An individual claiming to be a black metal musician appears to be driving vehicles that have set three Louisiana churches ablaze, suggesting it could be no mere coincidence.
Three decades have passed since Norway’s black metal scene was rocked by violence. That year, Burzum guitarist Varg Vikernes (known then as Count Grishnackh or Louis Cachet) shot and killed Euronymous of Mayhem.
Mayhem
Mayhem was one of the earliest black metal bands to form in Norway, formed in 1987. Led by guitarist Euronymous and featuring bassist Necrobutcher and drummer Kjetil Manheim. Their music exuded violence and extremeness for its time. Furthermore, their highly repetitive songs gave their music an air of darkness that earned it some criticism within some circles.
In 1992, church burnings occurred across Norway, leading police to suspect Black Metal fans were responsible. While most attacks were carried out by locals or members of the scene themselves, one notable attack was orchestrated by Varg Vikernes of Mayhem bassist fame and member of neo-Nazi movement; his campaign involved burning churches along with other scene members while boasting about it and suggesting it as part of his plan to rid Norway from Christianity and restore its pagan roots.
At the height of Norway’s early ’90s black metal scene was church burnings; but death metal and heavy metal musicians also became involved. For example, Mayhem frontman Per Yngve Ohlin (known as Dead) committed suicide at his Krakstad home, sending shockwaves through the scene; guitarist for Mayhem Euronymous took full advantage of it by performing live shows where he would slash himself with bottles or cut his throat with broken guitar strings to mark himself as radical figure within scene culture – as he introduced face paint performances into live shows and once even stabbed someone during one show!
After the death of Dead, his bandmates started to lose trust in Euronymous as their leader and more as an arrogant idiot. Eventually they decided to replace him with another vocalist; thus giving rise to Emperor, an album known for its violent sound.
Emperor
The story of how Norwegian black metal band Emperor burned a church may sound sensationalist at first, but in reality the events were far more disturbing. These kids took their theatrical fantasies to another level by engaging in real terrorist war against society that ended with deaths and imprisonments.
As soon as black metal’s second wave emerged in the early ’90s, it drew international media attention to Scandinavia. One notable incident of church burnings occurred in Norway in 1991: this included the destruction of Fantoft Stave Church located in Fana near Bergen – which had long been considered an icon by Norwegians and a national landmark – however its perpetrator was none other than Mayhem Band members named after founder Varg Vikernes.
At that time, Varg was leading the black metal scene and led with an uncompromising, violent approach. His goal was to spread his brand of extremism throughout society without regard for consequences of his actions; his masterful manipulation was instrumental in convincing followers to follow him into a violent anti-Christian movement.
At shows, the band would perform to an audience filled with severed animal heads and dried blood – which they claimed would separate true black metal fans from posers. Furthermore, members would often cut themselves while performing; Dead would even use a shotgun during performances to shoot himself during performances!
Following his bandmate’s murder, Euronymous took drastic measures to show his grieving. After cutting pieces from Necrobutcher’s skull and fashioning them into necklaces for himself and other true fans in black metal scene. Necrobutcher left Mayhem over Euronymous’ response; Necrobutcher found Euronymous’ actions unsettling enough that he left as well.
Burzum
Burzum, led by Varg Vikernes (also known as Count Grishnackh), was one of the most influential black metal bands during the early 1990s. While many bands in this genre had an almost Satanic image, Burzum took things further by adopting pagan themes and anti-Christian ideologies into its music; particularly noticeable were syllables written out using runes as well as references to Norse mythology in their lyrics.
Though details surrounding Darkthrone’s early days can often be debated, most agree that Varg was at the core of Norway’s Black Metal scene. He is widely credited with inspiring members from Darkthrone and Mayhem to form their own bands while also having an effect on other bands through his radical ethnonationalist ideas which manifested themselves through his stage name and lifestyle choices.
Vikernes was an unsettling presence in Norway due to his satanic beliefs and violent tendencies, making him an iconoclast figure who rose from crime-prone roots into murdering one of his former bandmates, Oystein Aarseth (known by his pseudonym Euronymous), as well as torching several churches to support a pagan worldview – though these acts weren’t nearly as widespread as killing his former bandmate but nonetheless contributed to an increasing sense of animus against Christians among Norwegians in general.
Vikernes continued his prolific black metal releases while imprisoned, even while forbidden from playing traditional instruments he nonetheless used synthesizers to craft an unmistakably unique sound, later known as “dungeon synth.” His 1997 album Daudi Baldrs is widely seen as one of its pioneering examples.
He was also able to broaden the scope of his musical style, including more complex arrangements and fuller sounds. On his second album, Dunkelheit, Samoth of Emperor and Erik Lancelot of Darkthrone made appearances along with other members from their respective ensembles; vocalist ethereal vocals as well as trademark distorted picking and weird arpeggios made their presence known on this record.
Burzum was released from prison and embarked on a regular touring lineup, as well as releasing several albums including 1996’s Filosofem which marked a move away from primitive black metal in his earlier works and featured keyboards which further distinguished them from other black metal acts of the time.
Varg Vikernes
Varg Vikernes started Burzum, one of the most influential black metal projects ever. Between 1992 and 1996 he released five records which were all extremely violent in nature. Additionally he wrote books covering topics like paganism, racism and white supremacy as part of Burzum.
Reckless was a controversial figure, drawing a following through his anti-church and anti-Christian views. He joined the Black Circle – an inner circle of Norwegian black metal musicians and writers which included Euronymous, Snorre “Blackthorn” Ruch and Ingeborg Heiberg among others – before founding Deathlike Silence Productions record label and shop that sold black metal equipment.
While Mayhem was still young, Vikernes and other members of the Black Circle began burning churches across Norway to protest what they perceived to be Christian church persecution of ancient pagan religions. Fantoft Stave Church in Bergen was the first target and on subsequent albums by Mayhem they included a photograph depicting it on their sleeves as evidence.
Euronymous and Vikernes were at odds over burning churches, wanting to promote their cause but failing to see eye-to-eye on all issues. This triggered the breakup of the Black Circle; its final straw being an interview by Vikernes in a local newspaper where he boasted about church burnings – leading to his arrest, though eventually released due to lack of evidence against him.
Varg’s actions during his series of church burnings were far from clever or prudent; rather they were foolish and dangerous – yet his intention was clear: he wanted to demonstrate his status as leader of Black Metal movement while drawing attention to both his band and Black Circle.
People often make fun of those who burn churches, but these individuals are simply acting out their anger by doing something destructive. Take for instance the Native American who burned down a Mormon church or those in Louisiana who destroyed black churches.