#early norwegian black metal scene

[no1emperorglazer]

SOME newer Mayhem fans are so weird. Like, they sexualize the fuck out of the original line-up (mostly Pelle Ohlin and Øystein Aarseth) and make weird ass assumptions about the members. I see so many people on different social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram and Tumblr thirsting over Dead and Euronymous. It's weird.

Not to mention, a lot of people here on Tumblr ask the Mayhem info blog a lot of weird and inappropriate questions. I know that the black metal scene isn't the most appropriate and respectful, but goddamn there's still a limit. Why the fuck would anyone ask about if Per Yngve Ohlin wanted to do the deed with his theoretical girlfriend when she's on her period? Why would you invade the privacy of famous people's relatives/acquaintances? I know that there are a lot of newer fans due to the LoC movie and all that. But that isn't an excuse to not have basic respect for people.

[no1emperorglazer]

Ah, I love it when people combine my special interests

[plusvanity]

Do you have any analysis/opinions on Fenriz?

Generally speaking, everybody loves Fenriz because he is a humble, funny guy and has a picture with a cat in his arms. This is kind of all you need for good PR nowadays, but jokes aside, I see Fenriz as sitting on fences and picking sides (between Øystein and Varg) whenever the circumstances suit his image better. He is a bit of an opportunist from what I see.

He talked greatly about Øystein, calling him the 'anchor' of the Black Metal movement, which is indeed true. He had the chance to go to a Mayhem rehearsal session from what I remember, and he was very impressed about it. So much so that his band Darkthrone sounded like a washed-out version of Mayhem in the early 90s. I don't judge that. He was young, and he found himself in what Øystein and Pelle initiated, so this shows how devoted he actually was to this genre. Øystein was a mentor for many, including Fenriz, of course. He lived very close to Helvete, so he was quite lucky to interact with his friend and mentor so much, but after Øystein's death, it seems like things got in a different direction.

I think he must have been the 'easily impressed' type because I cannot find another way to explain how he started taking Varg's side. And of course, Varg took advantage of that aspect and talked nicely about Fenriz in interviews and on his personal blog where he called everyone from the early scene a 'rat', everyone expect Fenriz. Why? I assume that Fenriz spoiled Varg in compliments in a lot of their early interactions. After all, Vikernes stated that only him and Fenriz were 'preserving' the Norwegian culture by writing lyrics in their mother tongue and it was only Fenriz who got him and his political views.

Narcissists do that a lot. They will protect their source of narcissistic supply by talking nicely and praising you, but it's expected for you to do the same and take their side whenever a finger is pointed at them. Not all narcissists do that, but Varg surely did. This type of behaviour is self-implied, it doesn't need a conversation, and this is what they do even now. 'I will put you in a good light, but I expect the same'. You see, relationships and friendships with a narcissist (Varg) are all transactional. A lot of 'payback' is silently expected.

There was a time in which he was very vocal about praising Burzum and Varg, like they would be in some kind of brotherhood. He ranted about him in interviews, talked about how great of a musician he is and how they live in Tolkien's fantasy world etc, etc.

The first reason for wanting so much to associate himself with Vikernes is admiration.

The second reason, and this one tends to be less noticeable for some people, is marketing. Burzum exploded in notoriety after Varg got in jail for murder and the so-called 'satanists' were more feared than ever. It is obvious that if you want to 'get a taste' of fame and maximize your band profit, you will (one way or another) associate yourself with the most popular and controversial individual at the time.

Fenriz, like many others, tries to remain relevant in a scene that is dying out, unfortunately. His strategy is different than others, but the outcome is the same.

I'm not saying he is a bad person, that you should hate him or anything like this. I just present things as I see them.

I don't think that he is just as underhanded and shady as Varg, but I'm not a big fan of him either.

Anyway, this is my take in him.

[gummy-sharks666]

What are they listening to: 12 orders edition

Barodius: screams of the damned

Kazarina: divorced mom music (ie: pink, Kelly clarkson, lady Gaga)

Airzel: linkin park (it’s his only personality trait)

Gill: 90’s grunge and nu metal

Stoica: one of those weird people who “doesn’t listen to music”

Nurzak: gregorian chants

Mason: Green Day and only pre hiatus fall out boy, doesn’t like anything after futct

Lena: Norwegian black metal

Zenet: blink 182, Green Day, fall out boy (but doesn’t want anyone to know she also loves Britney Spears)

Jesse: IDKHOW, early Panic! At the disco, and showtunes (obviously). Tries to get Mason to see the light on Folie a Deux

