Bathory documentary
Lords of Chaos Movie
Pelle Ohlin
"I used to be the ringleader of Bathory; now Bathory's my master. It's like an actor doing "Hamlet."... I'm just the actor or the civil servant of the monster Bathory...It's a role I play" - Quorthon
THE BATHORY HEAVY SOUND SIGNING
According to Bathory.nu, the above picture was taken May 29th, 1987 just before Bathory's debut public appearance at Heavy Sound Record Store in Stockholm, Sweden. Quorthon [who couldn't seem to keep his fingers out of his mouth that day] and a man referred to as "Vvornth" were drinking glasses of vodka, and apparently piss drunk upon stumbling out the door to meet and greet with fans just down the street.
"by the time we arrived, we were pretty drunk. If I didn't have the pictures to prove that I was there and that in-store actually happened, I wouldn't remember ever going there doing that in-store." - Quorthon, Bathory.nu
One of the many Bathory fans who showed up to meet "the band" was Pelle "Dead" Ohlin, who was not yet in Mayhem [although he was in underground Swedish band, Morbid]. This is obviously a very interesting historic moment for followers of early Scandinavian Black Metal, who are notoriously concerned with history and timeline. Despite this fact, Quorthon never seems to mention his meeting with Pelle anywhere, even when he does take the time to speak about this event. There is footage online of it, and supposedly Pelle is in it briefly, and can be heard instructing Quorthon to sign "to Dead." Although the footage is very low quality, a picture was also taken that day, proving Dead was there. We'll call this "The Heavy Sound Picture."
On the right is Quorthon [fingers in his mouth again], Pelle in the middle, and on the left is the same person from the black and white photo at the top of the page. If you look for this picture online, many people have this man listed as "Jonas Åkerlund." Although we know Åkerlund was the drummer for Bathory very early on, he left before the first album was recorded. So how could this be him if he had left the band years before? On the Bathory.nu site, this guy is called Vvornth and Pålle in separate areas. Vvornth is a title Bathory didn't start using for another year and "Pålle" seems to be Swedish for Paul, or Paul Lundburg - who is listed as drummer sometimes on "Under the Sign..." [his name appears nowhere on my copy] - Boss has also stated that Quorthon played the drums on that album and "a Paul Lundbug" was never in the studio. Perhaps Jonas Åkerlund was the photographer, and that is why his name gets associated with this image and the Heavy Sound session, despite not appearing in it? Apparently there is an issue of Sweden Rock magazine which clears this up, but it was sold out last I checked and I gave up trying to find it. There is also a Bathory book in the works currently which may shed more light on this topic in the future.
CONNECTIONS OF NOTE
Though Åkerlund left Bathory years before the Heavy Sound signing, he did direct Dead in his first video that same year, "Bewitched," by Candlemass. It is interesting to note that Dead met both Quorthon and Åkerlund the same year - presumably under completely different circumstances, and both occasions were filmed! This was also, as far as we know, the very beginning of Åkerlund's huge career in the film/entertainment industry.
"The first really big deal we got was with Music for Nations/Under one Flag and then we wrote a 3 year contract with them and released "Under the Sign of the Black Mark" - Quorthon
"Music for Nations is a British independent record label focusing mainly on rock and metal. It was a subsidiary of the larger label distributor Zomba Records, which was a division of BMG and later Sony Music Entertainment." - WIKI
Most people who have listened to a lot of 80s Thrash and Death Metal are familiar with company names like Music for Nations, Megaforce, Combat Records, Important, Noise, etc...Everything from Venom to Metallica, Bathory, Slayer, Celtic Frost, Megadeth, Exodus, you name it - something in your cassette collection has one or more of these names on it. These companies were all somehow connected in 1987.
"Combat Records was the "in house" heavy metal label for the independent powerhouse distributor Important Record Distributors. Important had several offices in the United States that promoted and sold Combat's releases. Important Records was also home to Megaforce Records in the mid-1980s...In mid-1986, the Noise label signed a deal with Combat to distribute records in the US... Neat also signed with Combat...The label had distribution deals with Music for Nations and Under One Flag for European releases of their catalog..." - WIKI
The Bathory album being promoted in 1987 was "Under the Sign of the Black Mark." This was put out by Under One Flag, which was a sub-label of Music for Nations, based out of England. Coincidentally, the album from which Candlemass' song "Bewitched" comes from, "Nightfall," was also put out on a sub-label of Music for Nations [Axis]. I assume Music for Nations/Axis paid for the Candlemass video, as they were very expensive to make in those days. This means there was a not so distant industry connection between Åkerlund and Bathory at that time - the very same year both Quorthon and Åkerlund met Dead - who sort of drifts right in between them just before moving to Norway, immediately assuming the role of most iconic singer in 2nd wave Black Metal history. As if a "satanic torch" was handed off to Dead by Quorthon - who is more or less the icon of first wave Scandinavian Black Metal.
