Varg Vikernes

Vikernes while in custody; March 2009

Varg Vikernes (born February 11, 1973 in Bergen , Norway ; born: Kristian Vikernes ; current official name: Louis Cachet ), also known under his former pseudonym Count Grishnackh or the name Greven ("the count") used by the Norwegian press , is a Norwegian musician, writer, web video producer and convicted murderer. He is the founder of Metal - and Ambient -A man band Burzum , and as an author and activist , a representative of a right-wing designed neo-paganism . From 1993 to 2009 he was serving for the murder of the black metal musician Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth and several church arsons a prison sentence .

Musical creation until 1993

Before Burzum, Vikernes and two friends first founded the band Kalashnikov (later renamed Uruk-Hai). After their dissolution he played with Olve "Abbath" Eikemo (later with Immortal ) in the death metal band Old Funeral . However, he claims that he did not feel part of the band and that he was only a guest musician. He also played with Eikemo in a project called Satanel. This also introduced Vikernes to the scene.

Vikernes made friends with Mayhem guitarist Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth and sent his bandmate Per Yngve "Dead" Ohlin ammunition. In 1991 he shot himself; according to Lords of Chaos , Vikernes stated that he had sent Dead the ammunition that Dead used in his suicide ., Between 1991, after Dead's suicide, and the murder of Euronymous (1993), Vikernes himself played bass with Mayhem (he himself claimed in In retrospect, never really being the bass player of the band), heard on the album De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas , and released the debut album and the Aske EP of his band Burzum on Euronymous' label Deathlike Silence Productions (DSP). According to early interviews, he was happy with DSP, but now he claims the opposite. During this time he gained attention through his appearances in the press, several cases of church arson, verbal attacks against other black metal bands like Profanatica , involvement in an attack on Christofer Johnsson of the "life metal" band Therion , and a letter bomb aimed at the Israeli band Salem .

In 1993 Burzum switched to Earache Records . Vikernes therefore met with the label owners in England, but after his return trip they decided against it due to his racist and right-wing extremist statements. Vikernes founded his own label Cymophane Productions and released his second album through this in August 1993. That same month he was also arrested for the murder of Euronymous.

Euronymous murder and imprisonment

Vikernes was charged in 1994 for the murder of Euronymous (whom Vikernes again portrays as self-defense), arson at three Norwegian churches, attempted arson at another church, and possession of weapons and explosives (with which, according to the press, he used the Nidaros Cathedral , which, according to the press , was the Blitz House and wanted to blow up the Norwegian Parliament ) sentenced to a maximum sentence of 21 years in prison . Vikernes' involvement in the arson of the famous Fantoft stave church , which he attributed to himself (supposedly to attract attention) and the remains of which can be seen on the cover of the Burzum EP Aske , could not be proven in court.

Picture of the "Blitz House", which Vikernes said he wanted to blow up

After his imprisonment, Cymophane Productions was continued by Slayer publisher Metalion and supported by French Filosofem publisher Wiking Herske and Baron von Abaddon of Black Funeral from the USA. In 1998 Vikernes denied any involvement Metalion on Cymophane.

He wrote the lyrics to Graven tåkeheimens saler , I en hall med flesk og mjød , As Flittermice as Satans Spys , En ås i dype skogen (on the album Transilvanian Hunger ) and Quintessence (on the following album Panzerfaust ) for the band Darkthrone. .

He also used his time in custody for further recordings of his Burzum project, which, however, can be assigned to the ambient , which Vikernes justified with the fact that he no longer felt connected to Black Metal and metal “foreign” music with roots in the “Nigger” -music (see also " Negro music ) is (but he also announced he would add more albums after his release, they would stylistically again resemble the old publications.), but also for writing several books, the most famous Vargsmål , with to which he began to turn to political issues "on a large scale". His other books deal with paganism, as do numerous articles on his website.

In 1997, a group of Norwegian right-wing extremists called the “ Einsatzgruppe ” planned to free Vikernes from prison. At this time, a Burzum T-shirt with an SS skull and the imprint Support your local Einsatzkommando was also released .

