This will be Abbath’s first time back on stage in the UK since triumphantly headlining Bloodstock Festival in 2011 alongside W.A.S.P and Motörhead. Following this, February 2016 will see a return to playing on home soil as the headliner for the prestigious Blastfest in Bergen – on top of a 100% Norwegian line up.

Abbath is a continued weaving of this artist’s creative thread: new songs have been honed, ready to sit alongside classic Immortal material and rarely – if ever – played gems that will be unearthed from an epic catalogue spanning over two decades.

Using his own name is a natural step for Abbath, having become iconic and synonymous with the band that he co-founded in 1990. That’s 25 years of powering face first into the northern wind; a milestone for any band, and rather than exploit it by dragging Immortal’s name through the mud, Abbath will instead carry his own on his back.

The name of Immortal, for the time being, will rest; the essence, the power, the music – and Abbath – will not.

1995, un bar de Bergen, Abbath et Demonaz à une table au fond : tu les rejoins en leur disant que 20 ans plus tard, ils se chamailleront juridiquement au sujet du nom du groupe et du logo, qu'ils auront par conséquent leur propre groupe... Ils te riront au nez car ce n'est pas black metal, puis quelques-uns de leurs potes viendront te bousculer virilement pour ces provocations. Bonne chance

Norwegian black metallers IMMORTAL — now consisting of lyricist/guitarist Demonaz (real name Harald Nævdal) and drummer Horgh (real name Reidar Horghagen) — have completed the writing process for their ninth full-length studio album.

Comments the band: "This will be our darkest and coldest album in a long time: pure Blashyrkh metal the way our fans know it, with massive majestic riffs, grim frostbitten vocals and tales from our mighty realm. Fast and furious tracks, epic tracks and longer playtime than any of our previous albums."

Demonaz is now also handling the vocals for IMMORTAL following the 2014 split with frontman Olve Eikemo (a.k.a. Abbath).

"The massive fansupport has been very inspiring and we will not let down the fans," the band continues. "The last year we have completed all the new songs and look forward to record our most passionate album in a long time. The songwriting process has been awesome and we are soon ready to start the recordings."

At a time when true and original black metal is nearly dead, IMMORTAL is said to be "in ultimate spirit."

"After the last years incidents it was time to go back to the roots to what this band is really about musically, and also to take the integrity of the band back to where it belongs," the group states. "Cold, grim uncompromising Blashyrkh metal with a true feeling is what we deliver.

From 2010 until 2014, IMMORTAL wrote all the songs for the successor to "All Shall Fall", but when ex- member Abbath left the band in 2014, he changed the lyrics, song titles and recorded these songs for his so called "solo album".