If you recall the beginning of the "Bewitched" video, you may remember Dead and other extras carrying a coffin to a burial. As they lower the coffin into the grave, Messiah bursts out, smoke all around, and we enjoy one of the great campy moments in Metal music video history. Earlier that same year, 1987, Dead did a show with his band Morbid, and also came out of a coffin - smoke machine on full.
[SPV GmbH (also known as Schallplatten Produktion und Vertrieb GmbH) is an independent German record label....Founded on 1 January 1984, it has slowly grown to be one of the largest independent distributors and record labels worldwide. - Wiki]
"During a gig at Birkagården [1987], a youth center in Vasastan, the band [Morbid] had decorated the stage with candles and borrowed a coffin from SPV's set stores where Uffe Cederlund's dad worked. Pelle recorded the intro of the horror movie "Evil Dead" on repeat and crawls out of the coffin with smoke machines at full power." - Blod Eld Död [Blood Fire Death: A Swedish metal story]
For a singer to emerge from a coffin on stage was far from common, but not unprecedented. Artists as varied as Kind Diamond and Screaming Jay Hawkins have utilized coffins in their stage act. But it is hard not to consider that Dead, who was accepted into art school just before he died, may have had an influence on Jonas Åkerlund during the making of his Candlemass video. If so, this would indicate that Dead had a larger role in the video than just being a mere "extra," and therefore, would indicate he had a closer working relationship with Åkerlund than might have been previously assumed.
[Messiah Marcolin, bursting out of a coffin near the beginning of Candlemass' 1987 "Bewitched" video]
Another interesting thing about the above quote, is that the coffin was borrowed from SPV, due to the fact Uffe Cederlund's dad worked for them. [Uffe Cederlund helped form Nihilist/Entombed in 1987] Quorthon's father, Borje "Boss" Forsberg "took care of the exclusive distribution of SPV in Sweden and thus also came into contact with Noise International," according to his ex wife Klaudia. If you read my first blog on Bathory, you may recall the tour idea involving Noise Records around this time, which never panned out. You think this connection to SPV had something to do with that idea? I would imagine so. It would appear then that Morbid had an industry connection to Bathory in 1987, via their guitar player Uffe "Napolean Pukes" Cederlund. Seems likely that Boss probably knew, or may even have worked with Uffe's father, while Uffe was in a band with Dead. Dead was invited back to Bathorycorp after the heavy sound signing. Were there business reasons for this? We'll get into that in a moment.
While Dead and other extras are carrying the coffin in the beginning of the Candlemass video, there is a somber intro tune playing. It may sound familiar, because it was taken from a classical piece called "Marche Funebre" [Funeral March] written by Frédéric Chopin. This same musical piece is also borrowed by Quorthon during his solo on the song "A Call from the Grave," [at about 2:26] released that same year. However, Quorthon's album came out before Candlemass's. Did Candlemass copy Bathory's idea? Seems rather coincidental that they would both get released by the same parent label AND choose to lift the exact same classical piece the same year! I don't know what this means, but it does hint at more connections behind the scenes between these bands.
"Nightfall" was recorded at Sweden's Thunderload studios, the same studio Dead's band at the time, Morbid, would record their most famous "December Moon" demo that same year. This studio was owned by members of Heavy Load, so I suppose it was popular. But that's 2 connections Dead had to Candlemass in the same year, if you also count the video.
Was Dead this misanthropic "inhuman" creature who just stumbled into places where the most important individuals in Scandinavia's late 80s extreme metal history were, or is this all evidence of a young and very driven musician on a mission? Clearly, Sweden's underground Metal scene was a small world in the late 80s, but I doubt Dead went from rubbing elbows with the most important people in that scene, to Norway's most respected underground Metal band - without a very intentional effort. This was the dawn of some very important moments in extreme Scandinavian Metal history. Fans clearly saw the "star quality" in Dead, I am sure some people in the industry did as well, people like Quorthon's father Boss.
[Jack Kilmer and Jonas Åkerlund on Jonesy's Jukebox promoting the film "Lords of Chaos."]
"Jonas actually knew a lot of - knows a lot of the guys, he knew my character [in the film]..Dead and…there’s a photo actually of them hanging out in Sweden." - Jack Kilmer
Kilmer's quote above indicates that Åkerlund appears in a photo with Dead during a casual moment, as "Hanging out in Sweden" doesn't sound like a working environment to me. Did Åkerlund have some sort of relationship with Dead outside the Candlemass music video, which he has never spoken about publicly? Did Åkerlund play the role of Vvornth for a short time after he already quit Bathory, without officially informing the public? Perhaps Kilmer was mistaken, but Åkerlund doesn't correct him. In fact he says nothing and just stares directly at him stone faced for a moment [see image above, taken just after Kilmer mentions Åkerlund's relation to Dead]
The host of this interview is Steve "Jonesy" Jones, formally of the UK punk band "Sex Pistols." [a band which featured Sid Vicious, like Dead, very self destructive and also died young] While Åkerlund is staring silently at Kilmer, Jonesy says, "Jonas was probably involved with the one who got killed..." Kilmer then plays along, and says "I've had my suspicions!" Rather than respond directly to Kilmer or Jonesy's comments, Åkerlund finally says:
"I never burned a church."
