I’m all at once excited and nervous to tell you the story of Mayhem. If you’re a fan of Norwegian black metal, then you already know these guys. If not…buckle up. This story is revolting.
Hellhammer wasn't just a bandmember in Mayhem. It was an influential black metal band that eventually morphed into Celtic Frost, a Swiss black metal band, and one of the first ones of that genre I stumbled across way back when. Needless to say, not my cup of tea.
Here's a rabbit hole regarding a band doing something awful with an image of a deceased band member…
Joy Division lead singer Ian Curtis unalived himself, and the remnants of the band reformed as New Order a few days later.
I can't find any trace of this on the web anymore but I have a strong reason for believing it exists. "Supposedly," there was an extremely limited picture disc pressing of the final Joy Division album _Closer_ (some claimed it was an extended mix of "Love Will Tear Us Apart," so the contents are disputed) that shows the uncensored death scene of Curtis. It came in an all-black sleeve (a la _Smell the Glove_) and was completely unmarked. No label, no identification. Just the black and white image on a clear vinyl LP.
I put *supposedly* in quotes because I personally saw that disc in a record store many years ago. Not something you would forget, to say the least. I also recall seeing its existence discussed online.
But the weird thing is, I can't find any mention of this online anymore. I don't know if every copy was eventually destroyed or what, but this I know: I saw it for myself.
Perhaps a sleuthing challenge for Music Influence?
Dan--I know I've heard this story before too. And as you predicted, a cursory Google search doesn't really answer the question. Perhaps we both suffer from a case of the Mandela Effect;-)
In all seriousness though, this does sound familiar. I'll take it to the laboratory for analysis and let y'all know what I find!
Actually his name is now Varg Vikernes and he writes and creates music. None of his current music bears any resemblance to Mayhem.
The story is legendary in the annals of Black Metal. There have been many interesting characters that have come from that genre and the church burning period of the early 90s. Most are fabricated pretenders. A few, like the characters in your essay, were true believers.
Hellhammer wasn't just a bandmember in Mayhem. It was an influential black metal band that eventually morphed into Celtic Frost, a Swiss black metal band, and one of the first ones of that genre I stumbled across way back when. Needless to say, not my cup of tea.
Here's a rabbit hole regarding a band doing something awful with an image of a deceased band member…
Joy Division lead singer Ian Curtis unalived himself, and the remnants of the band reformed as New Order a few days later.
I can't find any trace of this on the web anymore but I have a strong reason for believing it exists. "Supposedly," there was an extremely limited picture disc pressing of the final Joy Division album _Closer_ (some claimed it was an extended mix of "Love Will Tear Us Apart," so the contents are disputed) that shows the uncensored death scene of Curtis. It came in an all-black sleeve (a la _Smell the Glove_) and was completely unmarked. No label, no identification. Just the black and white image on a clear vinyl LP.
I put *supposedly* in quotes because I personally saw that disc in a record store many years ago. Not something you would forget, to say the least. I also recall seeing its existence discussed online.
But the weird thing is, I can't find any mention of this online anymore. I don't know if every copy was eventually destroyed or what, but this I know: I saw it for myself.
Perhaps a sleuthing challenge for Music Influence?
Dan--I know I've heard this story before too. And as you predicted, a cursory Google search doesn't really answer the question. Perhaps we both suffer from a case of the Mandela Effect;-)
In all seriousness though, this does sound familiar. I'll take it to the laboratory for analysis and let y'all know what I find!
Actually his name is now Varg Vikernes and he writes and creates music. None of his current music bears any resemblance to Mayhem.
The story is legendary in the annals of Black Metal. There have been many interesting characters that have come from that genre and the church burning period of the early 90s. Most are fabricated pretenders. A few, like the characters in your essay, were true believers.
Well….that was different. But, a story that needed to be told.