Abbath

For the eponymous band fronted by Abbath, see Abbath (band).

Olve Eikemo (born 27 June 1973^[3]), better known by his stage name Abbath Doom Occulta or simply Abbath, is a Norwegian musician best known as a founding member of the black metal band Immortal. Before founding Immortal, Abbath performed with Old Funeral alongside future Immortal member Demonaz. While working with Old Funeral, he also joined Demonaz's band Amputation which later became Immortal. He also plays bass in Demonaz's eponymous project.

Olve Eikemo
Olve Eikemo (Abbath) in Toronto, 2010
Background information
Birth name	Olve Eikemo
Also known as	Abbath Doom Occulta
Born	(1973-06-27) 27 June 1973 (age 49) Bergen, Norway
Genres	Black metal^[1] death metal^[2] thrash metal
Occupation(s)	Musician songwriter
Instrument(s)	Vocals guitar bass drums
Years active	1988–present
Member of	Abbath
Formerly of	Old Funeral Immortal

Although he is primarily a guitarist, he is also proficient as a bassist and a drummer, having recorded all drums for Immortal albums Pure Holocaust and Battles in the North. Following his departure from Immortal in 2015, he announced that he would be forming a new band under the Abbath name.^[4]

Early life

Eikemo was born in Odda^[3] and grew up in Lysefjorden in Os just outside Bergen in Norway.^[5] As a young boy, he was an avid fan of hard rock band Kiss.^[5] His first heavy metal album was Creatures of the Night, which made him feel "immortal".^[6] He started his musical career with the band Old Funeral.^[5] He cites getting his first Venom video and his first Bathory album as the moment where "that was it" in his musical development. ^[7]

Projects

Immortal

Immortal's history began in 1989 as death metal band Amputation. At various times throughout Immortal's existence, Abbath was lead vocalist, bassist, guitarist, keyboardist, drummer, and lyricist, mainly due to the inconsistent line-ups they were able to put together. For a long time, however, Abbath served the band as vocalist, bassist and (studio) drummer while Demonaz played lead guitar. It was not until Horgh arrived that Immortal was able to secure a steady line-up, but problems continued. After the release of Blizzard Beasts in 1997, Demonaz was diagnosed with acute tendinitis, and was consequently forced to quit as guitarist, but remained as lyricist and band manager. They released At the Heart of Winter in 1999, this time with Abbath handling guitar and bass, with Horgh still on drums. This album marks a large shift in sound and style for the music of Immortal. In 2000 they released Damned in Black, with Iscariah on bass. Sons of Northern Darkness was released in 2002, with the same lineup.

Soon after the release of Sons of Northern Darkness, Immortal ceased to exist. The break-up was not caused by tensions or problems, but was rather a mutual one between all members, who claimed to do this for personal reasons.

In early June 2006, it was announced through the German Rock Hard magazine that Abbath and Horgh would reunite as Immortal. They began practicing old material. In regard to when Immortal would start playing live again, Abbath said:

I didn't really want to say it, but I don't give a shit. We will come back, stronger than ever. I've met with Horgh for the first time in over a year. He's built his new house here, right around the corner. In the next few days we will begin to rehearse our old 'Blizzard Beasts' classics. I'm already really hot on the idea. Immortal are timeless frost. One year more or less doesn't make a difference. We have all the time in the world.

— Abbath, Rock Hard

They began to tour again, recently playing shows at Wacken Open Air in Germany, and touring for the first time in Australia and New Zealand in March 2008. The newest Immortal album All Shall Fall was released in September 2009 in Europe with a US release following a month later.

I

 

I live at Hole in the Sky 2006

In 2006, Abbath started a new band called simply "I". Abbath is the frontman and guitarist of I and is joined by former Immortal drummer Armagedda on drums, Gorgoroth bassist King ov Hell on bass, Enslaved guitarist Arve Isdal on guitars, and former Immortal guitarist Demonaz writing lyrics. The debut album called Between Two Worlds was released in 2006.

ABBATH

After Abbath split with Immortal in 2015, he formed another band, Abbath, taking advantage of his already popular name in the black metal music industry. The band released their first album in early 2016, and played live for the first time at Tuska Open Air 2015.^[8][9]

Bömbers

Bömbers is a Motörhead tribute band formed in 1996. The band consists of Abbath on lead vocals and bass, Tore (ex-Old Funeral) on guitars, and Pez (Punishment Park) on drums.^[10] During the Inferno Metal Festival 2007, Abbath joined the German thrash metal band Sodom on stage and performed a cover of Motörhead's "Ace of Spades".

Equipment

As of 2015, Abbath is an endorsee of Schecter Guitars. A signature model was released, called the RavenDark V, in 2017.^[11]

• Schecter RavenDark V FR Abbath signature model
• Schecter Hellraiser Hybrid C-1
• Schecter Gary Holt V-1^{[citation needed]}
• LTD V-401DX (with Seymour Duncan pickups)
• LTD DV8-R (modified to accept a Floyd Rose tremolo system)
• GHL Jackson Randy Rhoads copy

Abbath uses an ENGL Ritchie Blackmore Signature E650 amp through either direct line in or a Marshall cabinet.

In popular culture

The character Lars Ümlaüt from the Guitar Hero series of video games features much of the same clothing Abbath wears, and nearly identical corpse paint. The reference is more apparent in Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, as Ümlaüt's hair is jet black (rather than blonde) just like Abbath.

Jester King Brewery in Austin, Texas has a character similar to Abbath on the label of their Imperial stout.

Discography

Immortal

• Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism (1992)
• Pure Holocaust (1993)
• Battles in the North (1995)
• Blizzard Beasts (1997)
• At the Heart of Winter (1999)
• Damned in Black (2000)
• Sons of Northern Darkness (2002)
• All Shall Fall (2009)

I

• Between Two Worlds (2006)

Abbath

• Abbath (2016)
• Outstrider (2019)
• Dread Reaver (2022)

Dimmu Borgir

• Death Cult Armageddon (2003) - backing vocals on "Progenies of the Great Apocalypse" and "Heavenly Perverse"

Enslaved

• Isa (2004) - backing vocals on "Lunar Force"

The Battalion

• Stronghold Of Men (2008) - backing vocals on "Detonate" and "Man To Man (Warfare)"

References

1. "ABBATH Signs With Season of Mist, Announces Band Lineup". Blabbermouth.net. 22 April 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
2. Grow, Kory (2 April 2010). "Immortal's Abbath Talks About Burzum's Varg Vikernes". Revolver. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
3. "Abbath: My Life Story". Team Rock. 15 November 2016. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
4. "Abbath Puts Immortal To Rest, Launches New Band". Blabbermouth.net. 26 March 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
5. (in Norwegian). 31 May 2008. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
6. "COPENHELL - ABBATH (IMMORTAL) INTERVIEW". YouTube. 5 June 2013. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
7. "- YouTube". YouTube.
8. Metalhammer - ABBATH: THE NEW BLACK
9. Youtube - Abbath LIVE Debut @ Tuska Open Air 2015- Part 1
10. "BOMBERS: Ex-IMMORTAL Frontman's MOTÖRHEAD Tribute Band Release Studio Effort". Blabbermouth.net. 28 October 2005. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
11. "Guitars : RavenDark V FR Abbath Signature".