None of that short bit of dialogue makes any sense at all continuity-wise. They were talking about Dead one second, Jonesy then jokes that Åkerlund may have been involved with "the one who got killed" [which makes no sense because Dead wasn't "killed," he committed suicide] then the next second Åkerlund is saying he never burned a church, even though nobody suggested or even joked that he did! I can only conclude that Åkerlund was uncomfortable with the line of topic and, with the help of Jonesy, changed the subject abruptly with a joke which made no sense from the outside. Kilmer made it clear enough, Åkerlund knew Dead and there is a picture of them in a casual situation backing up his claim [according to him]. Why is Åkerlund so hesitant to discuss details about the nature of his relationship to Dead here? He is supposed to be promoting his film in this segment, which focuses on Mayhem during the time Dead was in it. One would think he would use this as an opportunity to demonstrate his personal connection to the story, which seems oddly elusive when you really put it under a microscope. This matters because if he didn't have much of a personal attachment to the story or the characters, what drove him to make the film?
Jonesy: "So do you like that kind of music personally?"
Åkerlund: "Ummm...I used to. A lot. And in making this movie I Kinda like...re-discovered it for myself...and realized that it's, really good."
Åkerlund gets visibly nervous answering this question, indicated by the stuttering and slowness of his response. If he likes the music, why does he stutter and squirm trying to state his opinion about it? He first says he "used to" like it. That's "past tense." That means, "I don't really like it anymore, but I used to" Then he says he "re-discovered it" while making the film. If he had to "re-discover" Nordic Black Metal AFTER he already started making the film, in order to finally "realize" that it's really good, doesn't that mean he never thought it was "really good" before that? What was motivating him when he decided to make the film, before this "post re-discovery realization" of his? Perhaps he was confident Rory Kulkin would make an Oscar winning "Euronymous?" Doubtful. So if Åkerlund wasn't into the music, why the hell did he start making the film? His personal connection to the story has been elusive as well, so the question just keeps getting louder here. Money doesn't appear to be the reason either, which we will see later.
[A drawing Dead made, referencing the dead rodent he left at Bathorycorp, just after the Heavy Sound signing.]
THE DEAD RODENT THING
"The pictures of Dead and Bathory was in connection with a record signing they were having. They actually ended up getting along pretty fine. Dead and I were invited the day after to Elektra, where Boss worked. He wasn't there, apparently a bullshit trip." - Dr Schitz, Morbid
"Quorthon...was very impressed by Dead's own Bathory drawing on the back of his jacket and asked him to come down to the record company the following monday to have it photographed" [Slayer Magazine]
Apparently, Quorthon liked Dead enough to invite him and Dr Schitz back to Bathorycorp the following day. But according to Dr Schitz, Boss wasn't there and he makes no mention of Quorthon. Perhaps Quorthon was just really drunk and forgot he invited them?
"But we left a bag with the demo and a crucified mouse on a cross in the fancy reception. When we later called to check out what he thought about the tape, he freaked out and told us that we were the sickest people that he'd ever met." - Dr Schitz, Morbid
"In the date of 1/6 - 87 me and Schitzo (ass bass of Morbid) walked up to Elektra and leave there rehearsal tape and upside down cross with a nailed gun pig head on it and tied eyes with spikes through the eyes!...We leave it to the receptionist girl and told her to leave it to Ace Forsberg of Bathory. A few days later we called Borje (the Boss on the records Quorthon's father) He liked the band but not the present. We had all took this thing too seriously he told us. But I think we'd not." - Dead, in a letter to Metalian
So far, this meeting with Bathorycorp seems as though it was completely unplanned, right? Dead got invited back because Quorthon liked the Goat painting on his back. Well, here is another version of the story which makes it sound much more pre-meditated by Dead...
"When we were at Jens' place once we wondered where Pelle was said Rille. He was in the basement and would dissect a hamster. Jens was quite upset. -I was there and should take pictures, says Nisse. But when he began to chop the poor hamster with a scalpel, I had to stop. I stood and covered my ears, it was such a horrible sound when it squeaked. He would rip it up to put it on a cross and send it to Quorthon. That was the whole thing. It was so damn disgusting. And he didn't even just send it. After a week, he submitted it at the reception of Bathory record labels and the fucking letter stank terribly. It was put into the trash right away, I can imagine." - "Blod Eld Död"
If it took a week for Dead's "hamster" [he called it a Guinea Pig, which is much larger than a hamster] to begin reeking and rotting sufficiently, this means Dead would have to have given it to Bathorycorp a week after he met Quorthon, not the next day - as recounted by him and Dr Schitz. Or, he planned to submit the dead rodent and Morbid tape a week PREVIOUS to showing up upon the steps of Bathorycorp. The reason the latter story is more odd, is because he could not have known he would be invited, unless he already had communications with Bathorycorp that are unknown to the public. Seems oddly coincidental that he would dissect a rodent specifically to submit to Bathorycorp a full week before getting unsuspectingly invited there. What really happened here?
