Orcustus

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Orcustus was a Norwegian black metal band formed in 2002 by Taipan, Infernus and Tormentor of Gorgoroth, and Dirge Rep of Enslaved and Gehenna. The band released their only studio album in 2009 and split-up in 2019, with Taipan and Dirge Rep remaining the only continuous members of the band.

Orcustus was formed in Bergen in early 2002 by Taipan, Dirge Rep, Infernus and Tormentor. Their moniker, meaning "the inner circle of Hell where Lucifer resides on his throne", was suggested by Dirge Rep and the band got approval to use it from Bård "Faust" Eithun, who had published the underground fanzine Orcustus in the early 1990s.^[1]

In the summer of 2002, the band began rehearsing three tracks which eventually became the Demo 2002. These tracks had previously been written by Taipan for his former band Abattoir between 1998 and 2000.^[2] The demo was recorded in autumn 2002 and released early in 2003. The demo was quickly sold out, and garnered praise from well-known figures in the black metal scene, such as Fenriz of Darkthrone.^[3] In 2003, the band signed a record deal with the American label Southern Lord Recordings and released two tracks from their demo as the World Dirtnap EP.

In 2004, guitarist Teloch joined the band and contributed the track "Grin of Deceit" to their 2005 Wrathrash EP. The EP's title track originated from the Abattoir days. Teloch left Orcustus in 2006.

In spring 2007, the band began recording their debut album. Recording and mixing were completed in June 2008. During this time, inner and outer adversity had taken its toll on the band and the members decided to end the project. However, in the last week of 2008, Dirge Rep and Taipan made the decision to resurrect Orcustus. The band's self-titled debut album was released in March 2009. In 2013, the band released a limited edition compilation album titled Anthology. Orcustus split-up in 2019.

• Taipan – vocals, guitars, bass (2002–2019)
• Dirge Rep – drums (2002–2019)
• Infernus – bass (2002–2008)
• Tormentor – guitars (2002–2008)
• Teloch – guitars (2004–2006)

• Demo 2002 (demo) (2003)
• World Dirtnap (EP) (2003)
• Wrathrash (EP) (2005)
• Orcustus (2009)
• Anthology (compilation) (2013)

• Demo 2002 at Misantrof ANTIrecords
• Southern Lord Recordings official website