The story of Norway’s ‘Black Metal’
In the early 1990s, a sub-genre of heavy metal music known as ‘black metal’ began to emerge in Norway. Bands such as Burzum, Mayhem, and Darkthrone were at the forefront of this movement, which was characterised by its dark, misanthropic themes and its aggressive, fast-paced sound.
This new style of music quickly gained a following among disaffected young people in Norway, many of whom were attracted to its rebellious and anti-establishment message. In addition, the music was often associated with a strong sense of Norwegian nationalism.
The black metal scene in Norway soon became embroiled in controversy, however, after a series of church burnings that were linked to several of the bands, notably Varg Vikernes of the band Mayhem . These arson attacks, which caused significant damage to some of Norway's most iconic historical buildings, shocked the nation and brought international attention to the black metal scene.
Scenes of chaos ensued at live shows as bands sprayed blood onto naked women with the heads of goats cut off on spikes.
Amongst the chaos, the bands which were in the eye of the storm had their own internal problems bubbling away.
In 1992, “Dead”, Mayhems guitarist, committed suicide by slitting his wrists and shooting himself in the head. Dead suffered from a rare condition where he believed he was in fact already “dead” and often dressed as a corpse and buried himself alive; on the night where he took his own life he left a note which read.
“Forgive the blood, but i was never human to start with”
When Euronymous found his body, he couldn’t believe it - he grabbed a camera and the photo ended up being the album for the next Mayhem album cover.
Euronymous also found himself in trouble in 1993 when bandmate Varg stabbed Euronymous during an altercation in their apartment. Varg claimed self defence, however, he was charged for the murder.
Varg Vikemes was convicted of first-degree murder, church arson and possession of explosives and was let out in 2009.
The events which went on during the 90’s eventually came to an end, but violence and extremist views still can be found with certain sub-cultures with its cult like draw.
The Norwegian black metal movement would eventually go on to influence a number of other genres, including industrial metal and blackgaze.
Do you believe in the Satanic worship, or were they just insane?