"-The image of Quorthon split for many that day, says Nisse. He [Quorthon] came walking in sunglasses, leather jacket with a lot of metal stuff that was hanging on him. He looked too much like a rock star. Someone took a card, then he made a thumbs up. What is this? He was not bad enough! -He was like Yngwie Malmsteen says Rille. -Pelle was very disappointed, continues Nisse. He turned his attention to Norway and Mayhem pretty fast. They became the new evil gods who replaced Bathory. The disappointment of Quorthon lead to Pelle's decision to send him a letter." - "Blod Eld Död"
"SERIOUSLY we think Quorthon is a POSER like Celtic, Mefisto and them…” - Dead, in a letter he wrote to Metalian after meeting Quorthon
Again, the above quote from "Blod Eld Död" indicates specifically that it was Dead's extreme disappointment with Quorthon's character which drove him to "send him a letter." So, if the decision was made after meeting Quorthon, he could not have submitted the letter less than a week later, because that is how long he supposedly waited for the thing to start smelling! SO what was he doing at Bathorycorp the day after the Heavy Sound signing, if not submitting his package? As if this story was not obscure enough, we can't seem to get the accurate version of it! But even taking into account what we do know, one can imagine why Quorthon and Boss might have been less than eager to talk about this publicly. Åkerlund's reasons for ignoring this topic are not quite as easily understood from the outside. He was right there around this time, he had to have known about this incident by the time "Lords of Chaos" was filmed.
[Åkerlund pictured in full "Metalhead" mode, Scorpions patch in clear range]
THE SCORPIONS THING
A number of Dead's letters and interviews are available online at http://pelleohlinmorbidmayhem.blogspot.com. In one of these interviews, Dead is asked how Mayhem's short tour of Germany went. Among other things, he remarks "I guess it's typically German to have short hair, mustache, and dress like SCORPIONS." Dead was very aware of what he perceived to be "trends" and he was very fond of the word POSER. If you take the time to read his interviews and letters, you will see the word POSER pop up many times. Euronymous, on the other hand, did not use this word as much, although he obviously was very opinionated. He tended to use the word TREND more [as-in TRENDY/copycats]. But in the film "Lords of Chaos," Åkerlund creates a rather one-dimensional version of Dead, and allocates some of his traits into Euronymous' character. In fact, 2 pivotal scenes in the film reference this use of the word "poser."
When Varg first meets Euronymous in the film, he has a Scorpions patch on his jacket [which would have been highly unlikely in real life because Varg had already been in an extreme metal band, Old Funeral - whereas Scorpions were viewed as more or less Arena/Hair Metal at that point] Euronymous points to the patch and calls Varg a poser. This is what sets him off into becoming the Count Grishnackh character, culminating ultimately with him MURDERING Euronymous violently. The film then reminds the viewer why Euronymous was killed, as we hear Rory Kulkin's voice narrating over the scene where Euronymous' bloodied body is being carried off. "Poser," he calls the viewer, which is how the film ends. Obviously this is some sort of "morality lesson" the writers of the film put in, which seems to be a warning that if you live by the sword, you die by the sword. But what makes this so absurd, is that the "worst" character in the film, Varg, actually makes out the best! After some years of hard time, that is.
"He gave the impression of being extremely charismatic…which annoyed the presiding judge. There were little girls there, pale, black hair and make-up who would cry out “oh, he looked at me!” As if he was a pop star.” - LARS ERIK NYGGAARD, Journalist
[Shot of Varg, taken during the first few years of his incarceration for the murder of Euronymous]
Today Varg enjoys Manson-esque cult icon status, lives as a (armed) free man on a ranch in France, has a young wife, a bunch of kids, and seems to be living his Neo-pagan "off the grid" dream lifestyle. Meanwhile, his fanbase cannot get enough of his band, youtube videos, books, roleplaying games, or whatever else he decides to put out there for consumption. Not too bad for a guy who stabbed his friend 16 times in the back, burned a bunch of churches, and helped found a Neo-Nazi organization! [Norwegian Heathen Front]
Given that the film's "moral lesson" fades away pretty quickly upon reflection, it is interesting to consider what Åkerlund might be subtly stating about Dead's demise, given that HE was the one so fond of calling others "poser" in real life. He was also the one making statements about Scorpions in his correspondences after Mayhem's brief tour. Åkerlund clearly did his homework, and was apparently using much, if not all of the same source materials I am referencing here, and has likely read these same letters written by Dead. He simply incorporated elements of these into the film script, wherever he felt like it, regardless of accuracy. He admits these types of liberties were taken, by selling the film as "based on truth, lies, and what actually happened."
[Drawing Dead did after meeting Quorthon at the Heavy Sound signing]
The above drawing, widely available in the public domain, covers a lot of what we are discussing here.
Heavy Sound was the name of the record store where Dead met Quorthon and "Vvornth."
The guy with the sunglasses and his tongue sticking out is supposed to be Quorthon [Quorthon either has his fingers in his mouth, or is sticking his tongue out just about every time someone snaps a picture of him in that video].
