Stian Tomt Thoresen (born 18 November 1976),Shagrath
at Encyclopaedia Metallum known professionally as Shagrath, is a Norwegian musician who is the vocalist, founding member and multi-instrumentalist of the band

Dimmu Borgir Dimmu Borgir () is a Norwegian symphonic black metal band from Jessheim, formed in 1993. The name is derived from Dimmuborgir, a volcanic formation in Iceland, the name of which means "dark cities" or "dark castles/fortresses" in Icelandic, ...

Biography

Stian Thoresen was born on 18 November 1976 in

Jessheim Jessheim is a town in the Ullensaker municipality in Akershus of Norway. History The railway station with the Jessheim station was built in 1854 as part of the Hovedbanen line from Oslo to Eidsvoll. The railroad had at the initial construction o ...

. He is a founding member, with

Silenoz Silenoz (born Sven Atle Kopperud, 1 March 1977) is a Norwegian guitarist who is a founding member, along with Shagrath and Tjodalv, of the Norwegian symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir of which he is the primary songwriter. He is also guita ...

and

Tjodalv Tjodalv (born Ian Kenneth Åkesson in 1976) is a Norwegian drummer. He is a founding member of both Dimmu Borgir and Old Man's Child. He now plays in Black Comedy and Susperia. Tjodalv played guitar on the first Dimmu Borgir albums '' Inn i evi ...

, of

. When the band formed in 1993, Shagrath played drums, but switched to vocals before the release of the album ''

Stormblåst ''Stormblåst'' (English: ''Stormblown'') is the second studio album by Norwegian black metal band Dimmu Borgir. It was released on 25 January 1996 through Cacophonous Records, re-released in 2001 by Century Media, and completely re-recorded in 20 ...

'' in 1996. He has also played keyboards, guitar, and bass guitar. Shagrath played guitar in

Fimbulwinter In Norse mythology, (commonly rendered in English as Fimbulwinter), is the immediate prelude to the events of Ragnarök. It means 'great winter'. Summary is the harsh winter that precedes the end of the world and puts an end to all life on ...

until the band split up in 1992. Fimbulwinter released one album, ''Servants of Sorcery'', through Hot Records (Shagrath's record label) in 1994. Shagrath is the rhythm guitarist/songwriter and founding member of the hard rock band

Chrome Division Chrome Division is a Norwegian heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in 2004 by Shagrath, the lead vocalist of symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir. Its current lineup consists of him on rhythm guitar, along with Eddie Guz as the vocali ...

, which formed in 2004. In late 2009, Shagrath and King ov Hell formed the black metal supergroup

Ov Hell Ov Hell is a Norwegian black metal supergroup started by Shagrath and King ov Hell in 2009. The band's debut album, '' The Underworld Regime'', was released in February 2010 by Indie Recordings. History Background Ov Hell was formed by King ...

. In February 2010 the band released an album entitled ''

The Underworld Regime ''The Underworld Regime'' is the debut studio album by Ov Hell. It was released on 8 February 2010. Tracks Personnel ;Ov Hell *Shagrath – lead vocals * King ov Hell – bass, backing vocals ;Additional personnel * Ice Dale – guitar ...

''. Shagrath has also played guest keyboards in the black metal band Ragnarok, and had a solo project named Starkness.

Stage name

Shagrath has said this about his stage name: "Shagrath is an

orc An Orc (or Ork) is a fictional humanoid monster like a goblin. Orcs were brought into modern usage by the fantasy writings of J. R. R. Tolkien, especially '' The Lord of the Rings''. In Tolkien's works, Orcs are a brutish, aggressive, ugl ...

demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, ani ...

from the book ''

Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...

''. I chose the name thirteen years ago, so it's kinda crappy that ''Lord of the Rings'' has become so big now. Fortunately it

he name He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

didn't get that much attention in the movie, so it turned out all OK." The

Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works '' The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawl ...

character Shagrat, an orc commander over

Cirith Ungol In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world of Middle-earth, Mordor (pronounced ; from Sindarin ''Black Land'' and Quenya ''Land of Shadow'') is the realm and base of the evil Sauron. It lay to the east of Gondor and the great river Anduin, and ...

, is however not a demon in Tolkien lore.

Discography

Chrome Division Shagrath IMGP3255 smial wp

With Dimmu Borgir

*''

Inn i evighetens mørke ''Inn i evighetens mørke'' (English: ''Into Eternal Darkness'') is the first EP by Norwegian black metal band Dimmu Borgir. It was first released as a demo in August 1994, and later as an EP on 17 December. The EP was released by Necromantic Gal ...

'' (1994) *''

For all tid ''For all tid'' ("For All Time") is the debut studio album by Norwegian black metal band Dimmu Borgir. It was released in 1995 through No Colours. It was remastered and re-released in 1997 through their new label Nuclear Blast with the front co ...

