Exactly 30 years ago, on August 10, 1993, a murder took place that forever marked the history of black metal. Do you know the story of Euronymous ?
Euronymous was the stage name of guitarist Øystein Aarseth , a founding member of the Norwegian black metal band Mayhem . He was murdered in his apartment by his bandmate, Varg Vikernes , who stabbed him 23 times.
Mayhem was one of the most important bands in the Norwegian black metal scene, and Euronymous was known for his controversial opinions, always complaining about other "fake" bands that didn't actively live the themes they sang about: Satanism, hatred of Christianity, violence, and death.
The guitarist declared himself a "theistic Satanist," meaning someone who believed in the existence of Satan. He said he believed that "pain and misery" were things that should be spread and was misanthropic, meaning he hated the human race. His behavior ended up causing friction with the other members of Mayhem, including vocalist Per "Dead" Olin , who committed suicide in 1991.
After Dead's death, Euronymous created his own music label, Deathlike Sentence Productions , and one of the artists signed was Varg Vikernes, who eventually also became the bassist for Mayhem.
According to a report by Coffeehouse Crime , Euronymous and Varg didn't get along because both wanted the spotlight and public attention, and they competed to see who could shock and sensationalize the most. In June 1992, Varg took the competition to another level by burning down a church and using a photo of the wreckage on the cover of his EP, Aske (1993). This led to a wave of church burnings around Norway associated with black metal and its satanic ideologies.
The night Euronymous died
In mid-August 1993, Varg Vikernes' solo albums were selling relatively well, and Euronymous, owner of the label Varg was signed to, was allegedly not paying the artist's royalties. Furthermore, Varg had heard from a mutual friend that Euronymous was planning to kidnap him, take him to the forest, and torture him to death to make the first black metal "snuff" film.
So, on the night of August 10, 1993, Varg went to Euronymous' apartment at the guitarist's request, supposedly to deliver some unsigned contracts that were delaying royalty payments. Inside the apartment, the two colleagues were already tense and suspected the other was preparing to do something. A supposed movement of Varg's arm alarmed Euronymous, who ran to get a knife to defend himself.
The two then reportedly fought, and Euronymous eventually lost his weapon to Varg, being stabbed twice in the head, five times in the neck, and sixteen times in the back. Varg Vikernes was sentenced to 21 years in prison (the maximum sentence in Norway), and upon release, he displayed neo-Nazi and anti-Semitic behavior, having his YouTube channel deleted due to the content he produced . Today he remains free after serving his sentence.
The former bassist also planned Euronymous's death.
In 2019, former Mayhem bassist Jørn Stubberud (also known as Necrobutcher ) revealed that he himself planned to kill Euronymous .
According to Necrobutcher, the reason for the anger towards the guitarist was the fact that he had taken photos of Dead's corpse to use on a Mayhem album cover. Stubberud was very "sad" and "hurt" by the vocalist's suicide, and Euronymous' behavior didn't help.
“That didn’t help much with the grieving,” he told Consequence of Sound . “I felt I needed to go there and kill the traitor Øystein ‘Euronymous.’ But it’s funny, because he acted behind my back, called Vikernes and put him on bass for the album [ De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas ]…and that’s what happened, I think we all know what happened to him.”
READ ALSO: Euronymous, former Mayhem member, wouldn't approve of far-right black metal, says friend.