There is a letter that says "poser," which I assume is the letter Dead wrote/left for Quorthon with the dead rodent and Morbid demo. "Morbid Demo Out Soon" is probably a reference to the "December Moon" demo they would record a few months later. The submission of the Morbid Demo by Dead indicates that he may have been interested in getting Morbid backed by Bathorycorp. Why else would he have submitted it? Did Boss express interest in Morbid? Not too hard to imagine, Dead did quickly establish his "star quality" in 1987, according to those who attended Morbid shows. Of all people, Boss would have wanted to keep an eye on him, as he was in the business of extreme Scandinavian Metal!
"Leg of Gehenna" refers to the guitarist in Morbid, John "Gehenna" Hagström. His leaving the band is apparently what motivated Dead to give up and move to Norway, according to the book ""Blod Eld Död." But this didn't occur until after the December Moon demo came out, which was not yet recorded when Dead drew this. So what is he trying to say about Gehenna here? His leg has been cut off, and the blood reads "Black Mark," which was the [at the time] fake label put on Bathory albums. Why is Dead associating Black Mark/Bathorycorp with his guitarist getting maimed? This is some sort of inside joke, and I don't pretend to get it. But it is interesting considering Dead's bad mouthing of Quorthon and submitting of a dead rodent to Bathorycorp. Is Dead hinting at some sort of "retaliation" against his band from Bathorycorp?
"From the Dark" is a song from Morbid's demo. The lyrics speak about having an orgasm at a funeral among other obscure things. This image also seems to suggest forces are at work in the dark, behind a door which reads "Slayer Mag." Slayer Magazine covered Bathory and Mayhem as early as, or even before most any other media sources. It's editor, Metalian, was apparently directly involved with Dead joining Mayhem [Metalian also helped finance Mayhem's first release, "Pure Fucking Armageddon"]. There is no better source for the story of "Nordic Black Metal" than the Slayer Magazine archives, as far as I know. They are certainly far better than Åkerlund's film, if one wants the most accurate depiction.
This "feelin' horny" bit brings up an interesting point. What was Dead's position sexually speaking? As far as we know, he never had a girlfriend or an interest in women at all. Yet, hints of a sexual nature are brought up in the lyrics to the song "from the Dark," also referenced in the drawing. Most reading this probably haven't considered that Dead might have had a sexual identity. He was quite young, after all, and quite disturbed obviously. But I am sure like any young man, he had a sex drive - even if it was buried deep within his "crazy" character. Here his name is buried inside the Bathory goat, inverted crucifix sticking straight up like a phallus. Is he saying Quorthon, salivating as he devours all the attention from his young male fans, was "feelin' horny" that day? Is he saying that he himself was? I think he is making some sort of veiled statement there, but I leave it to the reader to decide for themselves. Dead's nick name was also "The Goat," which is why the Morbid anthology was called "Year of the Goat." This is another possible factor associating him with the goat in the drawing.
[Daniel Ekeroth is the author of "Swedish Death Metal," his name was not in Dead's drawing, it is only there because this image was probably scanned from his book, "Swedish Death Metal."]
WHY DID ÅKERLUND MAKE A FILM ABOUT BLACK METAL?
"they [Mayhem] were never against it [the film] that’s been a rumor from day 1…especially with Euronymous parents that has the rights to the music I had to..I couldn’t make the movie without the music…all of them has been on board from day 1…Mayhem was the music I really needed" - Åkerlund, Metal Injection
"No legal issues; it’s a story that’s kind of [in the] public domain, and we have the rights to the book…we have the support of Mayhem and the music is in there…" - Åkerlund, Rolling Stone
[Lords of Chaos, the book from which Åkerlund's film takes its' name.]
[Michael Moynihan, primary author of the book "Lords of Chaos"]
[Kevin Foster, the Florida teen "ringleader" of the short lived self styled American teen terrorist group, "Lords of Chaos" from which both the book and film took their name.]
"Reached for comment, Mayhem bassist Necrobutcher – who co-founded the group with Euronymous – expressed his displeasure with the film. “This book Lords of Chaos is fucking crap and that some stupid Swedes are gonna make a movie out of it is not OK,” he tells Rolling Stone. “I will do everything I can to stop this film…. Tell the Swedes and the Hollywood people to go fuck themselves.”..The bassist also told Rolling Stone that a Norwegian company called Motion Blur has the rights to his story and that he has been spending time collaborating on a script for the film"
"Necrobutcher released an excoriating statement about the film in 2015, saying he would do everything possible stop the film. Now, two years later, he says he has heard nothing from the production. “They contacted everybody behind our backs, our crew members, all kinds of people associated with us in a very sneaky way,” he says. “It’s the wrong approach. You make a movie of a band? The first people I would contact would be the band and ask for permission to use their music. Don’t come afterwards because we won’t authorize it.”
