Louis Cachet, better known as Varg Vikernes, is a Norwegian musician and author best known for his early black metal albums and later crimes. His first five records, released under the name Burzum from 1992 to 1996, made him one of the most influential figures in the early Norwegian black metal scene. He was convicted of murder and arson in 1994 and sentenced to 21 years in prison, being released after serving 15 years.
Vikernes in prison, August 2008
The Fantoft Stave Church, restored in 1997.
The Blitz House, which Vikernes allegedly planned to blow up in 1993.
Tromsø Prison, where Vikernes served the last part of his sentence
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw (lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an emphasis on atmosphere. Artists often appear in corpse paint and adopt pseudonyms.
Members of Gorgoroth wearing typical black metal gear such as corpse paint, spikes and bullet belts. The band was formed by guitarist Infernus to express his Satanist beliefs.
A common black metal convention is the use of corpse paint, black-and-white make-up intended to make the wearer look inhuman, corpse-like, or demonic. Shown here: Taalroth of French pagan band Hindvir.
Venom's second album, Black Metal, inspired the name of the genre.
Norwegian band Immortal influenced countless bands in the genre.
