Gorgoroth is a Norwegian black metal band based in Bergen. It was formed in 1992 by guitarist Infernus, who is the sole original member remaining, and has released nine studio albums. Gorgoroth are a Satanic band and have drawn controversy due to some of their concerts, which have featured impaled sheep heads and mock crucifixions. The band is named after the dead plateau of darkness in the land of Mordor from J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings.

Gorgoroth was founded in 1992 by guitarist Infernus. In 1993, the band released their first demo, entitled A Sorcery Written in Blood. On 7 January 1994, Firda, the major newspaper in the county of Sogn og Fjordane where the band originated from, ran a cover story on the demo, with the headline "Local music with Satanic symbolism". According to the article, the release of the demo and flyers with Satanic symbols led to "concerned parents contacting the Sheriff's Office in Fjaler". After the demo was released, Gorgoroth signed a record deal with Embassy Productions and started work on their debut full-length Pentagram. When bassist Kjettar left the band in 1993, Samoth of Emperor joined Gorgoroth as their new bassist, and participated in the recording of the album. After Pentagram was completed and released in 1994, drummer Goat left the band and was replaced by Frost from Satyricon. The band performed their first concert at Lusa Lottes Pøbb in Oslo on 3 May 1994 at a four-day Black Metal Nights festival with bands such as Dark Funeral (who also made their live debut), Dissection, Enslaved, Marduk (who played their first gig abroad), Gehenna and Hades Almighty.

This was followed by gigs with Enslaved in Bergen (in June and September) and in Haugesund (in November), and the band performed their first gig abroad in Annaberg-Buchholz in Germany on 10 December 1994. The same year, the band commenced the recording of Antichrist (originally titled Død), their second full-length album.

Vocalist Hat decided to leave Gorgoroth in September 1995, but agreed to finish recording the vocal tracks for Antichrist. After Hat left, Infernus recruited vocalist Pest from Obtained Enslavement as Gorgoroth's new vocalist. In December 1995, the band supported Cradle of Filth at the London Astoria, a show which also included the band Primordial. This marked the first Gorgoroth live appearance of both vocalist Pest and bassist Ares. In 1995 the band had been offered a record deal with Moonfog Productions, but this offer was rejected in favour of an offer made by German label Malicious Records. Malicious Records released the band's second album, Antichrist, in 1996, and also re-released the debut album Pentagram. The band went on a European tour with Satyricon and Dissection in April 1996, followed by a one-off gig in Bergen with Hades Almighty and Gehenna, at which the live EP The Last Tormentor was recorded. The band also played a one-off gig in the fall in Bischofswerda, Germany, with Behemoth. Soon the name Gorgoroth was commonplace in the black metal underground, both in Norway and in the rest of Europe, if somewhat overshadowed by some of the more famous black metal bands such as Mayhem or Emperor. The band's third full-length album, Under the Sign of Hell, was recorded in spring 1996, and guitarist Tormentor joined the band later in the year. Under the Sign of Hell was released in 1997, and Gorgoroth went on their first headlining European tour in fall 1997, with support by Mystic Circle. It was on this tour that Infernus and Tormentor were approached by the major German heavy metal record label Nuclear Blast, who wanted to sign the band. The band accepted the offer in late 1997.^{[citation needed]}

The move to Nuclear Blast was controversial among many black metal enthusiasts who pertained to the tenets of an 'underground black metal scene'. The first album recorded and released for Nuclear Blast was Destroyer (1998). New singer Gaahl joined the band at this time, but was heard on only one song, the title track "Destroyer". The music and lyrics on the album were mainly written by Infernus, but guitarist Tormentor also contributed as composer, most notably on the title track, and former vocalist Pest wrote the lyrics on 4 tracks. In May 1998, Gorgoroth played five dates in Germany on Cradle of Filth's European tour, with support from Old Man's Child and Einherjer. Gorgoroth also performed at Wacken Open Air in summer 1998, and performed at the Tuska Open Air Metal Festival in Helsinki, Finland, and in Oslo, Norway with Gehenna and Dødheimsgard.

In 1999, Gorgoroth began journeying into unknown territory with the recording of Incipit Satan. Though mainly written by Infernus once again, the album delved into musical ideas not expanded upon by the group in previous recordings. Songs such as "Will to Power" showcased strong industrial, dark ambient and noise influences (more so than on Destroyer and Under the Sign of Hell, both of which showed signs of experimentation). The song "When Love Rages Wild in My Heart" featured clean, bluesy vocals. Overall, the album displayed progressive tendencies, yet still retained a traditional black metal edge and Infernus' signature sound. The album was recorded during 1999, after drummer Vrolok and bassist T-Reaper had left the band and been replaced by drummer Erlend Erichsen (a.k.a. Sjt. Erichsen) and bassist King ov Hell. Drummer Erlend Erichsen left the band after the recordings were finished, and Incipit Satan was released in 2000, preceded by a European tour in December 1999, supporting Morbid Angel. In May 2000, Gorgoroth headlined a European tour, with bands like Old Man's Child and Krisiun as supporting acts. In early June 2000, Gorgoroth performed at the first Hole in the Sky festival in Bergen, Norway. This festival was arranged in memory of former Gorgoroth drummer Grim, and also included bands such as Immortal, Enslaved, Obtained Enslavement, Hades Almighty and Aeternus. On 23 June 2000, Gorgoroth headlined the "Knüppelnacht" stage at the With Full Force festival in Leipzig, Germany.

After a couple of Norwegian concerts in 2000 and 2001, Gorgoroth made their hitherto only live appearance in the US at the Milwaukee Metalfest in August 2001. In September and October 2001, the band went on two mini tours of Mexico and Colombia. In 2001, Gorgoroth was also featured on a tribute album to the Norwegian black metal band Mayhem, with a cover version of that band's "Life Eternal" from the De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas album. This song had been recorded in 1998, and featured Gaahl on vocals, as well as Infernus and Tormentor on rhythm guitars, T-Reaper on lead guitar and bass, and Vrolok on drums. This is the only released Gorgoroth recording which has not appeared on a full-length Gorgoroth album. In February 2002, vocalist Gaahl was taken into custody after being accused of having beaten a man at an after-party. The singer was sentenced to 12 months in prison in 2002, due to an already existing unserved 1-year sentence for previously committed acts of violence.

In 2002, Tormentor decided to quit the band due to no longer being able to cooperate with King, ending the stable 5-piece line-up of Gaahl, Infernus, Tormentor, King ov Hell and Kvitrafn, which had been formed in 2000. Following Tormentor's departure, Gorgoroth began recording their new album, Twilight of the Idols, in Bergen. The album showed a return to a more solidified black metal style, but was still quite different from early Gorgoroth releases, mainly due to the fact that most of the album's songs were written by bassist King and drummer Kvitrafn rather than Infernus. The band played their first live gig in a year and a half at Garage in Bergen in April 2003, with Tormentor returning as guitarist for a one-off show. Twilight of the Idols was released by Nuclear Blast in May 2003, and the band subsequently performed at Hole in the Sky in Bergen in August 2003. This marked the first Gorgoroth live appearance of session guitarist Apollyon of Aura Noir.