An escape attempt in 2003, at the end of which Vikernes with an AG 3 automatic rifle . and 700 rounds of ammunition were arrested, resulting in an extension of 13 months

Time after discharge

Vikernes was released on parole on May 24, 2009 . He previously stated that he and his family would move to a farm in Telemark and work, create music and write books there. He also said in March 2009 that he had not had any contact with right-wing extremist groups for a long time. The Norwegian Ministry of Justice, however, feared that Vikernes would not be able to find his way outside the prison. According to the ministry, he had ties to neo-Nazi groups, and he says he is still a racist.

According to the official site, Vikernes lives with his family on a farm in Telemark and is working on a new book. A new Burzum album called Belus , announced in 2009 and stylistically similar to the early works, was released on March 8, 2010. In 2012, it was reported that the farm Vikernes' mother had purchased in 2006 was sold; Vikernes is said to have moved to France with his French wife and children and also changed his name. In addition to his music career, Vikernes has been running the YouTube channel ThuleanPerspective since 2012 , on which he regularly published videos from 2015 to June 2019. These revolved mainly around his metaphorical interpretation of European pagan myths, reincarnation and his political views. On June 5, 2019, the channel was deleted from YouTube as part of an action against hate speech and conspiracy theories.

In March 2013, Vikernes released the documentary Forebears, produced by his wife Marie Cachet, about prehistoric bear cults in Europe during the time of the Neanderthals and what he believed to be an association with autism . The soundtrack to the film in synthesizer ambient style was released under the title Sôl Austan, Mâni Vestan . In 2014, The Ways of Yore , another album was released, which continued the musical path of the previous album. Four singles followed in 2015 .

At the beginning of June 2018, Vikernes declared Burzum over because he wanted to finish with his past.

Arrested again in France in 2013 and trial in 2014

On the morning of July 16, Varg Vikernes and his wife Marie Cachet were arrested on their farm near Salon-la-Tour on suspicion of having planned a “massacre” . In this context, it became known that in July 2011 Vikernes was one of the recipients of the manifesto A European Declaration of Independence , which Anders Behring Breivik sent before his attacks on July 22, 2011 . Vikernes later denied this on his blog. During the search of his property, five firearms were found in the family home, four of which Cachet had previously legally acquired with her gun license. She was pregnant with a fourth child at the time of arrest.

He was described by his neighbors as a withdrawn but peaceful family man. It was noticeable that Vikernes mostly walked around in camouflage clothing and spoke only poor French. Vikernes was noticed after he had made racist comments in Internet forums.

On the night of Thursday, July 17, 2013, Vikernes was released from prison. According to his lawyer, the suspicion of planning terrorist attacks turned out to be unfounded. Vikernes only wanted to live in peace with his family, the couple had acquired the weapons legally for leisure activities.

In August 2013, Varg Vikernes announced that he would bring charges against the officers involved because he believed the arrest was unfounded and the manner of arrest and detention was excessively brutal.

In July 2014, Vikernes was sentenced by a French court to six months in prison and a fine of 8,000 euros for incitement to racial hatred and the glorification of war crimes in the articles he wrote on his blog spreading anti-Semitic and xenophobic ideas.

Ideology and reception

Burzum's publications influenced a not inconsiderable part of today's Black Metal and contributed to Vikernes' iconization; Even authors from outside the scene such as the world journalist Heiko Zwirner attribute to Vikernes "that he knows how to create atmospheric density and not be restricted by the narrow conventions of Black Metal." At the same time, he is cut off because of the murder of Euronymous viewed as a traitor to the scene. In addition, the course of his trial and the sensational journalism that followed with it also contributed to his current image in public.

Like many other black metal musicians, Vikernes initially stylized himself (both in interviews and on his Aske EP through the instrumental piece Dominus Sathanas ) as a Satanist . On the cover of his second demo recording he used the Sigillum Sanctum Fraternitatis A∴A∴ by the Astrum Argenteum, founded by the British occultist Aleister Crowley , and on a T-shirt design for his third album Hvis lyset tar oss the quote “That which is to be denied shall be denied; that which is to be trampled shall be trampled; that which is to be late upon shall be late upon “ from Crowley's Liber Stellae Rubeae , but described this in an article written in 2004 as a pervert, from whom no influences had been entered. He later referred to his own reference to Satanism as a provocation and attempt to differentiate himself from Christianity. He sees Satanism as "Judeo-Christian idiocy". At most one could call him a Satanist if one interprets “ Satan ” as “the adversary”; he is definitely an adversary of everything that is Jewish, including their “fairy tale God”. The mentions of Satan in the texts that Vikernes wrote for Darkthrone are accordingly hidden allusions to Odin , who, like Satan , is seen here as an opposition to Christianity .