Sid: divorced dad music (Pearl Jam, chili peppers, soundgarden)

Ren: scene/emo shit like ptv, bvb and sws

[ardentpoop]

whats a movie that impacted you a lot. either negatively, positively, knowledge-wise etc or a mix/all of those

unmm im a terrible movie-watcher in recent years especially but here are a few less-obvious standouts:

malignant 2021: made me laugh pretty much the whole way through. goofy as hell stylized horror from the mind of james wan.

the invisible man 2020: I apparently gave this one an unfavorable rating the first time I watched it but it made enough of an impression on me for me to watch it again a couple years later! aldis hodge is in it and he is so gorgeous :) also I do think oliver jackson plays abusive-stalker-boyfriend pretty well here, tho the best parts of the movie are when you can’t see him.

amreeka 2009 is abt a palestinian single mother and her teenage son immigrating to america during the US invasion of iraq. very painfully evocative for me; I rewatched it for the first time since I was a teen earlier this year and it made me cry. my beloveds hiam abbass and alia shawkat are in it <3

lords of chaos: semi-fictionalized account of the lives of the most notorious characters in the early norwegian black metal scene. enjoyable but with many caveats and content warnings. main reason I liked it is rory culkin hot (you should see some of the little outfits they put him in)

this one IS obvious but hereditary scared me more than any other horror movie I’ve watched in recent memory

cars 2006 is a perfect movie to me you don’t get it…… I rewatched it last summer and my heart exploded……

[athetos]

If I had the time and resources to make a several hour video essay, I would 100% do it on the early Norwegian black metal scene. Doing it on just Mayhem and Burzum alone would amount to 2 hours, easy. I promise you that no matter how depraved or fucked up you think the scene was, it’s worse than you think. The church-burnings are probably the least controversial thing going on there!

[crmsndragonwngss]

Regarding my last few posts, it occurs to me that some folks may not know who Varg Vikernes is. Before you look him up, I’ll tell you the basic rundown, because it’s… a lot.

Just as a warning, the paragraphs below this one contain mentions of arson, murder, racism, and neo nazis, because Varg is a piece of shit. There’s also a readmore at the end that contains mention of suicide, suicidal ideation, and abuse of a corpse, because, well… black metal, y’know?

To paint it in broad strokes, Varg Vikernes is the racist piece of shit who burned a bunch of churches in Norway in the early days of the Norwegian black metal scene in the mid to late 80s and early 90s, and then murdered his bandmate (Euronymous of Mayhem) by stabbing him 23 times in the head, neck, and back. He was sentenced to 21 years in prison for first degree murder, arson, and possession of explosives, and was later essentially exiled from Norway for all of that plus inciting racial hatred (he’s a fucking neo-nazi like actually). Now he lives in France, and he used to have a YouTube channel wherein he would go on racist tirades. I’ve heard it’s defunct now (thankfully).

Now, if you wanna look him up to read more about him (and inevitably Burzum and Mayhem), use caution. His story is of course tied inextricably with Euronymous’s story, which is, in turn, inextricably entwined with Dead’s story, and therein lies madness. If you’re squeamish of or sensitive to suicide or suicidal ideation, self harm, and extreme morbidity, I’d suggest stopping here. It goes far beyond the macabre, and these people were (and are) actually real. Dead was a strange and tortured man, to put it mildly, and his story is hard to stomach even for folks who aren’t squeamish in the slightest.

I’d also like to point out that I am not a part of the black metal scene. I don’t particularly care for how it sounds as a general rule, and the entire subgenre is basically a minefield, so I mostly steer clear. I recognize and acknowledge its place in the scene and its importance in the history of metal music, but any attention I’ve ever actually paid to black metal is shallow and cursory at best. I’m into more melodic styles, as far as extreme music goes.

I’d also like to point out that any humor I personally find in the whole Kanye thing is purely nihilistic. It’s fundamentally Not Funny. It’s ironic and bizarre and completely fucking insane, but it’s not funny. In saying that, I’d be lying if I said I’m not very interested in how the whole thing plays out.

Anyway, here’s a very short “well basically” under the cut about Dead and Euronymous. It’s not particularly graphic, but I’ll put some trigger warnings regardless.

tw suicide, tw abuse of a corpse

Basically, Dead ended up killing himself, and Euronymous found him. He rearranged some of the stuff in the room and then took some pictures of Dead’s body, allegedly collected pieces of his skull to keep and allegedly stewed and ate bits of his brain, then called the police. Euronymous sent one of the pictures to a penpal (seriously), who then used it as the album cover for a bootleg Mayhem live album. Euronymous also allegedly made the skull fragments into necklaces that he would give out to musicians he “deemed worthy.”

