by Black Bubblegum

"Varg" Rathbone and Varg Vikernes... Guess which one is the actor

Varg Vikernes is a free man. According to Blabbermouth, the once Mayhem-er (before the whole murder thing) and artist currently known as Burzum recently confirmed to Norway's Dagbladet that he had indeed been set free and "will have to report [to the parole officer] for one year -- initially every two weeks, and then once a month".

Varg Vikernes was originally sent away to prison for the brutal murder of Øystein Aarseth, who was found stabbed twenty-three times on August 10th, 1993. There have been many stories regarding the events of that night, motives, etc... one version of which was recounted by Vikernes himself on his website. Another version of the events on 8/10/93 can be found in a book that Vikernes has described as "brain-dead" - the highly popular Lords Of Chaos.

Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground is a book by Michael Moynihan and Didrik Søderlind... The book focuses on the scene surrounding the extreme heavy metal sub-genre black metal in Norway between 1990 and 1993... The book... details the April 1991 suicide of Mayhem front man Per Yngve "Dead" Ohlin and the formation of a radicalized "inner circle" around Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth, based out of his small black metal retail shop Helvete (Norwegian for "hell") in Oslo, Norway.

In 1992 and 1993, members of the group became connected with a series of crimes, starting with the arson of the Fantoft stave church on June 6, 1992, although the book mentions that there had previously been a "small, ineffectual fire at Storeveit Church.". Church arsons continue but with a steady decline up until the year 1995. On August 10, 1993 Aarseth is murdered by Vikernes, who receives a 21 years sentence for the murder and several cases of arson related to the church burnings.

Now, Lords of Chaos is getting the Hollywood treatment. Scheduled for principal photography in Norway in mid-Sept, Japanese director Sion Sono will lead Twilight's Jackson Rathbone who was been cast as Varg Vikernes. To quote one Blabbermouth commenter

posted by : Neil Young's Cocaine Booger
5/21/2009 12:05:50 PM

I heard a rumor that Jamie Foxx is gonna play Euronymous, Justin Timberlake is gonna play Dead, and that douchebag from High School Musical is gonna be Snorre Ruch.

That might actually be awesome. Some related videos below...

Continue reading "Jackson Rathbone to play Varg Vikernes in Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground"

by Black Bubblegum

What do Varg Vikernes and the band Iran have to do with each other? Read on....

Varg Vikernes in the slammer no more

The single most infamous man in all of metal is set to walk free.

It is never reassuring to hear that a man who calls himself Count Grishnackh is to be released from prison. And yet that is what is happening to the Norwegian black-metal icon Varg Vikernes, who murdered Mayhem's guitarist and set three churches on fire.

It was just 16 years ago that Vikernes was sitting in an Oslo court, smiling as he received a maximum sentence. Best known as the leader of Burzum - whose first album begins with a song called Feeble Screams from Forests Unknown - Vikernes was also a far-right political activist and, er, grim dude.

Though he was refused four times for parole - most recently in September 2008 - Vikernes is now set to walk free, he told Daglabet magazine....

For the past couple of years, Vikernes has been allowed to leave the prison and make visits to his family, according to Blabbermouth. His mother, wife, 18-month-old son and 16-year-old daughter all live in Tromsø near the prison. "I look forward the day that I [can] work on my farm, create music, write books and be with the wife and kids around the clock -- and live a normal life," he said.

Though Vikernes will no longer be bound by prison schedules, he will have to regularly report to a parole officer, intially for every two weeks and then once a month. Count Grishnackh plans to move to a small farm near Bø and says he no longer has any ties with far-right Norwegian groups. - [The Guardian]

The dark beginnings of Black Metal in Norway, church burnings, and murder of Mayhem's Euronymous have been examined many times over, most famously in the book Lords Of Chaos. The forthcoming film Until The Light Takes Us takes it a step further, as the filmmakers were able to interview the madman himself, as well as key members of seminal black metal crews Ulver, Darkthrone, Immortal, Satyricon, and others all while living in Norway between 2001 and 2003.

Until the Light Takes Us is a feature length documentary chronicling the history, ideology and aesthetic of Norwegian black metal - a musical subculture infamous as much for a series of murders and church arsons as it is for its unique musical and visual aesthetics. This is the first (and only) film to truly shed light on a movement that has heretofore been shrouded in darkness and rumor and obscured by inaccurate and shallow depictions... Featuring: Gylve "Fenriz" Nagell, Varg Vikernes, Jan Axel "Hellhammer" Blomberg, Kjetil "Frost" Haraldstad, Ivar Bjornson, Abbath and Demonaz Doom Occulta, Kris "Garm" Rygg, Bjarne Melgaard, Harmony Korine, and more. The film, shot on 35 mm and dv, is directed and produced by Audrey Ewell and Aaron Aites.

If the name Aaron Aites looks a little familiar to you, it's because he also plays in a little band called Iran with Kyp of TV On The Radio. Iran is scheduled to play SXSW as well, having lined up a show at Club de Ville on 3/21 with Titus Andronicus, Violens, Ponytail, Colourmusic, and The Warlocks.

Until The Light Takes Us is screening at SXSW too - on March 19th at the Alamo Drafthouse with a question/answer session with Ewell and Aites. Tickets are on sale and a shuttle service is available to and from the theater.

Trailer, interviews with the filmmakers, and clips below...

Continue reading "Varg Vikernes is free, Iran, a Norwegian black metal movie"