God Seed is a Norwegian black metal band based in Bergen, Norway. Former Gorgoroth members Gaahl and King ov Hell adopted the name in March 2009 following the ending of the Gorgoroth name dispute. After performing a few gigs as God Seed, vocalist Gaahl left the band in July 2009 and it was put on hold. King finished the music for God Seed's first album, with vocalist Shagrath, and released it under the name Ov Hell. Gaahl re-joined God Seed in 2012. In January that year they released the live album Live at Wacken, and in October they released their first studio album, I Begin. The band arose as a splinter band from the circumstances surrounding the dispute over the legal owners of the band name Gorgoroth. Having lost their claim to the name, Gaahl (vocalist, Gorgoroth and others, such as Trelldom) and King Ov Hell (bass, Gorgoroth and others, such as Jotunspor) continued with the style and musical ideas they contributed to Gorgoroth with God Seed, what was intended to be the continuation of their musical vision. The name "God Seed" was chosen for many reasons; it represents the will to grow, the god within man and nature and the will to reach one's highest potential. God Seed is also the title of a track from the last album released under the Gorgoroth banner and in that respect it symbolizes what is brought from the past into a new beginning and a new future. After splitting from Gorgoroth, Gaahl and King chose the new banner of God Seed to represent their art in the future. However, Gaahl resigned after only two shows, retiring from metal music completely, and was replaced by Shagrath of Dimmu Borgir - the band renaming itself "Ov HELL" as a consequence. In 2012 Gaahl ended his retirement and returned to black metal music, deciding to continue with the original concept behind God Seed, starting by releasing a live CD/DVD entitled "Live in Wacken". It was recorded back in 2008 whilst the band still toured under the name "Gorgoroth". The set consists entirely of songs written by either King or Gaahl.
