Ex-IMMORTAL Frontman ABBATH To Release 'Count The Dead' Seven-Inch Single

ABBATH, the band led by ex-IMMORTAL frontman Olve Eikemo (a.k.a. Abbath),will release a seven-inch single, "Count The Dead", on December 11 via Season Of Mist. The A-side features the title track while the B-side consists of a cover version of the JUDAS PRIEST classic "Riding On The Wind".

"Count The Dead" will be released in two versions, which are both limited to 500 copies worldwide and exclusively available for pre-order through the Season Of Mist shop.

ABBATH's video for the song "Fenrir Hunts" can be seen below. The clip is a live recording of a new ABBATH track, the studio version of which will appear on the group's forthcoming debut album, due in early 2016 via Season Of Mist.

The band states: "We have performed 'Fenrir Hunts' live since our debut concert at Tuska festival in Finland. This led to the decision to record a few live songs properly. With the aid of a camera team, we have recorded three tracks in a live setting at the beginning of September. Along with 'Fenrir Hunts', which you can see today, there will be two cover versions coming up soon. Now, here is 'Fenrir Hunts', the first glimpse from our upcoming debut album!"

The "Fenrir Hunts" video was directed by Fraser West. The song was recorded and mixed by Jamie Ward.

Bass duties for ABBATH are being handled by a man familiar to metal fans across the world — Tom Cato Visnes, more widely known as King Ov Hell and main composer for several GORGOROTH albums as well as his own bands OV HELL, with singer Shagrath from DIMMU BORGIR, and GOD SEED, with exceptional black metal vocalist Gaahl. His fellow GOD SEED member and BORKNAGAR percussionist, Baard Kolstad, has also joined ABBATH on drums.

Abbath announced earlier this year that he was moving forward under his own name.

"I didn't want to go solo in the first place," Abbath told U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine. "I wanted the best for IMMORTAL. I didn't want it to end this way. First of all, I just wanted my music out. I wanted to record the [next] album [because] it's been so many years since 'All Shall Fall'. And both Demonaz and Horgh, they have kids and families now, and it just hit that point where I couldn't work the way they wanted to work any more. I wanted things on my terms and they wanted things on their terms, and it was very difficult."

He continued: "I wanted to rehearse at least three times a week, but often it was only once a week and things went so slow. I sat there with all this material, I kept the rehearsal space and recorded the stuff on click track, but it was a very strained atmosphere and the Last time we worked together was in early June last year."

Asked if the decision to part ways and seek out new band members was inevitable, Abbath said: "I was forced to do it this way. I wanted IMMORTAL to continue, but not the way it was. The dialogue has not been there and it's also my mistake. I should have brought up this shit a long time ago, but IMMORTAL, after Demonaz's problems with his arms, it never became a band after that."

He continued: "IMMORTAL is a very special situation. [Demonaz] hasn't been in the band, but then I always wanted to do the best for everybody, to have the band spirit, and that's why when we decided to start IMMORTAL again, we tried to get the spirit back, and bring him on tour, and just share our thing and be a band and have a kick-ass time. But it never worked out. The chemistry wasn't there with the IMMORTAL guys and hadn't been for a while."

Abbath added: "I believe in my music and I believe in my expression, but time flies and we grow apart. Maybe in the future we can go back again, I don't know, but right now I just want to do my thing and just be ABBATH and have people around me who support that."