'' (1995) *''

'' (1996) *'' Devil's Path'' (1996) *''

Enthrone Darkness Triumphant ''Enthrone Darkness Triumphant'' is the third studio album by Norwegian symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir, released on 30 May 1997 through Nuclear Blast. It was the band's first release through Nuclear Blast. This is the last release to fe ...

'' (1997) *''

Godless Savage Garden ''Godless Savage Garden'' is a compilation album by Norwegian black metal band Dimmu Borgir. It was released in 1998 by Nuclear Blast and re-released on 3 October 2006 with 2 bonus tracks. The first four tracks were recorded during the ''Ent ...

'' (1998) *''

Sons of Satan Gather for Attack The discography of Dimmu Borgir, a Norwegian symphonic black metal band, consists of ten studio albums, four extended plays, one compilation album, six singles and three music videos. Dimmu Borgir was formed in 1993 by Shagrath, Silenoz, and ...

'' (split EP with

Old Man's Child Old Man's Child is a Norwegian black metal band from the city of Oslo. The band is the brainchild of Galder (formerly known as Grusom; birth name: Thomas Rune Andersen) who is the only permanent member of the band. History Old Man's Child was ...

) (1999) *''

Spiritual Black Dimensions ''Spiritual Black Dimensions'' is the fourth studio album by Norwegian black metal band Dimmu Borgir. It was released in 1999 by Nuclear Blast Records. A deluxe edition was released in 2004 with bonus material. There is also a digipak edition of ...

'' (1999) *''True Kings of Norway'' (2000) (split with

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

Immortal Immortality is the ability to live forever, or eternal life. Immortal or Immortality may also refer to: Film * ''The Immortals'' (1995 film), an American crime film * ''Immortality'', an alternate title for the 1998 British film ''The Wisdom of ...

Ancient Ancient history is a time period from the History of writing, beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian language, Sumerian c ...

, and

Arcturus , - bgcolor="#FFFAFA" , Note (category: variability): , , H and K emission vary. Arcturus is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Boötes. With an apparent visual magnitude of −0.05, it is the third-brightest of the ...

) (1998) *''

Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia ''Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia'' is the fifth studio album by Norwegian black metal band Dimmu Borgir. It was released by Nuclear Blast Records in 2001. This is the first album to feature drummer Nicholas Barker, guitarist Galder, and ICS V ...

'' (2001) *''

Alive in Torment ''Alive in Torment'' is a live limited shape EP by the Norwegian Symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir. It was recorded in Stuttgart, Germany on 4 April 2001, during the tour supporting their fifth studio album Puritanical Euphoric Misanthrop ...

'' (2001) *''

World Misanthropy ''World Misanthropy'' is a live DVD set by the Norwegian symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir. It was released on 28 May 2002 as a two disc set, with early pressings featuring the bonus CD, a VHS and the bonus disc separately as a limited edi ...

'' (2002) *''

Death Cult Armageddon ''Death Cult Armageddon'' is the sixth studio album by Norwegian symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir, released on 9 September 2003. It has since sold over 100,000 copies in the United States; the first album under Nuclear Blast to do so; and ...

'' (2003) *''

Stormblåst MMV ''Stormblåst'' (English: ''Stormblown'') is the second studio album by Norwegian black metal band Dimmu Borgir. It was released on 25 January 1996 through Cacophonous Records, re-released in 2001 by Century Media, and completely re-recorded in 2 ...

'' (2005) *''

In Sorte Diaboli ''In Sorte Diaboli'' (Latin for "In league with the devil") is the eighth studio album by Norwegian symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir, released in 2007. It is the band's first concept album. A site on the Nuclear Blast website was created ...

'' (2007) *''

The Invaluable Darkness The Invaluable Darkness is the second video album by Norwegian symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir. It was released on October 14, 2008. The title comes from the closing track of ''In Sorte Diaboli'', their eighth and most recent studio album ...

'' (2008) *''

Abrahadabra Abrahadabra is a word that first publicly appeared in ''The Book of the Law'' (1904), the central sacred text of Thelema. Its author, Aleister Crowley, described it as "the Word of the Aeon, which signifieth The Great Work accomplished." This ...

'' (2010) *''

Eonian ''Eonian'' is the tenth studio album by Norwegian symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir, which was released on 4 May 2018. Background Production of ''Eonian'' originally started at least in 2012 but faced many delays for years after. Howeve ...

'' (2018)

With Chrome Division

*''

Doomsday Rock 'n Roll ''Doomsday Rock 'n Roll'' is an album by Norwegian / hard rock band Chrome Division. The album reached #31 on the Norwegian albums chart. Track listing #"Doomsday Overture" – 1:30 #"Serial Killer" – 3:46 #"Hate" – 3:50 #"Troub ...