After his imprisonment, Vikernes turned more and more to the right-wing extremist scene and is a co-founder of the All-Germanic Pagan Front . He also spread his worldview through the largely devised magazine Filosofem , on which Michael Moynihan (co-author of the book Lords of Chaos ), David Myatt , Kerry Bolton , Magus Wampyr Daoloth and Vidar von Herske also worked. Because of his worldview and his actions, he is controversial among many fans of the metal scene , but has also become a cult figure among some, especially within the current known as " National Socialist Black Metal " (NSBM). In interviews from the time before Euronymous 'murder, Vikernes' remarks on politics, racism and National Socialism were rather vague; So he said in 1992 that 99% of humanity should be gassed and either start with Asia or “with the negroes in Norway” and build a wall around Norway, Sweden and Iceland, in another interview he said: “Fuck politics! Make was not love ” . He ended another with " Heil Hitler ". He also made openly racist and right-wing extremist statements to the owners of Earache Records, which they believed to be based on extensive knowledge on these issues. In another, he said he was in favor of all forms of oppression, including Christianity. In the mid-1990s, Vikernes described the “Third Reich” as his idea of ​​an ideal society and denied the Holocaust that he was a Nazi, while it was a Jewish lie. In his article A Burzum Story: Part VII - The Nazi Ghost , Vikernes expressly distances himself from National Socialism; he was neither a socialist nor a materialist, but would trust in the (“primordial Scandinavian”) democracy . People should not lose touch with their homeland or their religion and should not allow themselves to be influenced. But even if he claims to distance himself from National Socialism, he is still committed to nationalism and a pronounced racism and anti-Semitism . He praised the Nazi collaborator and fascist politician Vidkun Quisling and claimed to be related to him and to want to take his family name; on the album Dauði Baldrs he gave the name Varg Kvisling Larsson Vikernes . He also stated that he was a neo-Nazi in his youth.

Vikernes stated in an interview with Stephen O'Malley published in 1995 that Christianity, also disparagingly called "Judaeo-Christianity" by Vikernes, served to admit the " Aryans " by suppressing their "species belief" and their "original" culture weaken and thereby be able to subjugate more easily.

In the 1990s, he expressed the belief that the "Aryan race" was created by extraterrestrial beings and that the other races represent failed attempts. In his opinion, UFOs sighted during the war years of World War II were not German missiles, but rather extraterrestrial probes from Sirius observing their creation. He interprets the Elder Edda in this direction too, he suspects z. B. that with the god Thor the planet Jupiter is meant. The entire argument is very similar to that of Erich von Däniken .

When asked by the Dagbladet , he said that he was still a racist but did not hate anyone, since hatred was irrational and he was a rational person. Varg describes himself as a follower of odalism, which he sees as the blood-and-soil ideology .

Discography

With Burzum

See Burzum # discography

With Mayhem

• 1994: De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas
• 1998: De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas (rehearsal room recording) on A Tribute to Hell - Satanic Rites
• 2003: Cursed in Eternity and Freezing Moon (alternative mixes) on The Beast of Attila
• 2008: Life Eternal (EP)

With Old Funeral

• 1991: Devoured Carcass (EP)

With darkthrone

• 1994: Transilvanian Hunger (texts for titles 5 to 8)
• 1995: Panzerfaust (text on Quintessence )

Books and texts

Front cover of the 183-page book Germanic Mythology and Weltanschauung with Algiz rune (rune of life)

• 1997: Vargsmål (German roughly: "The language of the wolf")
• 2000: Germansk mytologi og verdensanskuelse ("Germanic mythology and worldview")
• 2001: Guide to the Norse Gods and Their Names ("Handbook of the Norse Gods and Their Names ")
• 2002: Irminsûl
• 2011: Sorcery and Religion in Ancient Scandinavia ('Sorcery and Religion in Ancient Scandinavia')

