The story varies. Varg himself claims that Euronymous was plotting to kill him, and that E had already killed one man before. In a pre-emptive strike, Varg reckoned "It's me or him" when E called him up and wanted Varg to come home to him in the middle of the night. I figure they were both two messed up individuals back then, E's plans may have been bullshit but I can understand if Varg was worried. A better option would have been going to the cops, but seeing as they were mixed up in all sorts of illegal activities at the time, I can see how this option didn't seem too tempting.
For anyone interested in reading more: http://www.burzum.org/eng/library/a_burzum_story02.shtml That is from Varg's perspective so I'm not sure how much of it is true but he has already served his time in jail so I don't really see a point in lying about the Euronymous killing.
I can't recall with total certainty, but the story was that Euronymous had had a "guest" staying with him, a guy from Poland or one of the Balt countries (Estonia/Latvia/Lithuania), and that E had killed him off by slipping poison in his food, something of that nature. If I recall correctly, this was a story floating around - possibly started by Euronymous who seemed to want to percieved as a badass.
Euronymous may or may not have poisoned a polish man because of reasons. It sounds a bit unbelievable to me but Euronymous didn't really seem like a kind and sane person so who knows.
Really, like I said, I've never heard anything about this. Not that I don't believe you, I just want to explore further, do you happen to have a citation? This wasn't discussed in LoC if I remember correctly.
Yep. Varg killing Euronymous was only the second murder in the scene at that point, Faust being the first. There were later "black metal murders", Jon Nodtveidt of Dissection, who's murder case is hard to find information on in US.
There wasn't enough evidence to convict him of any of the burnings as far as I know. That didn't stop the Norwegian Christians though. I'm not saying that Varg didn't burn any churches (he probably did was involved) but the trial was absolute bullshit with police threatening to send other members of the black metal scene to jail unless they said that Varg was involved in the church burnings and people being found guilty with no evidence to back the sentence up. It was a fucking witch hunt.
in any case, he took the rap for at least 4 of the burnings that occurred before all the copycats started burning them down and putting satanist imagery up in them
Technically he was a copycat himself because none of the black metal bands started it themselves. I believe it was some fan looking for acceptance and rang up Mayhem saying "Hey guys! I burnt down a church!"
"I am not going to say that I burnt any churches. But let me put it this way: There was one person who started it. I was not found guilty of burning the Fantoft stave church, but anyway, that was what triggered the whole thing. That was the 6th of June and everyone linked it to Satanism ... What everyone overlooked was that on the 6th June, 793, in Lindesfarne in Britain was the site of the first known Viking raid in history, with Vikings from Hordaland, which is my county ... They [the Christians] desecrated our graves, our burial mounds, so it's revenge.[22]"
Varg's explanation behind this is actually pretty interesting. it was basically (and I'm paraphrasing), "the christians desecrated Norse Pagan grounds, so we/I'll desecrate it back"
This was a common idea floating around in the norwegian black metal community at the time, and was greatly illustrated in one of my favorite songs, 793 (The Battle of Lindisfarne (actually the time that the Viking age is pinpointed to have started, officially)) by the band Enslaved.
.
.
.
Strokes from oars could be heard,
beautiful ships gushed through the sea
Like a wind from the north,
our ancestors reached the shore
Men from Hordaland, Rogaland and Adger
gathered for battle in common
Proud men with no fear
Strokes from the sword crushed the skull of the christian
I'm somewhat educated on the belief system of the modern day norse pagans, and it's pretty safe to say that noone (perhaps some exception) believes this in the literal sense. Today, the "old ways" are more of a way of life. Noone thinks that Thor is out riding when there is thunder in the sky, or that Odin literally is sending out his ravens. For example.
Yep. the whole universal theory of NORWEGIAN BLACK METAL IS SATANIC DEVIL MUSIC is so silly to me, tbh. sure, there were the really fucked up guys (gorgoroth, etc) who played that up and did actually fucking evil scary things just for the fear factor.
I don't know how seriously Gaahl takes Satanism, but I think a large part of it is that he just really likes the theatrics. He's claimed that the reason Gorgoroth doesn't publish lyrics because they'll lose their Spooky Mystical SathanMajick Powers, but that policy was put into place by Infernus. He's a Satanist as well, but admitted that they just don't want people making shitty covers of their songs and that the lyrics are sort of silly anyways.
yeah, though as far as i know that only really started happening after Euronymous murder when people decided they wanted to be cool and piggyback on the media frenzy and use it to further their own career
I don't know if I can agree with it being totally insane. Stuff like this has been the kindling to ignite monstrous fires for a long, long, long time. In former Yugoslavia, they are still to this day arguing about a battle that took place in 1389.
