Hades Almighty
Encyclopedia
Hades Almighty is a black metal
band hailing from Bergen
, Norway
. They were formed in 1992, originally under the moniker Hades. They were forced to change their name to Hades Almighty in 1998, following complaints from an American band with a prior claim to the name.
, Norway
in 1992 by former Immortal
guitar
ist Jørn Inge Tunsberg
and ex-Dark drummer Remi Andersen; they were later joined by Janto Garmanslund on bass
and second guitarist Wilhelm Nagel. Their first demo, Alone Walkyng, was recorded in June 1993 at Grieghallen and produced by Pytten; this demo was later to be re-released on CD through the Italian label Wounded Love in 1996. In 1993, Tunsberg was convicted, along with fellow black metal musician Varg Vikernes
(of Burzum
), for the burning of a Norwegian church in Åsane
, which led to a prison sentence. Following the release of the demo, the band signed with Full Moon Productions
and recorded their first album; ...Again Shall Be, again at Grieghallen, in June/July 1994. Around this time, they also replaced Nagel with Stig Hagenes on second guitar.
Hades recorded their second album Dawn of the Dying Sun at Grieghallen in 1996, which was released through Full Moon in 1997. The band supported the release of this album with extensive touring throughout Europe, as well as in Mexico and the USA. In 1998 the band was forced to change their name from Hades to Hades Almighty, following complaints from an American act already with a prior claim to the name. Following the name-change, the band began working on their next album, as well as playing at the Wacken Open Air
festival.
In September 1998 the band released entered Prolog Studios (Dortmund
, Germany) to record Millenium Nocturne, released under license from Nuclear Blast
through Hammerheart. They toured Europe to support of the album with Immortal
and Benediction
, and a separate spate of gigs in the Benelux region with Mayhem
and Primordial
. Their fourth album Pulse of Decay was released in 2001 through Psycho Bitch Records. Hades Almighty signed a management contract with Khaoz Productions in 2003, and a record deal with Dark Essence Records in 2004; the label re-released Pulse of Decay in 2004 with bonus tracks (including a cover of Manowar
's "Each Dawn I Die") and a DVD section including the video for the band's own track "Submission Equals Suicide".
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
band hailing from Bergen
Bergen
Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. They were formed in 1992, originally under the moniker Hades. They were forced to change their name to Hades Almighty in 1998, following complaints from an American band with a prior claim to the name.
Biography
Hades were formed in BergenBergen
Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
in 1992 by former Immortal
Immortal (band)
Immortal is a black metal band from Bergen, Norway, founded in 1990 by current frontman/guitarist Abbath Doom Occulta and former guitarist Demonaz Doom Occulta...
guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist Jørn Inge Tunsberg
Jørn Inge Tunsberg
Jørn Inge Tunsberg is a black metal musician. He lives in Bergen and plays guitar in the black metal band Hades Almighty and industrial metal band Dominanz. Formerly in the bands Immortal, Old Funeral, and Amputation. He was convicted for Åsane church arson on Christmas Eve of 1992 along with Varg...
and ex-Dark drummer Remi Andersen; they were later joined by Janto Garmanslund on bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
and second guitarist Wilhelm Nagel. Their first demo, Alone Walkyng, was recorded in June 1993 at Grieghallen and produced by Pytten; this demo was later to be re-released on CD through the Italian label Wounded Love in 1996. In 1993, Tunsberg was convicted, along with fellow black metal musician Varg Vikernes
Varg Vikernes
Varg Vikernes is a Norwegian black metal musician, writer, philosopher, religious and political activist, arsonist and convicted murderer.Vikernes was born near Bergen, Norway. In 1991, he founded the one-man music project Burzum, which quickly became popular within the early Norwegian black metal...
(of Burzum
Burzum
Burzum is a musical project by Varg Vikernes . It began during 1991 in Bergen, Norway and quickly became prominent within the early Norwegian black metal scene...
), for the burning of a Norwegian church in Åsane
Åsane
Åsane is a borough of the city of Bergen, Norway, making up the northwestern part of the city.It was a municipality in Hordaland county, from January 1, 1904, when it was separated from Hamre, until January 1, 1972 when it was merged with Bergen . The area was developed from mostly farmland to a...
