In an exclusive and rare interview with Heavy Metal Online Mayhem bassist and founder Jørn “Necrobutcher” Stubberud spoke for the first time about intimate details of his relationship with Pelle “Dead” Ohlin , the first vocalist who joined Mayhem in 1988 and committed suicide three years later.
One of the most important bands in the Norwegian black metal scene, Mayhem is considered a cornerstone of the genre, helping to define the aesthetics, sound, and extreme attitude that marked the genre in the 1990s. However, its history is inseparable from a series of controversies that have made it both famous and infamous.
The group faced internal tragedies, including the suicide of vocalist Dead in 1991 and the murder of guitarist Euronymous in 1993. These episodes shaped the narrative surrounding the band and profoundly influenced the scene. Even so, Mayhem remains active and respected, maintaining its position as one of the most emblematic and impactful black metal bands in the world.
Necrobutcher feels responsible for the tragedy
During a recent interview, Necrobutcher admitted that he felt responsible for the young vocalist, who was 22 years old at the time: “Dead was here in Norway without any family, without any friends. He only had us, the band. Euronymous and Jan [ Axel Blomberg , drummer known as Hellhammer ] weren't really good friends of his. And I was his friend, but I was living with my girlfriend, a few kilometers away, while they were all living together in a big house. Since he came, I felt a little obligated to help him, because obviously he was far from everyone he knew and from everything. He had nowhere to stay, no money for food, nothing. The simplest things.”
Dead had warned about his suicidal intentions, but not Necrobutcher, who felt obligated to look after him: “When he killed himself, he had warned people. He told Hellhammer he had a very sharp knife, and he even told Euronymous he was going to kill himself that weekend. But he didn't say anything to me. If you think about it, he knew I would be upset. So, for that reason, he wouldn't tell me. But those other two guys didn't matter, because he knew they weren't that close. He told me that much later, and of course, it made me even sadder.”.
Necrobutcher reflects on death
Still in the interview with Heavy Metal Online , Jørn reflected further on death and how it has marked his life. He recalls his mother once commenting: “You’re 22 and I’m 50, and you know more dead people than I do.” According to the musician, this list of losses only grows: “The number of people I know who have passed away is just doubling and doubling and doubling. Suicide, cancer, car accidents… all the time, it seems. Drug overdoses too,” he describes.
Even with so many painful memories, Jørn affirms that there is something significant in the continued interest in the legacy of Dead and Euronymous: “It’s so incredible that someone remembers and pays tribute to some people I knew who died very young. And that people still think about them.” He notes that, unlike other friends who left early and ended up forgotten, the two remain present in the imagination of extreme metal: “Those two guys who were in my band, they still… people still talk about it, you still talk about them, everyone still talks about them.”
Mayhem celebrates 40 years of history with a unique show in Brazil on December 7th, at Vip Station, in São Paulo.
READ ALSO: Euronymous: violent death marked the history of Mayhem and black metal