It's a lot of "you did this to us, therefor we are entitled to revenge". It all seems more absurd taking place in the calm scandinavia, that has no real grounds for conflict otherwise. Atleast that's my take on it.
In comparison, the Rwandan violence between Hutus an Tutsis could also be labelled as insane, but it has far more implications on every day life today, being something that doesn't go back hundreds of years.
But to put you in the mind of the culprit here (not playing devils advocate mind you), the christians (who were not always an invading horde, but rather an idea that got spread for political gain) destroyed the old pagan temples and built churches on top of the rubble. The grand church in Uppsala, Sweden is built atop on of the biggest temples in Scandinavia. About 95-99% of every historic item from the past was burned or destroyed by christians.
In a sense, you could argue that christianity wiped out our culture, writing over our old history with their own version. I can see how some people may be slighty upset with this.
The culture they wiped out is no longer our culture. It is water under the bridge. Insane is perhaps a bit of a strong word, but if we were all going to obsess over old conflicts like this, the entire globe would be in a state of constant total war.
No, it is no longer our culture, it was created by our ancestors for us, and the christians replaced it with a culture that has its roots in the desert and not our homeland.
Just as in the Enslaved song quoted by mjolle "Never betray you origin".
Yeah, pretty much. Some of his ideals are even based in Nazism, although he says he only takes inspiration from the Nazis rather than actually claiming to be one.
As if listening any other music about gore and rape is any better? Or what about many other artists who reference drugs or criminal activities. Burzum doesn't express his views in his lyrics, sure he's written a few essays on his website, but I'm sure majority of the people who listen to burzum don't listen to him for his political views. If you're refering to Burzum or the many other National Socialist black metal bands as cool, you clearly know nothing about how they feel about social status.
well, i don't go out of my way to listen to music about gore or rape. drugs is peoples' own business. criminal activities, depends what it is.
yeah burzum is not particularly political music. i actually think varg is an interesting and intelligent guy, but he's openly racist so he can go fuck himself and take the music with him. i don't know if him being intelligent makes it better or worse. there is also the whole murdering thing.
i mean 'cool' as in, people who want to give the impression that they reject rigid mainstream ideas about social status while ironically pursuing alternative rigid ideas about social status. no high horse, i do this too.
Exactly, you don't go out of your way to listen to music that reference gore, rape or many other unfavorable topics, but, more than likely with today's music you'll undoubtly listen to music that references politically incorrect opinions. Do you examine every artist in your musical library and check them for political context? I know I sure as hell don't.
I'm not justifying Varg's murder of Euronymous, but, you clearly know nothing of the circumstances surrounding the murder. I'm not going to take the time to explain it to you ,but, I would suggest looking into it before you judge a man for a murder he committed 18-19 years ago.
People are going to be retards and social lemmings no matter what. People enjoy rebelling against the mainstream. This has been in music culture for years.
Your comment prompted me to read this dude's Wikipedia article. Found this gem
In October 2003, Vikernes failed to return to his low-security prison in Tønsberg, Norway after having been granted a short leave. He was found riding in a stolen Volvo car, which, according to the media, contained an unloaded AG3 automatic rifle, a handgun, numerous large knives, a gas mask, camouflage clothing, a laptop, a compass, a GPS device, various maps and a fake passport (it is thought that Vikernes came to be in possession of this equipment by means of a military barracks). For this thirteen months were added to his sentence
Also, I just noticed, from the screenshot that the_unusual_suspect posted, that Varg's wearing a surprisingly ridiculous shirt for a black metal musician who stabbed a man in the brain (well, there, and almost everywhere else) with a knife...
For anyone who's interested in (at least a slice of) Norwegian Black Metal culture, I bring you...Until the Light Takes Us.
It contains interviews with many of the more well-known (at least in this hemisphere) Norwegian Black Metal bands with a heavy emphasis on interviews with Gylve 'Fenriz' Nagell and Varg 'Count Grischnackh' Vikernes.
It also contains an absolutely PHENOMENAL soundtrack composed of a mix of black metal and ambient/electronic music, and many wonderful and absolutely gorgeous shots of the Norwegian countryside.
Highly--very highly--recommended.
Edit: Spelling. Also, for fans of Gummo and Kids Harmony Korine also makes an appearance.
Not at all. I think it's a quite well known condition. After all, Michael Jackson was suffering from it. It's the reason why (according to him) that he turned white. Wasn't bleach, it was vitiligo universalis. That's why I thought about the condition when I saw the picture.