Web links

• Official website (English / Russian)
• The former official website (English)
• Varg Vikernes in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Varg Vikernes at Discogs (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Burzum and Varg Vikernes biography .
2. ↑ Aftenposten , Kjetil Kolsrud: Vikernes skylder fortsatt millioner for nedbrente kirker i Norge , published on July 16, 2013, accessed on July 30, 2014, "Ifølge folkeregisteret, he hans nye navn" Louis Cachet "."
3. ^ The Nordic Page : Neo-Nazi Sympathizer Vikernes Arrested in France , published July 16, 2013, accessed July 30, 2014, "He also officially changed his name to a French name, Louis Cachet."
4. ↑ ^{a b} Robert C. Sanchez: Interview with Burzum in Terrorizer # 28. In: Terrorizer # 28. March 1996, accessed June 28, 2010 . 
5. ↑ Roberto Martinelli: Interview with IMMORTAL :: Maelstrom :: Issue No 8. (No longer available online.) In: Maelstrom # 8. 2004, archived from the original on June 4, 2011 ; accessed on December 21, 2009 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
6. ↑ Michael Moynihan , Didrik Søderlind: Lords of Chaos Venice: Feral House 1998, p. 57.
7. ↑ Interview with Burzum
8. ↑ ^{a b} An interview w / Mayhem answered by the Cunt ( Memento from February 17, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
9. ↑ ^{a b} Varg Vikernes: A Burzum Story: Part II - Euronymous (English; accessed: March 30, 2007)
10. ↑ PROFANATICA. Retrieved January 8, 2010 . 
11. ↑ Michael Moynihan , Didrik Søderlind: Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground . Feral House 1998, ISBN 0-922915-48-2 , p. 91.
12. ↑ salem biography. Retrieved January 7, 2010 . 
13. ^ Hagen von Tronje , Kris Boehmunde: Det som engang var . In: A-Blaze . No. 2 (November / December), 2007, pp. 9 .
14. ↑ ^{a b} Burzum signs with Earache?
15. ↑ ^{a b} Heiko Zwirner: Welcome to the darkness. March 28, 2010, accessed April 7, 2010 . 
16. ↑ Fritt forum / Norsk blad interview , accessed on 3 December 2012 found.
17. ↑ ^{a b} Marco Lockhorts: Nifelheim magazine interview , accessed on 3 December 2012 found.
18. ↑ ^{a b} Satan Rides The Media , accessed December 3, 2012.
19. ↑ Thorns: Interview with BURZUM for Petrified zine 1994. 1994, accessed on January 8, 2010 (English). 
20. ↑ ^{a b} Ovl. Svithjod: Burzum . Up From The Ashes ~ Or Into a Prison? . In: A 1000 Years ... of lost pride and dignity . The Epitaph for religous propaganda , No. 1, accessed December 3, 2012.
21. ↑ Interview with BLACK FUNERAL for Kill Yourself zine 1994. (No longer available online.) 1994, archived from the original on April 26, 2012 ; accessed on January 8, 2010 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
22. ↑ ^{a b} Josh: Interview with Josh of Abruptum zine (Feb. 1998). (No longer available online.) In: Abruptum Zine. 1998, archived from the original on August 10, 2009 ; accessed on January 8, 2010 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
23. ↑ Tolis Yiovanitis: Interview from Greek Metal Hammer. (No longer available online.) In: Metal Hammer . 1997, archived from the original on January 12, 2010 ; accessed on June 28, 2010 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
24. ↑ ^{a b} Interview from Genocide zine. In: Genocide Zine. 1997, accessed June 28, 2010 . 
25. ↑ Interview with Varg Vikernes
26. ↑ Erik. Critically, constructively and creatively supported by: Beta, Falk, Christoph, Neur0, Jens, Alboin: Burzum - Is there life after jail? March 6, 2010, accessed March 11, 2010 . 
27. ↑ VARG VIKERNES Refuses To Name Accomplices, Faces Additional Prison Time .
28. ↑ Former BURZUM Leader VARG VIKERNES Says 'Lord Of Chaos' Film Should Be Boycotted .
29. ↑ Convicted Murderer VARG VIKERNES To Be Released From Prison .
