Varg Vikernes might be the most infamous musician in all of Black Metal history. He is a convicted murderer and church arsonist known for his blatant racism, fascist views, and extreme nationalism. He continued to make himself notorious even through his prison sentence from 1994 to 2009. Most have grown intolerant of Varg and his actions, yet he continues to remain popular. His hostile personality has shaped his public image. Is he a victim of a psychological disorder, or is he sane and simply using his belief system to justify his behavior? Regardless, through his life and actions, Vikernes has proven himself a self-absorbed, intolerant fool.
Vikernes was born as Kristian Vikernes in Bergen, Norway in 1973. Later, he changed his first name to “Varg.” He has an older brother and parents who divorced. His father left when he was young. According to an interview with Vikernes in Michael Moynihan’s and Didrik Soderland’s Lords of Chaos, he recalls memories of living in Iraq when he was six years old and becoming aware of “racial matters.” His parents showed a lot of racism. His father was “pissed” about people of other ethnicities around town. His mother worried that Varg would bring home a black woman. Being brought up in an environment that encouraged racism probably contributed to Vikernes’ current views on race. His current views are even stranger than what he was exposed to in adolescence.
As a young musician, Varg Vikernes immersed himself in the Norwegian Black Metal scene, starting his band Burzum in 1991. He also became involved in Mayhem, an original Black Metal band where he met Euronymous (his real name is Øystein Aarseth). But trouble soon began. According to his personal blog, Vikernes was involved with a record label Deathlike Silence Production. The label was created by Euronymous to release the debut Burzum album. In order to afford it, Euronymous had to take out a loan. He ended up borrowing the money from Vikernes.
Euronymous ultimately decided not to pay Vikernes back the approximate 5,100 U.S. dollars he owed. Instead, he bought other things and showed no effort to recompense Vikernes. Vikernes should have used common sense and not loaned money to friends, especially poor, starving artists like Euronymous. This loan was probably the beginning of distrust and dislike between these two musicians. Their close friendship quickly dissolved, with disturbing events following shortly after.
In addition to the loan issue, Euronymous had reacted oddly to Vikernes joking with him in an interview in an attempt to publicize Euronymous’s music shop, Helvete. The interview ended up with Vikernes arrested after Euronymous called the police. Vikernes claims that because of constant disputes between him and Euronymous, his once friend planned to kill Vikernes. The two musicians let petty, juvenile emotions rage on to destroy their relationship.
Eventually, Vikernes had had enough of Euronymous and decided to take matters into his own hands. On August 10th, 1993, in the wee hours of the morning, Vikernes showed up at Euronymous’s apartment in Oslo, Norway in an attempt to settle a “fuck off” contract. The two were going to sit down and literally sign a contract to stay away from each other. A dispute and fight occurred, which ended up with Euronymous dead. Vikernes had stabbed him 23 times in various places all over his body, including the back, head, and neck.
Although no one is certain, the dispute appears to have been a power-struggle fueled by jealousy and the refusal to remain civil. Even though Varg Vikernes claimed that the murder was self-defense, he pursued Euronymous out into the hall of his apartment complex, stabbing him along the way. Regardless of what actually happened, Vikernes was arrested a few days later. He was sentenced to 21 years in prison for the murder of Euronymous. He was also convicted of participating in four church arsons, including the burning of the 11th century Fantoft Stave Church.
This is when Varg Vikernes developed a more noticeable public political voice. He stated that the church burnings were in response to a Christian take-over of his country hundreds of years ago. These arsons ended up ranked #10 in Metal Injection’s top 10 worst crimes committed by black metal musicians. Euronymous’s murder ranked #1. Vikernes’s involvement in the arsons and his nationalist / traditional views sparked events all over Scandinavia. Other Black Metal band members and enthusiasts began committing similar crimes in support of Varg’s “movements,” and Varg took advantage of this celebrity. While in prison, he wrote more than five books discussing his cultural roots and views. He released two albums, and groups lobbied for his release.
Even out of jail, he continues to make himself heard. Through a personal blog called Ancestral Cult, Varg preaches the revival of European philosophy and religion. In another website called the Thulean Perspective, he states, “No informed, sane, well-fed, healthy and free human being will ever convert or has ever converted to Judeo-Christianity!“ Both sites contain very harsh traditional expectations of people, such as keeping bloodlines pure. They are littered with both hidden and overt racism.
The site also expresses intolerance for certain groups of people, religions, countries, and ways of life. Vikernes calls these beliefs “just.” Recently, he was arrested in France for suspected terrorist acts. He will also have to appear in court for breaching a racism law in his blog posts. Is this level of arrogance and bigotry a result of some mental issue? Or is it the result of Vikernes simply being a cynical person hiding behind his “Old World” standards and genetic lineage?
Varg Vikernes is a tricky and complex creature. He carries himself with a strong presence and is a talented musician. He speaks in an educated tone, does his research, and fights for a cause. In some ways, these attributes seem to relate to a sense of honor. But Vikernes also manipulates those around him and shows no guilt, remorse, or empathy. And he does damage to others. His murder of Euronymous and the arsons show a complete lack of self-control. Many of his behavioral traits indicate psychopathy.
Sticking to ancient ways of life and holding grudges over events that happened hundreds of years ago will take Varg Vikernes nowhere. They will only make many people around him intolerant and unaccepting. There’s nothing wrong per se in hold traditional views. However, to let those views sway reason, take lives, and foster hatred serves no good purpose. Vikernes lets bias and an antiquated belief system control his life. His actions and “beliefs” breach common human decency. “Count Grishnackh” is a waste of talent and a threat to human life.
***
Anna Bankson is a writer from the Colorado Springs area.