The more you know

[dustedmagazine]

Hulder — Verses in Oath (20 Buck Spin)

Photo by Liana Rakijian

There’s an interesting semi-cosmopolitan quality to Verses in Oath, Hulder’s second LP and first release for Pittsburgh-based label 20 Buck Spin (NB, when this reviewer remembers the label’s locale, he always flashes on the moment in Videodrome, when Harlan tells Max where the titular, explicitly violent, deeply unpleasant S&M television signal emanates from: “Pittsburgh.” No so cosmopolitan. But we digress). There are tones and textures attributable to the Norwegian kvlt canon, the equally legendary late-90s Greek scene, even some moments that recall more recent melodic USBM acts, like Ludicra — see the vocals and vibe of the opening minutes of “Hearken the End.” Is Hulder attempting grand synthesis, or is she just playing to established listenerships?

For an artist so early in her career, the project of reducing black metal to some designable set of common properties might seem like hubris. But there has always been significant skill (and a sharp sense for PR) in Hulder’s approach to carving a space out for herself in black metal’s overcrowded field. Some early promo images leaned into her conventional good looks and long blonde hair; there were spike-studded leather bras and some exposed midriff action. One can’t blame her. In black metal’s sometimes misogynist Guyville, sexiness can be cover or weapon. And when a more coherent musical profile seemed to clarify on Godslastering: Hyms of a Forlorn Peasantry (2021), dueling imagos of Hulder as waify farmgirl and as baleful, witchy demon sought to complement the music’s focus on the rural cultures of the European Dark Ages.

Verses in Oath is a more assured record, less invested in an overt thematics of Medieval forest and field, more interested in musical drama. The record’s second side is particularly effective. Check out the raging thump and boil of “Vessel of Suffering” and the sharp interplay between steely riffage and synthy mournfulness of “Cast into the Well of Remembrance.” Ultimately, though, any synthesis effected by the record seems more like an accumulation of safe bets. None of these songs wishes to move black metal forward into any sort of unfamiliar configuration — and for many, many fans of the genre, that’s just fine. Hulder’s PR smarts may be at work: She likely still has dues to pay in Guyville (an especially hidebound place among the black metal dudes) in order to score more Decibel covers and make her way to an even bigger label.

Those things are said without any particular stink on them. It’s never been easy to make it as a professional musician, to say nothing of doing that as a woman. In music’s currently confused conjuncture — economic and cultural — it must be really hard. One can’t blame Hulder for consolidating her chops and cred. But one can also hope that she’ll move her prodigious talents into more forbidding sonic terrain, sometime soon.

Jonathan Shaw

[randomvarious]

Today's compilation:

Firestarter 1998 Black Metal

I guess ever since I learned about the history of black metal, particularly its Norwegian second wave, I've just been in a sort of shock over how popular it still managed to become. Like, clearly some of its tenets—pure evil and Satanic worship—were played up for sensationalistic shock value, and many ended up biting hard on that aspect of it, just like how lots of concerned American parents got whipped up into a frenzy over their kids listening to Ozzy Osbourne, Judas Priest, and Iron Maiden in the 80s, convincing themselves that if their impressionable kid played the records backwards, that they could then become possessed by demons because of the imagined Satanic messaging that was hidden in the music. Just pure, laughable silliness, especially considering just how tame a lot of that music sounds today.

But early 90s Norwegian black metal was a far more serious beast, with some of the most extreme fears that were borne by that Satanic panic actually sort of coming to fruition. I mean, whether or not anyone within that Norwegian scene actually believed in their own bullshit, some of its members still managed to gain notoriety by doing some truly heinous and horrifying stuff, like murder. One of the scene's founders, Euronymous, from a band called Mayhem, and who also owned the Oslo record store where Norwegian black metal had originally started, once repeatedly stabbed a gay man to death.

And another thing that this scene manifested was a whole spate of church burnings as well; like fifty of them. Again, whether or not these musicians actually believed in any form of Satanism or held extreme anti-Christian beliefs totally becomes beside the point when they actually end up causing real world harm. But those actions that they took in order to gain credibility, by practicing what they preached in their music, caused the whole scene to become its own spectacle anyway, which is what it seems like some of its most vocal members had wanted all along; a self-fulfilling prophecy, as it were.