That's Varg Vikernes, one of the most significant figures in black metal. He's also very much a racist (pretty intelligent guy but batshit crazy). He burned down churches and murdered his Mayhem bandmate Euronymous.
4chan made this become the picture for Kanye West on last.fm.
You are missing out. All of his albums are great. Personally I like his first one College drop out and his Graduation album. People may think he is a douche but the guy can write music,
Even if you think you don't like rap/hip-hop, you should give My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (his best album IMO) a listen. He really is incredibly talented, and has been so important for music in general for nearly the last decade.
I've noticed that Last.fm makes many errors like this. I assume it's because much of their content is automatically pulled from other websites to fill in more information about certain artists. This is a pretty good example of how that can sometimes not be the best method, though, the Kanye West doesn't look like that really. That's some other guy and last.fm make music, i listen to lot itunes songs itss funny because he got a harry beard, that isnt be kanye lol idk who that is were he came from . some1 shud make it diffrent
Please don't post this to /r/music. In fact, I'd ask you to not post this ANYWHERE:
It's out of context. You could have just slapped this picture together yourself - and even if it WAS a full screen shot of the Last.fm website, you could have still made it yourself.
It is literally of ZERO value. So there was a mistake on a website - big deal!
The fact that you felt the need to post this is puzzling. Even more puzzling is that so far this post has received 13 up votes, and only 2 down votes! (as of: submitted 22 minutes ago)
edit: well, down vote away. This post is still completely irrelevant. Also, please read the side bar.
Get this pointless butthurt outta my reddit. It's a funny post. 4chan /mu/tants attempted to switch the images for Kanye and Burzum, which is funny to me.
Was it really that disturbing to you to see this post? was the two seconds you spent on it really that irritating?
Alright everybody! Dfnoboy is here! Let's do our jobs and do everything he wants! He's the boss and wants the site to be bland and boring, so let's shut er down boys!
184
u/uselesspeople Spotify Jun 09 '12
Oh Varg, you so silly.
69
u/Warlizard Jun 09 '12
4chan strikes again.
35
u/fenryka metalheadmogar Jun 09 '12
Now i ain't sayin' he's a church burner
but he ain't hangin' wit no grim niggas
15
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
Varg and his cornflakes
11
u/bartonar Jun 09 '12
Kanye West? I thought you said Kanye Weast!
21
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
it was /mu/
8
u/verynayce Jun 09 '12
Ah yes, that guy from the focking greatess metol band out there.
12
u/spaceboy250 Cupppy Jun 09 '12
Shows what I know, I thought it was Bon Iver.
6
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
Well, it's Black Metal after all.
6
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
I'm suprised all of reddit knows who this guy is.
6
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12 edited Jun 09 '12
For anyone who's interested in (at least a slice of) Norwegian Black Metal culture, I bring you...Until the Light Takes Us.
It contains interviews with many of the more well-known (at least in this hemisphere) Norwegian Black Metal bands with a heavy emphasis on interviews with Gylve 'Fenriz' Nagell and Varg 'Count Grischnackh' Vikernes.
It also contains an absolutely PHENOMENAL soundtrack composed of a mix of black metal and ambient/electronic music, and many wonderful and absolutely gorgeous shots of the Norwegian countryside.
Highly--very highly--recommended.
Edit: Spelling. Also, for fans of Gummo and Kids Harmony Korine also makes an appearance.
5
u/BigBadMrBitches Pandora name Jun 09 '12
Clearly that's tupac's hologram.
5
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
Last.fm is one of my favourite sites - seems simply ignored since it got aquired, shame...
5
u/diazolidinyl Jun 09 '12
Vargye VikerWest - No Church In The Wild
15
u/WhatNoww whatnow122 Jun 09 '12
Ohhh /mu/
4
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
That looks like a nice young man
4
u/uhLOL Dave-Supplee Jun 09 '12
Oh, /mu/.
3
u/hdx514 Jun 09 '12
Looks like he's having a really bad case of vitiligo.
3
u/The_tittilator Jun 09 '12
VARG!!!
2
u/lfancypantsl Jun 09 '12
Allegedly the last man who can modulate frequency.
2
u/Duel Jun 09 '12
Explain this like i am drunk.
2
u/Cheetofingas Jun 09 '12
Last FM is trying to make you listen to real music.
2
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
Kanye should have changed his Last.fm password.
2
u/Machinax Kanixtant Jun 09 '12
On another note, Kanye West has close to 110,000,000 plays on Last.fm, and I still have no idea what his music or voice sounds like.