"Attila Csihar, in a January 2019 interview, stated that the official opinion of the current Mayhem members regarding the film and its creators is a "big fuck you"; furthermore, he pointed out that the film was based on a book and only focused on Mayhem during the 1990s, not the whole black metal scene at the time. He confirmed that some Tormentor songs appear in the film, and that he himself is played by his son, Arion Csihar. Attila himself was present during the shooting of the church burning scenes." - Wiki
Based upon the above, Åkerlund seems to have lied to the press regarding the fact that Mayhem approved of the film "from day 1." It looks like the producers of the film simply obtained legal rights to Mayhem's music from Euronymous' parents, obtained legal right to use the name from Feral House [publisher of the book,] and paid off anyone else they needed to - in order to get the film made. We know Varg Vikernes completely disapproved of the idea, so unless 3 surviving members of the "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas" recording sessions are lying, Åkerlund made this film despite the clear public disapproval of surviving members of Mayhem. Why would he do that willfully, then lie about it to the press? Just because Euronymous' parents may have authorized the use of Mayhem's early music, doesn't mean that the band Mayhem approved of it.
Attila has collaborated to a degree in the film's production. What would explain this contradiction? Well if Åkerlund and his production crew were going to make the film regardless of whether members of Mayhem were ok with it or not [which they obviously did], perhaps Mayhem would choose to participate where they could, at least to try and steer some of it in the right direction. If someone says "I'm going to make a film about YOUR band whether you like it or not. You can contribute here and there or I can just do it without any of your input." The members of Mayhem probably figured they might as well try and make what they could of those parts of the film which they were "allowed" to contribute to, rather than leave it all to Åkerlund and the producers of the film.
"I decided to do it [the film] with English-speaking actors mainly for two reasons: I wanted to make a movie for a big audience – I don’t want to make a Norwegian movie; and I wanted to make sure that I got the best actors. Being limited to Norwegian-speaking actors would have been really hard for me…" - Åkerlund, Rolling Stone
"the movie has an [pause] NC-17 rating. So, you can’t really go shopping malls. So it’s gonna be limited to certain theaters." - Åkerlund, KLOS
He didn't wanna make a Norwegian movie? Figure that one out, because I can't!
In the same KLOS interview mentioned earlier with Jonesy and Kilmer, Åkerlund states the film got an "NC-17" rating, which directly contradicts his statement about wanting to make a movie for "a big audience." How do you reach a "big audience" with an NC-17 rating? This is the most extreme rating a film can get, which naturally compromises the ability to distribute it. Kilmer didn't even know this before the interview, and reacts as if he is shocked right when Åkerlund states it. Why would a mainstream pop music video director who works with the biggest names in the business be so driven to make a film about Mayhem AGAINST the band's wishes, then totally compromise distribution by not editing it down to an R rating? Kind of defeats any commercial advantage achieved by using American actors doesn't it? What is the real reason this film was made? I found an article on vice.com which surprisingly, addresses some of the toughest points I make here. Åkerlund pretty much answers them all by being extremely vague and general, while more or less casting them aside as non-important.
[Brian "Marilyn Manson" Warner left, Jonas Åkerlund on the right, and his wife Bea in the center - playing up the 1 eyed "illuminati peak-a-boo" that is so chic these days in pop culture, her black and white checkered clothing design is part of the theme of her extremely bizarre IKEA furniture line]
"Lords of chaos is a loving, concerned, and troubled look at Black Metal" - Vice.com [producers of the film]
If you read my blog on the Le Bataclan massacre, you know that Vice Media was part of the propaganda campaign during the aftermath of that event. Given that, it shouldn't be very surprising that they would want to be part of "Lords of Chaos," a story ripe for propaganda and the pushing of political/social messages out to the extreme fringe youth of society. But to what end?
"Radicalize: cause (someone) to adopt radical positions on political or social issues." - dictionary.com
"...the burning of churches has not been a tradition for those critical of the church in Norway. But it is used by regimes in Eastern Europe and Asia. This has happened, but then the government is behind it. Supporting it or initiating it." Rolf Rasmussen [Priest], Once Upon a Time in Norway
This very interesting quote comes from a Norwegian priest who is interviewed in the documentary "Once Upon a Time in Norway." Although I can't say if the Norwegian government was ultimately behind any of the church burnings, there was a documentary made for Norwegian television which demonstrates very clearly, that the Norwegian press was encouraging radicalization of youths via sensationalism of the church burnings and deliberate promotion of Varg Vikernes/Burzum, while cooperating with Norwegian police at the same time.
"Aarseth [Euronymous] and Vikernes used the church fires in their marketing, but it didn’t yield results. Vikernes then decided to plug the record in Bergens Tidene…Their music was finally plugged and all PR is good PR" - Wiki
"we and the photographer explained that if he intended the things he had said to obtain PR for his music then he would have to explain the arson and the killing. And we would have to be able to check the information against any police evidence and any other background. Should you be speaking the truth we will show the interview. You will achieve maximum PR for your music, which is not our topic. - Finn Bjorn Tonder - BT Journalist."
"Two friends of Vikernes interviewed him and brought the interview to the newspaper, hoping they would print it" - Lords of Chaos Book
Details on exactly how a 19 year old, soon to be murderer Varg managed to so easily get the attention of a major newspaper journalist, is something that tends to get glossed over when this story is told. Who were these "friends" of his, and what connections did they have to Norwegian press?