Now, while I viscerally tend to despise the sound of black metal itself, mostly because of its shrieking, demonic vocals, I'm not here to say that because a bunch of Norwegians took their shit way too far, that black metal, as a whole, should be canceled. I, personally, find its presentation and obsession with all things morose and evil to be really, really corny, but if you dig it, then more power to you.

But what I really struggle to wrap my head around—and perhaps I really shouldn't be as surprised as I am here—is that despite all of this violence and hatred that some musicians in the Norwegian scene themselves actually carried out in real life, that labels would still be willing to play footsie with those bands. Like, this comp, from Century Black Records, isn't from an obscure label of any kind; Century Black was a sublabel of Century Media Records, which is a very popular and diverse metal label that's now owned by fucking Sony! Like, you can easily find Mayhem's music on Spotify, the band of the guy who did that murder!

And understandably, there is a concerted effort by metal enthusiasts, and the industry as a whole, to deride and not platform black metal's Nazi subgenre, but if a dude who wasn't a confirmed Nazi committed a grisly, unprovoked killing that was also quite possibly a hate crime, and he and a bunch of others burned some churches too, well, Sony's capitalizing on their music right now. Fucking wild, right?

So, my objection here isn't to the sound or the absurdly cringy themes that black metal itself is steeped in, but it's that a label would still include a band like Mayhem on their comp. Like, isn't that some shit you'd wanna sweep under a rug, like with the Nazi stuff?! But no; I mean, do you see this album cover and title? Firestarter? What do you think they're referring to there, especially with this CD that's largely a showcase of foundational Norwegian black metal bands? Gee, I wonder 🤔.

And guess what? I didn't actually hate this album as much as I thought I would. I mean, I'm still all the way out on all of these songs once the typical black metal vocals kick in, but some of these riffs and melodies, combined with breakneck-paced drumbeats, are very impressive and satisfying to a tiny slice of me that enjoys some very heavy music from time to time. And some of these songs lean a little proggy too, which I can also get down with.

But can we please not do such a transparent allusion to one of the most truly abhorrent phenomena that Norwegian black metal begat? I mean, I understand the issues that people have with Christianity and organized religion more broadly, and I, myself, am a hardened atheist too, but can we please tone it the fuck down here by not flippantly making reference, in both the title and album art, to something reprehensible that actually repeatedly happened? Like, can we not glorify any of that extracurricular shit or present this album in such a way?! I mean, if you were making an album of Phil Spector's greatest hits, your album art wouldn't include anything that referenced the murder he committed, right?

No highlights.

[no1emperorglazer]

Ended up re-making the whole drawing. The og was in watercolor, and had the gore I mentioned in my last post.

I realized I fucked up a bit on the perspective, and I was too far off in the drawing so I just started out fresh again, and I like it a bit more now. It definitely feels more "Pelle-ish", and it's a better representative of my art style.

Also, this was heavily referenced from a Pinterest pic, tho I can't find the original artist

[cavedwellermusic]

Behemoth - Grom 2023 Reissue

A Polish black metal classic given new life.

Following their debut, Behemoth emerged from the developing Polish black metal scene looking to stake their claim with their sophomore album. Far from a carbon copy of the Norwegian style, ‘Grom’ is, as acknowledged by Nergal, an experimental album. Its shows a band in transition, as after this Behemoth would lean towards the blackened death metal they are known for today. While purists may not enjoy the experimentation, open-minded fans will see the early signs of Nergal’s vision for Behemoth.

[plusvanity]

Unfortunately, it's going to be long. I have read your recent asks and it's outrageous indeed how he still speaks on Øystein's name (seething at the mouth while trying to convince aaaaall the people about how awful and 'a loser' he was), throwing tantrums everytime someone mentions him; somehow, I do also think that it is funny, pathetically so, that he HAS to address ANY comment (even if the said comment is not relevant to let's say, the original post) about the man he killed (and also goes as far as to get pissy and correct people that he didn't 'murder' him, he 'just killed' him). We do all agree that he will never get over Øystein simply because A) he expected a different kind of 'aftermath' with him probably skyrocketing into this black metal symbol, replacing Euronymous in the scene, being viewed overall as a legend (which can be discussed as to what extent he is recognized as such, many people are unsympathetic of Ø.'s murder and play it out as something good that happened, like he 'cleansed' the scene because after all, Øystein had it coming) and B) it infuriates him that no matter what he says or how many time he says it or even after how many years have passed, people STILL talk about Euronymous, mourn this artistic loss & there is a small fambase dedicated to his legacy. What he thought was an easy way out — eliminating the 'threat' and the source of his admiration turned into jealousy — came to bite him in the ass and he still (even though he was somewhat successful with his music! Mind you) feels like he lives in his shadow. I also don't belive that Øystein wanted to make a snuff movie out of him at all. Or at least there is no source to back it up except the 'a friend of a friend' and the only real source that supports the claim that Ø. wanted, although it was more of a pondering about which was discarded, to kill him is that one Mortiis comment.

