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Varg Vikernes

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Varg Vikernes
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Varg Vikernes

Varg Qisling Larssøn Vikernes, born Kristian Vikernes on February 11, 1973, outside of Bergen, Norway, is a musician currently imprisoned for the 1993 murder of Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth.

Known by the pen name Count Grishnackh during the early days of black metal in Norway, Vikernes was the man behind the one-man music project Burzum, and later became a prominent voice for Neo-Nazi ideology, now subscribing to a heathen Odalist ideology. In Norway, he is known by the nick-name "Greven" (Norwegian for "the Count").

Contents

Trial and incarceration

Vikernes is currently incarcerated for the 1993 murder of his former friend and bandmate Øystein Aarseth (also known as Euronymous) of the black metal band Mayhem. Vikernes was additionally found guilty of a number of lesser felonies, the attempted arson of Storetveit Church in Bergen, the arson of Åsane Church in Bergen, Skjold Church in Vindafjord, Holmenkollen Chapel in Oslo, and the consequent death of a firefighter, landing him the maximum sentence in Norway of 21 years in prison, though it has been shortened (as is normal in Norway) and lengthened due to his escape attempt. He was also charged for the arson of Fantoft stave church outside Bergen, although the jurors voted not guilty. The judges claimed this an error of the jurors but refused to overthrow the whole case.[[Citing sources citation needed]] Later appeals to higher courts were dismissed.

During the murder case, the 22-year-old Snorre Ruch was put on trial together with Varg Vikernes and sentenced to 8 years of imprisonment.

The circumstances surrounding the reason for the murder are not entirely clear, but have been mainly attributed to ideological differences and a power struggle between Vikernes and Aarseth. Vikernes claimed that Aarseth had plotted to kill him and that the murder was committed in self-defense. Aarseth was found dead outside his apartment in Oslo with twenty-three wounds that seem to have contributed to his death — two to the head, five to the neck, and 16 to the back. Vikernes claims that the majority of those wounds were received when Aarseth fell on pieces of a broken lamp that he knocked over in the struggle. [link] Vikernes also claimed that there was a financial dispute over the profits from Burzum's first two full-length records (Burzum and Det Som Engang Var) as well as the first Burzum EP (Aske) that were released through Aarseth's record label, Deathlike Silence Records. Vikernes claimed that this was never a reason for the murder. [link] Some have suggested that the murder was based on Aarseth's ties to Salem, a Jewish oriental metal band in Israel, to whom Varg had unsuccessfully sent a mailbomb.[[Citing sources citation needed]]

At the time of Aarseth's murder, Vikernes was playing bass guitar for Mayhem [link]. Aarseth's mother reportedly asked Hellhammer (real name Jan Axel Blomberg), Mayhem's drummer, to remove the bass tracks that Vikernes had recorded for Mayhem's first full length studio album De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas[[Citing sources citation needed]]. Hellhammer has since claimed that he spread the word to anyone he could that he was going to replace the bass tracks, however the tracks were never re-recorded.

At the time of Vikernes' arrest, police found 100 kg of explosives in his home. Vikernes said that he was going to blow the Nidarosdomen, a large church in Trondheim, Norway.

He is presently serving time at Tromsø Prison in Norway.

During his time in prison, he has written a book called Vargsmål (which means Varg's speech) about racial purity, Ásatrú, his personal life and many other subjects.

His request for parole was denied in June 2006

Vikernes' thoughts

Varg Vikernes, circa 1993
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Varg Vikernes, circa 1993

Political affiliation

Vikernes is formerly a member of the extremist neo-Nazi group Hvit Arisk Motstand (White Aryan Resistance). He was also involved with the Norsk Hedensk Front (Norwegian Heathen Front), a sub-division of the Germanic Heathen Front, a pagan Neo-Nazi organization, both of which he founded and led. [link] [link] He also helped create the Odalist movement, which the Heathen Front is a prominent part of. His ideas about neo-Nazism and fascism can be found in several small pamphlets.

Ásatrú

Vikernes is proponent of the Ásatrú religion and believes it is only a religion for Germanic peoples. Vikernes is the author of several short works on his personal weltanschauung, namely "Vargsmål" (lit. 'the speech of Varg'), "Irminsûl" and "Germansk Mytologi og Verdensanskuelse" (lit. 'Teutonic Mythology and Worldview'). Vikernes interprets the old Germanic lore in a fascistic way and asserts that it belongs to the leading heads of modern esoteric fascism.