Mr Tonder clearly states above he made a deal with Varg, that in exchange for information on the church burnings [and the "killing of a homosexual" by Bard Faust], certain unspecified Black Metal bands would get "maximum PR." What kind of journalist would promise such a thing to a 19 year old potential church burner, and possible associate of a murderer, in an extremely conservative Christian country such as Norway, especially in the early 90s? And what made Varg think he would not get in trouble for doing this interview? He was young and arrogant, yes, but I don't think he was quite THAT stupid. I believe there is more to this press coverage and Varg Vikernes than the public is aware. I don't believe Varg shares EVERYTHING about his past - much as he loves talking about himself to this day.
“Before 1992 one Norwegian Church burned a year. From 1992 to 1996 50 churches were tried to be set alight...Nearly all papers, radio, and TV stations took up the case. Everything was tied to Vikernes in jail in Bergen. The newspapers wrote about “The Count” and he appeared on TV. He was soon a national celebrity, and an internationally known Satanist...Their music was finally plugged and all PR is good PR. In interviews youngsters down to age 13 were able to say they were satanists...Instead of telling the truth, BT continued to write its own truth. After being charged, Vikernes was always in the media. He was always news. Through it all, his band became known abroad...The church burning grew after the trial. In 5 weeks 7 churches were set alight…the media had marketed Black Metal’s antichurch ideals. The marketing worked because the Satanists were dramatized and presented excitingly to people. This lead to many youths pouring into the small BM milieu… burning churches to be like Varg..." - Satan rir media
"…He loved being in the newspapers. On TV, radio, etc He wanted it. His own PR was quite astounding. I think some parts of the media made him into a guru. They should at least have realized they made him one. He enjoyed the publicity…we realized that he was made into a guru for many youths…It was decided also in Bergens Tidene that we should drop [stop printing] pictures. Drop calling him the Count…We toned it down because we knew it was leading us astray” - Finn Bjorn Tonder
In the end, not only did Varg/Burzum get the "maximum PR" promised by Mr Tonder - the entire Nordic Black Metal story as a whole received international exposure far beyond what it would have otherwise. The correlation between an increase in church burning/radicalization of youth and the press coverage has been clearly noted by the documentary. Was it the intention of Norwegian press to use the Black Metal story to radicalize Scandinavian youth and those abroad on the fringe? Was Moynihan's book merely an extension of this "Scandinavian Metal Attack," designed to further glorify disproportionately the "extreme ideologies" held by a few of it's members? Was Moynihan's reference to the Florida Teen Terrorist group in his book's title an effort to encourage an international connection between American fringe youths, and Europe's?
"Terrorism: the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion - https://www.merriam-webster.com"
"Terrorism: the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims." - Oxford Dictionary
One can pick out almost any of the Nordic Black Metal documentaries out there and discover that the destruction of churches was viewed generally as a positive symbolic gesture by many Black Metal musicians and fans alike, even by those who seemed to try and take a neutral position. Even many punk rockers had to take note - this was some rebellious shit these metalers were doing! Hatred of the Christian church is something which echoes far beyond Scandinavia and even the Heavy Metal genre itself. This is the power of such a symbolic act, properly sensationalized by the media. But do metalheads really think the media would do them such a favor without a serious alterior motive behind it? What is the long term goal here? Are we really achieving progress towards our "Neo-Tolkien" fantasy world, or are we simply foot soldiers for the "evil minds that plot destruction," as referenced in Black Sabbath's "War Pigs?" What happens AFTER Christianity is crushed? Does Odin just float in on a cloud and usher in the "New Viking Age?" Don't count on it.
With all of this in mind, we again ask the question, why did Åkerlund make a film about this topic? Let's revisit the reasons he didn't:
1 - He had a personal connection to the story
“It was only like a handful of people that got a chance to see this classic moment. Most of it happened in Norway. We [Bathory] were a few years earlier. We were in Sweden. I kind of left the scene for filmmaking pretty early.” - Åkerlund, Revolver. Whatever personal connection Åkerlund may have had to the 2nd wave Black Metal scene, it is not obvious from the outside.
2 - He loved 2nd wave Black Metal Music
He told Steve Jones on KLOS that he USED to like it. A lot. Then he "rediscovered it" while he was making the film. So he started making the film during the time he wasn't really into the music? That is, before he "rediscovered it during the making of the film?" I am sure he loves Motorhead, Dio, Sabbath, Iron Maiden, and maybe even Venom - but 2nd wave black metal? Not likely considering his history and what he has said in the press. He's just saying what he needs to say in order to make himself appear credible to the public. He's an actor to a degree.
3 - He did it for the money
The film had an NC-17 rating, greatly limiting the already modest small theatre circuit it appeared in. I'm not sure what the rules are on Netflix, but I imagine NC-17 probably doesn't serve this purpose any better there. Old school fans/musicians of Black Metal generally thought it was trash, living members of Mayhem openly disapproved of it. Åkerlund works for the biggest pop stars in the music business. Whatever small profit was made from this film, if any, he did not need it.
