Øystein Aarseth, known as Euronymous, was the guitarist and founder of Mayhem and the man who gave the Norwegian black metal scene its face and its reputation. He started out as a quiet suburban kid and ended up as the symbol of a circle that burned churches. He was murdered on 10 August 1993 in his apartment in Oslo, at the age of 25.
The early years
He was born on 22 March 1968 and grew up in the suburbs of Ski, outside Oslo. He was a shy, warm kid: a classical violinist, a member of the local church until he was fifteen, a straight-A student.
During his school years he was a member of the communist youth league Rød Ungdom and developed an attraction to totalitarianism. «Because I hate people, I don’t want them to have a good time; I would like to see them under a communist dictatorship», he used to say.
In 1984 the church hymns were replaced by Venom, Hellhammer and Bathory. Together with Necrobutcher and drummer Kjetil Manheim he founded Mayhem; their first appearance came on the day of his graduation, as «Destructor».
Mayhem and Helvete
Euronymous was chasing a sound that sounded like nothing else. Together with Snorre Ruch he took the usual tremolo picking and played whole dissonant chords at high speed — the so-called «Norse riff». His alias came from Greek mythology: according to Pausanias, Eurynomos was a demon that ate the flesh of the dead.
By 1988 Mayhem had the demo «Pure Fucking Armageddon» and «Deathcrush». In May 1991, the record shop Helvete — «hell» in Norwegian — opened in Oslo at Schweigaards gate 56. Black walls, medieval weapons, blacked-out windows; the «Black Circle» was born in its basement. His label put out releases by Merciless.
Dead
Mayhem were looking for a singer and a parcel from Sweden solved the problem: inside there was no ordinary letter, but a demo tape and a mouse nailed to a wooden cross. Euronymous wasn’t disgusted — he saw it as proof of dedication. It was Per Yngve Ohlin, Dead.
At concerts Dead would self-harm in front of the audience, with a blunt knife or a broken Coca-Cola bottle. At one appearance he bled so much that they «stitched» him up backstage with duct tape.
In a letter to promoters he asked for a large knife that looked savage — «a kitchen knife will do». Dead was the only non-Norwegian and believed he was already dead.
On 8 April 1991 Euronymous was away in Oslo. Dead cut his veins, but the blood clotted, and then he used the shotgun Varg Vikernes had given him. Euronymous didn’t call an ambulance: he went to buy a disposable camera and rearranged the scene so the photo would «look better».
Varg and the arsons
In 1991 a young man from Bergen appeared on the scene, Kristian Vikernes — Varg. He was five years younger; Euronymous took him under his wing, put him on bass in Mayhem and offered to release his personal project, Burzum.
Varg didn’t stay a student. He considered Satan a Christian invention, mocked Euronymous for his Christian way of thinking and turned to a harsh interpretation of the old Viking religion. On 6 June 1992 the wooden church of Fantoft burned to the ground; Varg was the main suspect and used the photo of the ashes for the cover of the EP «Aske».
During 1992 Euronymous felt he was losing control of the scene. According to testimonies, he planned to lure Varg to a meeting under the pretext of a contract and kill him.
The end
On 9 August 1993 Vikernes and guitarist Snorre Ruch drove seven hours from Bergen. Varg claimed he was going to deliver a signed contract; he wasn’t carrying any papers, though, only a knife.
They reached the building at Tøyengata 14B around three in the morning on 10 August. Euronymous, who was asleep, opened the door wearing only his underwear. At the first blow he ran out onto the stairwell shouting for help; Varg chased him down the stairs, where it all ended.
The autopsy showed 23 stab wounds, with the last blow to the top of the skull. Euronymous died at 25. Varg claimed self-defence, but the police report said otherwise: it wasn’t a confrontation, it was a chase. Shortly afterwards the two men threw the bloodied clothes and the weapon into a lake, before they were arrested.
See also
See also: The Story of Mayhem: The Band That Made and Destroyed Black Metal and Varg Vikernes: Pioneer of black metal music and convicted criminal.