Immortal began as a death metal outfit in 1989 in Bergen, Norway. Founding members Demonaz doom Occulta (Harald Nævdal) on guitar,Abbath doom Occulta (Olve Eikemo) on bass and vocals, Armagedda (Drums) and Jorn Inge Tunsberg (Guitar) recorded two demos under the name "Amputation", which was changed to "Immortal" around 1991. Their third demo, Unholy Forces of Evil, witnessed a stylistic change to Black Metal and earned them a record contract.
Gradually, Immortal gained immense popularity in the underground, releasing several highly-acclaimed records on the French label Osmose. Unlike other contemporary Black Metal bands, Immortal's lyrical theme isn't based around Satanism, but rather deals with an imaginary kingdom called Blashyrk. Arguably, their best effort from this early period is Pure Holocaust, which served as a genre-defining milestone.
Apart from the two core members Abbath and Demonaz, Immortal didn't find a stable lineup until 1996 when Horgh joined the band on the drums. In 1997, an unfortunate event took place which had tremendous impact on the future of the band - main lyricist and guitarist Demonaz suffered a hand injury (acute tendentious) and wasn't able to continue playing. Still, he continued writing new material, while bassist Abbath took over the guitar duty. The change proved to be only for the better, as Immortal released what many feel is their best album, At the Heart of the Winter. In 2000, Immortal signed a record contract with Germany-based Nuclear Blast; this change to an arguably more commercial label didn't affect their style, something which they proved on their latest output, Sons of Northern Darkness. They decided to split up during the summer of 2003 for personal reasons.
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