4 - Åkerlund just did it because he thought it was a cool story to turn into a film
Then why did he lie to the press about the fact that the members of Mayhem were totally against him making it? Why would someone want to make a documentary/biographical film about a band/person who is openly against it? There is also the fact that Åkerlund originally wasn't even involved with the film!
"Lords of Chaos is based on the 1998 book of the same name. Originally, Japanese director Sion Sono was set to direct a film based on the book, with Jackson Rathbone starring as Varg Vikernes. It would have been Sono's first English-language film. The screenplay was written by Hans Fjellestad (who was earlier reported to be the film's director as well), Ryan Page, Adam Parfrey (the book's publisher), and Sono. In July 2009, Sono stated that filming (in Norway) would begin in August or September and end in December. The film was set to be released in 2010." - Wiki
Propaganda: "information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view." - Dictionary.com
ÅKERLUND'S RECENT MADONNA VIDEO
While Åkerlund's "Lords of Chaos" film seems to have a message for youths on the potential extreme fringes of society, his most recent video for Madonna has a much less ambiguous message.
[If you are on a Smartphone, you must tap on the above images in order to enlarge them at the proper resolution]
Although mass shootings have been on the rise steadily for many years now, the U.S. experienced what seemed like a sudden explosion of them this year [2019]. Within the above statistics gathered from Wikipedia, we can see a clear trend of INCREASE in mass shooting frequency.
Madonna's "Madame X" album came out June 14, 2019, almost exactly in the middle of the year. The video for "God Control" was released June 26, 2019, just about when peak hysteria surrounding mass shootings was all over the news. The timing of it couldn't have been better. In it, we see a nerdy looking white guy [who looks like he stole Ace Ventura's shirt] shooting a bunch of people reflecting MadonnaCorp's carefully cultivated aesthetic - a chic and sexy blend of multi racial, multi ethnic, sexually liberal, hedonistic lovers of life. Once the viewer is heartbroken over watching these people get shot, the video pushes the solution into your face: GUN CONTROL. In sales, it is known that if you stimulate people's emotions properly, you can make them buy anything - regardless of a product's practical use. Propaganda uses the same techniques, to sell you an IDEA - and that's exactly what this video is, propaganda.
"Gun control (or firearms regulation) is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms by civilians." - Wiki
It is a fact that gun regulations in America have increased constantly for the past 50 years or so. Are we any safer? The 2nd amendment was created in part to PROTECT Americans from total government oppression. Therefore, the "powers that be" have clear motivation to ENCOURAGE nutcases to go on shooting rampages, and certainly have the technology to do so! [research recently declassified MK Ultra documents directly on the CIA's webpage] Mass shooting sprees, with no apparent motives or apparent common causes, encourages the perception that more restrictions on gun access is the only logical solution. Just as I was typing up this blog, San Francisco used the Gilroy shooting to justify classifying the N.R.A. as a "domestic terrorist organization."
"The memory of a mass shooting that killed three at the Gilroy Garlic Festival was still fresh in nearby San Francisco when its Board of Supervisors unanimously voted last week to denounce the National Rifle Association. But the city’s leaders took their message a step further, declaring on Sept. 3 that the NRA is a “domestic terrorist organization” and discouraging the city from working with contractors or vendors with ties to the gun rights lobby." - Washington Post.com 9.10.19
An increase in mass shootings = justification for more restrictions on gun laws. It also helps perpetuate the gun debate, constantly reinforcing division between the "left" and the "right" nationwide. These same "powers that be" would have good reason to sponsor pop icons such as Madonna, because she delivers the solution of disarmament. Madonna happens to be a distant relative of Hillary Clinton, America's "left leaning" 2016 presidential candidate, who was defeated by right leaning, and National Rifle Association supporting Trump.
[Hi Madonna, nice one-eye X thingy! What could this mean?]
Obviously, MadonnaCorp is playing around with some strong symbolism on her latest album, and there is a whole lot I can comment on - but I leave it to the reader to look into that for themselves. The main point here is that Jonas Åkerlund has no problem making high budget propaganda videos, targeted towards Americans in this case. If you watch some of the other videos he's done over the years for Madonna, Beyonce and Lady Gaga - you will find they often flirt with the most divisive sexual, religious, and racial messages, almost as a rule! Åkerlund is a master at delivering these messages within a thickly cultivated environment of chic, sexy, sarcastic, youthful energy. This sexy/eye catching imagery and "fun" energy keeps audiences minds engaged on the shallowest levels of perception so that they don't bother to consider the deeper messages intellectually, and whether they are "healthy" or not. Who cares? Everyone looks pretty!
[Ok Bea Åkerlund, we see your chic little "eye of Horus" winky thing, what's your point?]
Here are some other popular blogs I have done, click to read.
The Darrell "Dimebag" Abbott Murder
The Chris Cornell Death
Star Wars and the Occult
America: Land of the Plumed Serpent
THE WATCHMEN SERIES
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