| Name | Abbath Doom Occulta |
|---|
| Background | solo_singer |
|---|
| Birth name | Olve Eikemo |
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| Birth date | 1973 (age 37) |
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| Alias | Abbath |
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| Born | 27 June 1973 (age 37) |
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| Origin | Norway |
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| Instrument | Vocals, guitars, bass, drums, keyboards |
|---|
| Genre | Black metal, heavy metal, Viking metal, death metal, blackened death metal, thrash metal |
|---|
| Occupation | Musician, songwriter |
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| Years active | 1988-present |
|---|
| Associated acts | Immortal, I, Old Funeral |
|---|
Olve Eikemo (born 27 June 1973,
Bergen,
Norway), better known by his stage name
Abbath Doom Occulta, is a
Norwegian composer,
vocalist,
guitarist,
bassist,
keyboardist,
drummer, and one of the founding members of the
black metal band
Immortal. Before he founded Immortal, Abbath played bass for the early Norwegian extreme metal band
Old Funeral, with future Immortal member
Demonaz and
Varg Vikernes of
Burzum fame (though they were not all in the band at the same time). While working with Old Funeral, he also joined Demonaz's band Amputation which later became Immortal. He also plays bass in Demonaz's newly started project Demonaz.
Although he is primarily a guitarist, he is also proficient as a drummer, using techniques such as blast beats and double bass (as heard on the Immortal albums Pure Holocaust and Battles In The North) which are highly present in black metal.
Early life
Eikemo grew up in Lysefjorden in
Os just outside Bergen in Norway. As a young boy he was a great fan of the band
Kiss.
He started his musical career with the band
Old Funeral.
Immortal
Immortal's history begins 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 period of time, however, Abbath served the band as Vocalist, Bassist and (studio) Drummer while Demonaz played lead guitar. It wasn't 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 a German Rock Hard magazine, that Abbath and Horgh would reunite as Immortal. They have begun practicing old material. In regard to when Immortal would start playing live again, Abbath is quoted saying:
They have begun to tour again, recently playing shows at the Wacken festival in Germany, and touring for the first time in Australia and New Zealand in March, 2008. The new Immortal album All Shall Fall was released in September 2009 in Europe with a US release following a month later.
I is a Norwegian heavy metal supergroup formed in 2006 in Norway by Abbath and King ov Hell which Abbath performs vocals and guitar.
Equipment
In the past Abbath used a GHL Jackson Randy Rhoads copy which he modified with new pickups, hardware, and a custom paint job. Currently he has primarily been using a ESP LTD DV8-R Dave Mustaine Model which he has modified to accept a Floyd Rose tremolo system. Abbath uses
Engl powerball amps,
Peavey Bandit amps and used to use
Mesa/Boogie amps.
In an issue of Guitar World which features an interview with him, it is mentioned that he has an endorsement deal with ESP.
Abbath plays Pearl drums and a B.C. Rich Ironbird bass.
I
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 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.
Bömbers
Bömbers is a
Motörhead tribute band formed in 1996. Abbath provides the Vocals and Bass, Tore (ex-
Old Funeral) is on Guitars, and Pez (Punishment Park) is on Drums. During the
Inferno Metal Festival 2007, Abbath joined the German
thrash metal-band
Sodom on stage and performed a Motörhead-cover of "Ace of Spades".
Cultural references
The character Lars
Ümlaüt, from the
Guitar Hero Series features much of the same clothing Abbath wears, and identical
corpse paint. The reference is more apparent in , as Ümlaüt's hair is jet black (rather than blond) just like Abbath.
Abbath, along with Horgh, has become a minor internet meme after various promotional pictures became the subject of countless Photoshops and macros due to their over-the-top appearance.
Abbath took part singing the Dimmu Borgir song Progenies of the Great Apocalypse.
He announced his candidacy for president in 2010 on Headline News, vowing to stop global warming by covering the Earth in a layer of permafrost.
References
External links
Official websites:
Official Immortal Website
Official "I" Website
Bömbers' Official Website
Official Olve Eikemo Bebo account
Unofficial websites:
Immortal Fan Website
"I" Fan Website
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Category:1973 births
Category:Living people
Category:Heavy metal bass guitarists
Category:Heavy metal keyboardists
Category:Norwegian black metal musicians
Category:Norwegian heavy metal drummers
Category:Norwegian heavy metal guitarists
Category:Norwegian heavy metal singers
Category:Norwegian multi-instrumentalists
Category:People from Os, Hordaland
Category:Black metal singers