, which led to a prison sentence. Following the release of the demo, the band signed with Full Moon Productions
Full Moon Productions
Full Moon Productions is a record company started in May 1991 by Jon "Thorns" Jamshid from Lakeland, Florida. After releasing the first issue of Petrified 'zine, Thorns decided to sign several black metal bands which included Burzum, Hades , Algaion, Nåstrond and Vlad Tepes...
and recorded their first album; ...Again Shall Be, again at Grieghallen, in June/July 1994. Around this time, they also replaced Nagel with Stig Hagenes on second guitar.
Hades recorded their second album Dawn of the Dying Sun at Grieghallen in 1996, which was released through Full Moon in 1997. The band supported the release of this album with extensive touring throughout Europe, as well as in Mexico and the USA. In 1998 the band was forced to change their name from Hades to Hades Almighty, following complaints from an American act already with a prior claim to the name. Following the name-change, the band began working on their next album, as well as playing at the Wacken Open Air
Wacken Open Air
Wacken Open Air is a summer open air heavy metal music festival. It takes place annually in the small town of Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany...
festival.
In September 1998 the band released entered Prolog Studios (Dortmund
Dortmund
Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
, Germany) to record Millenium Nocturne, released under license from Nuclear Blast
Nuclear Blast
Nuclear Blast is an independent record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The record label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label moved on to releasing albums by melodic...
through Hammerheart. They toured Europe to support of the album with Immortal
Immortal (band)
Immortal is a black metal band from Bergen, Norway, founded in 1990 by current frontman/guitarist Abbath Doom Occulta and former guitarist Demonaz Doom Occulta...
and Benediction
Benediction (band)
Benediction is a British death metal band from Birmingham, England. They were formed in February 1989.-Biography:The Birmingham-based death metal band Benediction were formed in February 1989 by Paul Adams , Peter Rew , Darren Brookes , and Mark "Barney" Greenway...
, and a separate spate of gigs in the Benelux region with Mayhem
Mayhem (band)
Mayhem is a Norwegian black metal band formed in 1984 in Oslo, Norway and regarded as one of the pioneers of the influential Norwegian black metal scene...
and Primordial
Primordial (band)
Primordial is an extreme metal band from Skerries, County Dublin, Ireland. It was formed in 1987 by Pól MacAmlaigh and Ciarán MacUiliam . Their sound melds black metal with Irish folk music.-Biography:...
. Their fourth album Pulse of Decay was released in 2001 through Psycho Bitch Records. Hades Almighty signed a management contract with Khaoz Productions in 2003, and a record deal with Dark Essence Records in 2004; the label re-released Pulse of Decay in 2004 with bonus tracks (including a cover of Manowar
Manowar (band)
Manowar is an American heavy metal band from Auburn, New York. Formed in 1980 the group is known for its lyrics based on fantasy and mythological topics along with their "loud and bombastic" sound...
's "Each Dawn I Die") and a DVD section including the video for the band's own track "Submission Equals Suicide".
Current line-up
- Jan Otto "Janto" Garmanslund (vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
/bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
/keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
) - Jørn Inge TunsbergJørn Inge TunsbergJørn Inge Tunsberg is a black metal musician. He lives in Bergen and plays guitar in the black metal band Hades Almighty and industrial metal band Dominanz. Formerly in the bands Immortal, Old Funeral, and Amputation. He was convicted for Åsane church arson on Christmas Eve of 1992 along with Varg...
(guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
/keyboards) - Remi (drums / backing vocals)
As Hades
- Alone Walkyng (demo, 1993; re-released 1996 by Wounded Love)
- ...Again Shall Be (Full Moon ProductionsFull Moon ProductionsFull Moon Productions is a record company started in May 1991 by Jon "Thorns" Jamshid from Lakeland, Florida. After releasing the first issue of Petrified 'zine, Thorns decided to sign several black metal bands which included Burzum, Hades , Algaion, Nåstrond and Vlad Tepes...
, 1994) - Split with KatatoniaKatatoniaKatatonia is a Swedish metal band formed in Stockholm in 1991 by Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström .-1991-1993:The early Katatonia releases, such as the EP Jhva Elohim Meth.....
(Mystic Production, 1996) - Dawn of the Dying Sun (Full Moon Productions, 1997)
As Hades Almighty
- Millennium Nocturne (Hammerheart, 1999)
- The Pulse Of DecayThe Pulse Of Decay-Reception:Sputnik Music writes in a review: "On their early albums Hades Almighty played Viking black metal similar to bands like Enslaved or early Satyricon. With this release they completely change their style to where they sound nothing like they used to. On The Pulse of Decay, the band plays...
(Psycho Bitch Records, 2001; re-released 2004 by Dark Essence)