GORGOROTH Guitarist Released From Norwegian Prison

According to a posting on GORGOROTH's web site, the group's guitarist Infernus has been released on parole after serving time for aggravated sexual assault in connection with an alleged rape of a 29-year-old woman in Bergen, Norway in 2004.

Infernus (real name: Roger Tiegs) and a friend (whose identity has not been revealed by the Norwegian media) were found guilty in 2005 of raping the woman. They were both sentenced to three years in prison. In January 2006, the court of appeals upheld Tiegs' friend's rape conviction, but found no evidence to support the rape charge against the GORGOROTH guitarist.

The actual charge Tiegs was convicted of is what is reffered to as "gross negligent rape," a provision introduced in 2000. In order for someone to be convicted of gross negligent rape, he would have to be seriously to blame for not understanding that the aggrieved person did not want intercourse. The maximum sentence for gross negligent rape is five years, but is being raised to eight years in more aggravated cases.

For more information on this case, click here.

GORGOROTH frontman Gaahl was released from the Norwegian prison in December after being jailed since the spring of 2006.

Gaahl was sentenced to 14 months in prison in February 2005 for torture and committing ritual acts. It was alleged he beat his victim — a man who had turned up uninvited and inebriated to an after-hours party at his house — threatened to sacrifice him and gave him a cup into which to bleed. Acting as his own defense, Gaahl claimed in court that he had been attacked first and his assailant was only provided with a cup "so that he wouldn't make such a mess in my house."

In an interview with the U.K.'s The Observer which was published in February 2005, the singer refused to discuss his version of events in detail now for fear of prejudicing the outcome of the trial, but insisted he was attacked as part of a hit organized by a man with whom he had a prior dispute.

The use of violence, according to Gaahl, is only necessary when people cross his clearly defined borders. "Everything deals with respect," he told The Observer. "The way I think of it is that you have to punish ... or teach," he corrected himself, "anyone that crosses your borders so that they won't do it again."

GORGOROTH's most recent album, "Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam", was released last year via Sweden's Regain Records. The band was previously signed to Nuclear Blast Records, who released the band's last three efforts: "Twilight of the Idols" (2003),"Incipit Satan" (2000) and "Destroyer" (1998).