Prosthetic Records will be releasing black metal super group OV HELL's debut full length, "The Underworld Regime," in North America via an agreement with Indie Recordings, on April 13th. This group of Satan's all-stars has been sharpening their teeth in some of black metal's most influential bands for many years. Known as key figures in bands such as Dimmu Borgir and Gorgorath, Shagrath and King have come together to bring forward a new chapter in Norwegian black metal history. OV HELL will carry on in the same tradition for which King and Shagrath are known, but the collaboration between the two will mark a new era for them both.
"The Underworld Regime" originally started off as what was to be a new Gorgorath album. After a lengthy legal dispute over the band's name, King and Gorgorath vocalist Gaahl took the album to be a God Seed release. Then Gaahl decided to leave the metal world, and Shagrath entered the picture to collaborate with King, and OV HELL was born.
The album was recorded at Earshot Studio with producer Herbrand Larsen and mastered at Living Room Studios by Espen Berg. Frost (Satyricon, 1349), Ice Dale (Enslaved, I, Audrey Horne, Trinacria, Demonaz) and Teloch (Nidingr, God Seed, 1349, Umoral) were recruited for work in the studio. The album combines the best from two worlds - King`s remarkable riffs and the distinguishable voice of Shagrath. The end result is a black metal album that contains all of the power and blast beats worthy of their evil pedigrees. Expect an assault on all false gods and hypocrisy that is of this world today.
King stated; "The album will contain a mixture of our different musical preferences and the personalities involved, which hopefully will lead to something original and new. Although I have to say though that I am more occupied of developing myself spiritually and musically than strive to be viewed as original by fans. This album contains music I've worked on in my Gorgoroth and God Seed years. It's been a little hell to actually see this music form into a band, so the name of the band is quite suitable. Through the first song I got from Shagrath I knew that he would be the perfect man to join forces with. He has strong individual qualities and a strong will to power. I am very positive that when we finish up this album it will be an album that won't sound like anything we have done before, and with a quality that won't stand back from anything presented in black metal earlier!"
"With both of our demanding music careers and other projects, timing was not on our side. After last year's Inferno Festival, King and I yet again joined forces to brainstorm our need to collaborate our passion for dark art. Over the course of the past year, King sent me demo ideas that were so inspiring it made me put my skeptic feelings aside. I wasn't sure if I wanted to have another Black Metal project but my unquenchable thirst to explore my darkest beast, launched the birth Ov HELL. The majestic Ov HELL has become a band that reflects our roots, raw, ugly, and arrogantly blasphemous with uncompromising truth from two influential Norwegian musicians needing to express our primitive side, straight out Ov HELL." - Shagrath