Anti-Christianity

Vikernes has written lyrics for several songs by the band Darkthrone (Quintessence, As Flittermice as Satan's Spies, etc.) that make use of characteristics from old Germanic folklore. In these, Satan is brought up in the context of an 'eye' that is a source of light (i.e. the sun), with mentions of a 'spear' and a 'hall of battle', all of which are masked references to the Germanic god Odin. This was done with the double meaning of Odin as the 'adversary' of Jewish and Christian tradition. This has been taken as proof that Vikernes was at one time a Satanist, though Vikernes has stated many times that he is opposed to Satanism as he considers it to be a reactionary form of Christianity. [[Citing sources citation needed]]

Vikernes has been fascinated with the fictional realm of Mordor from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings Trilogy from a very young age (his stage name is taken from that of a minor character in The Two Towers), claiming to have mastered the Black Speech from which he took the term Burzum.[[Citing sources citation needed]]

Vikernes has criticized J.R.R. Tolkien on his website (http://www.burzum.org), stating that Tolkien's portrayal of the people of Rohan as dirty, penniless villagers was uncharacteristic, since (in his opinion) cleanliness, health, and especially bathing, were all values that were held very highly by Germanic people. Vikernes has also gone on to state that the women of southern Europe were much more attracted to Germanic men because they were "fairer and healthier," and since public bathing was outlawed by the Holy Roman Empire, many of the men that southern European women were exposed to were less attractive as mates. Vikernes feels that Tolkien's Catholic faith may have contributed to this bias.

The end of Burzum

In 2000, Vikernes terminated his musical project (which he had continued from his prison cell) due to what he perceived to be negative notoriety. Vikernes believed that his philosophy was constantly misinterpreted by an ignorant fan base that was too closely related to black metal and Satanism. By this time, Vikernes had released two ambient albums, having abandoned the black metal 'scene' years previous. Varg intends to continue Burzum upon his release from prison. The new Burzum, Vikernes claims, will be a continuation of pre-prison Burzum, specifically the "Filosofem" album. Though he has distanced himself from black metal, and looks down upon the culture, he claims this is the only music he is able to create. Through a recent article, he has indicated this about the revival of Burzum after his release from the prison:

''I will publish a few books, possibly using a pseudonym in order to stay anonymous, and perhaps a Burzum album or two, but that's it.' [link]

Publicity

American journalist Michael Moynihan (behind the musical project Blood Axis) wrote a book entitled Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground with co-author Didrik Søderlind that is concerned with the events of the early black metal scene in Norway . Vikernes has spoken against this book, saying that it is full of misconceptions and false hype. Torstein Grude created a Norwegian documentary entitled Satan rir media (Satan Rides the Media), to which Vikernes has given a more positive review. This film allegedly gives evidence that journalist Finn Bjørn Tønder of Bergens Tidende, after completing an anonymous interview with Vikernes, immediately paid the police a visit and informed them about his findings. Vikernes was arrested the same night. Satan rir media also showed how the Norwegian news media hyped the Satanist angle and unwittingly created a mass following for Burzum and Vikernes, both in Norway and internationally.

Recent events

In October 2003, Vikernes failed to return to his low-security prison in Tønsberg, Norway, after having been granted a short leave. Vikernes was apprehended by police after hijacking a car. He was found with an unloaded AG-3 assault rifle, 700 rounds of ammunition, a number of smaller weapons, a handheld GPS system, communications systems, a PC, military uniforms, a bullet proof vest, and camouflage clothes [link]. He received an additional sentence of 14 months for the incident – somewhat less than the 22 months wanted at the trial – and has been moved to a maximum-security prison in Trondheim. Varg stated in a recent interview that he should, under Norwegian law, be released in mid-2006 on probation, though he is not very optimistic. [link] [link] [link]

Other incidents with connections to Varg Vikernes' activities:

[link]

References

  1. [Vikernes has to pay NOK13,5 million], news coverage in Bergens Tidende, — in Norwegian
  2. [Right wing extremism in Norway - 2001], page 8, paragraf title Norsk Hedensk Front, published by Antirasistisk senter and Monitor, — in Norwegian
  3. [The extreme right 1999], a report from Antirasistisk senter, — in Norwegian
  4. [Antisemitism Worldwide 2000/1 - Sweden], from The Stephen Roth Institute, Tel Aviv University
  5. [The Count caught with an AG-3 automatic rifle], news coverage in Aftenposten, — in Norwegian
  6. [Police nab The Count after he fled jail], news coverage in Aftenposten
  7. [Arrested Count was heavily armed], news coverage in Aftenposten
  8. [Interview on a metal site] (Old photo from before his neo-nazi affiliation)
  9. [Editorial] in The Age on Novak and his actions
  10. [link] on Novak's ideological beliefs
  11. [The nun-murders inspired by The count], news coverage in Dagbladet, — in Norwegian
  12. [The Count could have inspired the nun-killing], news coverage in Verdens Gang, — in Norwegian
  13. [Sister Maria Laura Mainetti and Father Giorgio Govoni], research site by CESNUR

External links

 

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