In 1989, Snorre W. Ruch and Marius Vold formed the band Stigma Diabolicum and recorded one demo.[1] In 1990, bass player Harald Eilertsen and drummer Bård G. Eithun joined.[1] As the use of Latin within black metal "had escalated" (according to the Stigma Diabolicum re-release booklet), the name was changed to Thorns in 1991. In 1994, Snorre was sentenced to 8 years in prison for "being an accomplice" in the murder of Euronymous. However, according to Euronymous's killer, Varg Vikernes, Ruch was merely "in the wrong place at the wrong time".