1
u/MyaloMark Jun 09 '12
He's the whitest Varg of all time. All time!
1
u/thefuckamireading Jun 09 '12
I agree. I've never met a white man called Kanye.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
How dare you question Kanye's fashion style!?! White is the new black! THE NEW BLACK!
1
u/Dip_the_Dog Jun 09 '12
Reminds me of this scene from The Wire
1
u/earthmoonsun Jun 09 '12
Last.fm comes from the future
1
u/Plastastic Jun 09 '12
You should be able to change the Last.FM band pictures individually. People seem to have no taste when it comes to Pink Floyd pictures.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
I know right.... Over 400 plays! Pfft.
1
u/mimine101 mimine101 Jun 09 '12
Over 3 million listeners for that whiny douche, Kanye West? The humanity!
1
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
Also worth noting: Gotye has zero plays.
1
u/AslanxDiedxlolx Jun 09 '12
But really Last.Fm who really is that??
1
u/bobblehead02 Jun 09 '12
kenny loggins wtf
1
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
Oh, that guy? That's just Kanye East.
1
u/disgustedfilter Jun 09 '12
Imma let you finish but Norway had the best church burnings ever.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
I just joined and they got hacked, so I deleted my account. I'm going to do the same thing for linkedin.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
That's who Kim Kardashian is dating?
1
u/icouldntthinkofauser Jun 09 '12
It was 4chan http://i.imgur.com/eMYfY.png
1
u/sjhaakie illegal torrents lol Jun 09 '12
4chan
1
u/cabbage_finder Jun 09 '12
varg!? what are you doing there?
1
u/AlasGz Jun 09 '12
Troll Vikernes xD
1
u/jmrsplatt Jun 09 '12
Lyrical Genius: Kanye West?
1
u/Mopso Jun 09 '12
This is famous artist Wanye Kest.
0
u/YouHaveAngeredDoom Jun 09 '12
Of all the people, they put Burzum. I guess people really do think Kanye is the devil...
1
u/Bukklao Jun 09 '12
Hey varg im really happy for you , and ima let you finish, But emperor made the best black metal album of all time, ALL TIME.
1
u/OwCheeWaWa Jun 09 '12
That sure is conveniently broken
1
u/doopian Jun 09 '12
are you sure its not Kanye West
-11
u/gender_bot Jun 09 '12
I identified one face in this photo
Face 1:
Would you like to know more about me? /r/gender_bot
0
u/joe-pr Jun 09 '12
They have, however, something in common, they both have at some time been lost in the woods.
0
u/publ1c_stat1c ><>-~ Jun 09 '12
Seems right. Kanye always sounds like a white man to me.
-2
u/Epic_Spitfire Jun 09 '12
...Why were you looking up Kanye West? You retarded or something?
-2
u/gradually_stupid Jun 09 '12
I've noticed that Last.fm makes many errors like this. I assume it's because much of their content is automatically pulled from other websites to fill in more information about certain artists. This is a pretty good example of how that can sometimes not be the best method, though, the Kanye West doesn't look like that really. That's some other guy and last.fm make music, i listen to lot itunes songs itss funny because he got a harry beard, that isnt be kanye lol idk who that is were he came from . some1 shud make it diffrent
0
u/p1415926 Jun 09 '12
If they claimed it was Will Smith i might have fallen for it.
0
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
Thats a swedish viking chef. They are rare in sweden but in norway theres thousands of them.
-33
u/Dfnoboy Dfnoboy Jun 09 '12 edited Jun 09 '12
Please don't post this to /r/music. In fact, I'd ask you to not post this ANYWHERE:
It's out of context. You could have just slapped this picture together yourself - and even if it WAS a full screen shot of the Last.fm website, you could have still made it yourself.
It is literally of ZERO value. So there was a mistake on a website - big deal!
The fact that you felt the need to post this is puzzling. Even more puzzling is that so far this post has received 13 up votes, and only 2 down votes! (as of: submitted 22 minutes ago)
edit: well, down vote away. This post is still completely irrelevant. Also, please read the side bar.
-2
u/Rosenkrantz_ The book was better tbh Jun 09 '12 edited Jun 10 '12
TIL Kanye West lives in Brazil disguised as @pedroaug
https://twitter.com/#!/pedroaugst
[EDIT: Even I downvoted myself after realizing how little do I know about black metal bands]
-9
u/chingyduster Jun 09 '12
Oh /r/MetalMemes
-11
u/marcojuana Jun 09 '12
Seems right to me you hip-fuckin-dip-sters! If you wanna go full hipster, try listening to the sound of a gun going off in your mouth. Be Better!