Stian Tomt Thoresen (born 18 November 1976),[1][2][3] known professionally as Shagrath, is a Norwegian musician. He is the vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and a founding member of the symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir and Also, founding member, rhythm guitarist and bassist of Chrome Division.

Shagrath
Shagrath with Dimmu Borgir at Wacken Open Air 2018
Shagrath with Dimmu Borgir at Wacken Open Air 2018
Background information
Birth nameStian Tomt Thoresen
Born (1976-11-18) 18 November 1976 (age 47)
Jessheim, Akershus, Norway
GenresSymphonic black metal
OccupationMusician
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar, bass, drums, keyboards
Years active1992–present
Websitedimmu-borgir.com

Biography

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Stian Thoresen was born on 18 November 1976 in Jessheim. He is a founding member, with Silenoz and Tjodalv, of Dimmu Borgir. When the band formed in 1993, Shagrath played drums, but switched to vocals before the release of the album Stormblåst in 1996. He has also played keyboards, guitar, and bass.

Shagrath played guitar in Fimbulwinter 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 also the rhythm guitarist/songwriter and a founding member of the hard rock band Chrome Division, which formed in 2004.

In late 2009, Shagrath and King ov Hell formed the black metal supergroup Ov Hell. In February 2010 the band released an album entitled The Underworld Regime. Shagrath has also played guest keyboards in the black metal band Ragnarok, and had a solo project named Starkness.

Stage name

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Shagrath has said this about his stage name: "Shagrath is an orc demon from the book Lord of the Rings. I chose the name thirteen years ago, so it's kinda crappy that Lord of the Rings has become so big now. Fortunately it [the name] didn't get that much attention in the movie, so it turned out all OK."[4] The Tolkien character Shagrat, an orc commander over Cirith Ungol, is however not a demon in Tolkien lore.

Discography

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Shagrath with Chrome Division in 2013

With Dimmu Borgir

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With Chrome Division

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With Starkness

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  • Unto The Darkly Shining World (single) (1996) (solo project)

With Ragnarok

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With Ov Hell

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With Fimbulwinter

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As a guest vocalist

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References

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  1. ^ Shagrath at Encyclopaedia Metallum
  2. ^ STIAN TOMT THORESEN at nrk.no Retrieved 23 May 2018
  3. ^ Norsk Black / Ekstrem Metal Retrieved 23 May 2018
  4. ^ "Dimmu Borgir - Interview on NRK1 (Subbed)". YouTube. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021.
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