'' (2006) *''

Booze, Broads and Beelzebub ''Booze, Broads and Beelzebub'' is the second studio album by Norwegian heavy metal band Chrome Division. It was released on July 18, 2008, through Nuclear Blast. The band announced that they had finished recording the album on January 15, 2008, ...

'' (2008) *''3rd Round Knockout'' (2011) *''

Infernal Rock Eternal Chrome Division is a Norwegian heavy metal band formed in 2004 by Shagrath, the lead vocalist of symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir. Its current lineup consists of him on rhythm guitar, along with Eddie Guz as the vocalist, Mr Damage on ...

'' (2014) *''One Last Ride'' (2018)

With Starkness

*''Unto The Darkly Shining World'' (single) (1996) (Solo Project )

With Ragnarok

*''

Arising Realm ''Arising Realm'' is the second studio album by Norway, Norwegian black metal band Ragnarok (Norwegian band), Ragnarok. It was released in 1997 through Head Not Found. Shagrath, most famous as a member of Dimmu Borgir, occasionally appears on th ...

'' (1997) (Guest Keyboards )

With Ov Hell

*''

'' (2010)

With Fimbulwinter

*''

Servants of Sorcery ''Servants of Sorcery'' is a Norwegian black metal album by Fimbulwinter, released by Hot Records in 1994. The album is actually a remaster of Fimbulwinter's 1992 demo, with an additional song. Track listing # "Intro" – 01:05 # "When the Fir ...

'' (1994)

As a guest vocalist

Astarte Astarte (; , ) is the Hellenized form of the Ancient Near Eastern goddess Ashtart or Athtart ( Northwest Semitic), a deity closely related to Ishtar ( East Semitic), who was worshipped from the Bronze Age through classical antiquity. The name ...

– ''

Sirens Siren or sirens may refer to: Common meanings * Siren (alarm), a loud acoustic alarm used to alert people to emergencies * Siren (mythology), an enchanting but dangerous monster in Greek mythology Places * Siren (town), Wisconsin * Siren, Wisco ...

'' (2004, song "The Ring of Sorrow") * Diaz – ''Velkommen Hjem Andres'' (2004, song "Mitt Terningkast") *

Destruction Destruction may refer to: Concepts * Destruktion, a term from the philosophy of Martin Heidegger * Destructive narcissism, a pathological form of narcissism * Self-destructive behaviour, a widely used phrase that ''conceptualises'' certain kin ...

– ''

Inventor of Evil ''Inventor of Evil'' is the ninth studio album by German thrash metal band Destruction, released on August 22, 2005. Track listing Credits Writing, performance and production credits are adapted from the album's liner notes. Personne ...

'' (2005, song "The Alliance of Hellhoundz") *

Kamelot Kamelot is an American power metal band from Tampa, Florida, formed by Thomas Youngblood, in 1987. The Norwegian vocalist Roy Khan joined for the album '' Siége Perilous'', and shared songwriting credit with Youngblood until his departure in A ...

– ''

The Black Halo ''The Black Halo'' is the highly acclaimed, seventh full-length album by the American power metal band Kamelot. It was released on March 15, 2005, through Steamhammer Records. It is a concept album inspired by Goethe's Faust. Continuing the st ...

'' (2005, songs "March of Mephisto" and "Memento Mori") * Susperia – ''

Attitude Attitude may refer to: Philosophy and psychology * Attitude (psychology), an individual's predisposed state of mind regarding a value * Metaphysics of presence * Propositional attitude, a relational mental state connecting a person to a pro ...

'' (2009, song "Sick Bastard") *

– ''

Slaves of the World ''Slaves of the World'' is the seventh studio album by Norwegian black metal band Old Man's Child. The album was released 18 May 2009 in Europe and 19 May 2009 in North America via Century Media Records. The album was recorded in autumn 2008 at ...

'' (2009, Born of the Flickering remake) *Crossplane – Class of Hellhound high (2013) song : I will be King *The Carburetors – Laughing in the face of death (2015) song : Lords Of Thunder

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shagrath 1970 births Living people Black metal singers Dimmu Borgir members Norwegian heavy metal bass guitarists Norwegian male bass guitarists Heavy metal keyboardists Norwegian black metal musicians Norwegian heavy metal drummers Male drummers Norwegian heavy metal guitarists Norwegian male singers Norwegian multi-instrumentalists Norwegian rock bass guitarists Norwegian rock guitarists Norwegian rock keyboardists Norwegian rock singers People from Jessheim Musicians from Oslo Rhythm guitarists 21st-century Norwegian drummers 21st-century Norwegian bass guitarists Chrome Division members