But my question is: do you think that this pure, hot rage toward Øystein after all those years is fundamentally fueled by the fact that even in death, he feels wronged by him because he had to throw away the best years of his life away? Does it make sense? He will always bound to him whether he likes it or not, doesn't matter if he tries to be nonchalant about it.

Ps. Very off topic: are you Italian?

Regarding the supposed reasons why he won't get over Øystein:

A. He actually became an iconic symbol in Black Metal whether we like it or not because his murder is actually one of the biggest reasons why the Black Metal became so popular in the late 90s/early 00s. The other reason is Pelle's s*****e. What convinced people that 'these kids ain't kiddin' was the actual loss of lives in the scene.

Burzum sold better than Mayhem overall, and Filosofem stood in tops for years. Random people know about Varg more than they do about Øystein or Pelle. I've literally had that confirmed both on the Internet and in real life many times.

He basically became famous for taking one's life, so I don't see why he would be mad today from this perspective if he already accomplished a status in the Black Metal history.

What realistically makes more sense is option B. Varg was envious of Øystein way before he committed the crime. I explained how this works when I talked about 'narcissistic splitting'. He wanted what he couldn't have, and that was Øystein's prestige, authority, innovation, etc. Basically, what made Øystein such a great 'leader', so to speak. It was a struggle for power, and this is also what the Norwegian Court concluded when they tried to determine the reason behind the crime.

What people have to understand is that Varg is, after 30 years, STILL afraid of Øystein. Øystein still holds power over him even if he is dead. Varg will never ever get over his obsession because his obsession hides a raging inferiority complex, it is rooted in fear of being 'less than' or 'not good enough'. He is mentally stuck at the age of 19-20 when he was a nobody and his success in music depended heavily on Øystein's approval. He gets triggered by every comment in which Øystein is mentioned, he cannot help it, it's involuntary. And these comments ruin his day, I can tell you that. I've never seen someone more pathetic, living in his own head, whose biggest accomplishment in life was taking another's life made such a parody out of himself on the Internet.

Yes, even after his death, Varg is wronged by Øystein. I believe he dreams about him at night, I'm not even kidding. I believe he has dreams in which he is 19 again and a loser in front of the one whom he looked up to.

He is furious that he lost the best years of his life, but this fury is aimed towards himself (he self-sabotaged by acting on impulse and ending up in prison). This, and the fury that is aimed towards Øystein are his main fuels. Narcissists live in the past. They revisit their most impactful moments again and again, and they are not able to move forward. Stuck in a loop is the easiest way to describe Varg's thought process.

No, I don't believe at all that Øystein wanted to make a snuff movie torturing Varg and all that stuff. As their friendship deteriorated, they couldn't stand each other, and they most probably went talking shit about each other behind their backs. Classic and typical.. but Varg took it to the next level and the rest is history.

No, I'm not Italian, but what made you think that? You made me curious.

[gorgorothmerch]

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[stenka-razin]

Anyway, please enjoy the classic debut studio album by Czech metal legends  Törr. Törr play thrash metal with an edge that was very influential to the still nascent black metal scene (everyone forgets the Czechs beat the Norwegians to that classic BM sound). Despite being consistently heavy and brutal, Törr managed to consistently find a lot of ways to diversify their sound on their early albums. This one’s great, but really any of their early recordings are a win.

[grimesapologist]

this album is insane

quote from article in CTM Magazine by Amanda Cavalcanti

And just as Mayhem impacted black metal with their catchy and obscure riffs in the release of Deathcrush in 1987, Brazil's Sarcófago dropped I.N.R.I., cited as an influence by many musicians who formed the infamous Norwegian black metal scene in the late 1980s,  Fenriz included. The book, Lords of Chaos, which gives an account of the early Norwegian black metal scene, even goes so far as to say Mayhem's Euronymous was »obsessed« with Sarcófago's visuals.

[athetos]

It’s true that a great number of musicians in the early Norwegian black metal scene were solely committed to the aesthetics and didn’t really believe half the shit they were saying. However it also true that some of them burned down churches, murdered their band mates, and exploited their friends suicides in explicit detail I won’t mention here. The more I learn the more I