| Shagrath | |
| Birth Name: | Stian Tomt Thoresen |
| Birth Date: | 1976 11, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Jessheim, Akershus, Norway |
| Instrument: | Vocals, guitar, bass, drums, keyboards |
| Genre: | Symphonic black metal |
| Occupation: | Musician |
| Years Active: | 1992–present |
| Associated Acts: | Dimmu Borgir, Chrome Division, Ragnarok, Fimbulwinter, Ulver, Ov Hell, Kamelot |
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.
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.
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.