30. ↑ ^{a b} Varg Vikernes in an interview with the Dagbladet, quoted from Blabbermouth.net
31. ↑ Varg Vikernes: Farm in Norway sold ( Memento of the original from October 3, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . 
32. ↑ Vince Neil Stein: YouTube Has Deleted Varg Vikernes' Channel as part of White supremacist and Conspiracy Theorist Ban. In: MetalSucks. June 5, 2019, accessed July 29, 2019 . 
33. ^ The YouTube Team: Our ongoing work to tackle hate. In: YouTube Official Blog. June 5, 2019, accessed July 29, 2019 . 
34. ↑ Forebears , accessed June 14, 2013.
35. ↑ Inside the Wild World of Varg Vikernes , Vice , July 18, 2013.
36. ↑ Varg Vikernes Declares "Bye Bye, Burzum" After Losing ATV "Duel" . In: Revolver . June 4, 2018 ( revolvermag.com [accessed June 15, 2018]).
37. ↑ ^{a b} Un néo-nazi norvégien interpellé en Corrèze on rtl.fr , 16 July 2013 (French)
38. ↑ Varg Vikernes he pågrepet i Frankrike. Han shall be missing for planlegging of the massacre. on aftenposten.no , July 16, 2013 (Norwegian)
39. ↑ VARG VIKERNES Arrested In France For Allegedly Planning A 'Massacre' on blabbermouth.com , July 16, 2013 (English)
40. ↑ Varg Vikernes under suspicion of terrorism: The brown head of Black Metal. Spiegel Online , July 16, 2013, accessed July 16, 2013 . 
41. ↑ Varg Vikernes: Terrorism in France, part V. (No longer available online.) Thulean Perspective, July 21, 2013, archived from the original on August 5, 2013 ; Retrieved on August 13, 2013 (English): "They told me: they arrested us because" someone "had told them that I had been one of those unfortunate 500+ receivers of the" manifest "of the [...] mass murderer Anders B. Breivik, who received it before his horrendously coward crimes against anti-Zionist socialist youth on Utøya. The French police had been told that an address reciving his manifest, registered in the name wolfschanze, which was my e-mail address. According to the police this (false) knowledge alone lead to our arrest. " Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
42. ↑ VARG VIKERNES Was a 'Family Man' Who Lived A Peaceful Life With His Wife And Children , July 17, 2013, accessed July 18, 2013.
43. ↑ VARG VIKERNES 'Former Lawyer Says Evidence Is' Thin' In Case Against BURZUM Mastermind , July 17, 2013, accessed July 18, 2013.
44. ↑ VARG VIKERNES And Wife Released From Custody on blabbermouth.com , July 18, 2013, accessed August 15, 2013.
45. ↑ VARG VIKERNES Seeks Funds To Sue French Authorities Over 'Brutal' Arrest , August 9, 2013, accessed August 15, 2013.
46. ^ Norwegian right-wing extremist Vikernes sentenced to prison term. In: derstandard.at . July 8, 2014, accessed July 9, 2014 . 
47. ↑ Abruptum ( Memento of February 5, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on January 23, 2013.
48. ^ Frank Stöver: Dissection . In: Voices from the Darkside , No. 5, p. 27.
49. ↑ ^{a b} INTERVIEW WITH BURZUM (COTIM ZINE # 4)
50. ↑ Varg Vikernes: A review of M. Moynihan & D. Søderlind's "Lords Of Chaos: The Bloody Rise Of The Satanic Metal Underground" (New Edition). June 28, 2004, accessed January 24, 2011 . 
51. ↑ A Burzum Story: Part I - The Origin And Meaning
52. ↑ A Burzum Story: Part III - The Lie Propaganda
53. ↑ ^{a b c} Stephen O'Malley : INTO THE LION'S CAGE . An exclusive prison interview with BURZUM's Count Grishnackh . In: Sounds of Death , No. 5, 1995.
54. ^ Translation of a late 1992 interview
55. ↑ Sounds of Death # 4 1994 ( Memento of the original from August 10, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
56. ↑ Interview from Heresy zine # 3 ( Memento of the original from December 28, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
57. ↑ after: Lords of Chaos (New Edition), p. 181f.