DO YOU THINK THAT THE MEDIA HAS BEEN FANNING THE FLAMES IN THE CASE OF THE BLACK METAL CRIMEWAVE?
I didn’t think so initially. After talking to a good amount of journalists and people that have been working with Vikernes’s trial, I have changed my mind. “Street cred” is very important in youth subcultures. The mass media was invaluable for Vikernes in building his street cred. The media allowed him to build a near-mythological image of himself.
You can also see it in statements from people in the Black Metal scene itself where they say that everything got really wild after the mass media had started focusing on this. The media then threw gasoline on the fire, in that the coverage intensified the internal struggle for being the dominant personality. It is true that subcultures like the Black Metal scene have an internal dynamic that will operate without regard for the outside world. In this case, I think media may have played a larger role than is usual because the attention these people got was so massive.
WHY HAVE YOUNG PEOPLE BEEN ATTRACTED TO THIS?
It has elements of dark mysticism in the music, it has a mythological dimension in the link to the Viking Age, and so on. The music has a very aggressive force, and in the wake of listening to it you experience the feeling of identifying with it. That is a very powerful thing. If you are an adolescent, you are in a period of your life where it is impossible for you to exert influence upon your surroundings. Being able to hate and feel strong can be very liberating. This is much of the same power that lay in other forms of Metal and in Punk.
The Black Metal image is also appealing to people who are a bit of an outcast, or feel like outsiders. The Black Metal uniform sends very strong signals, especially after people have started associating these outfits with very powerful and scary things. It has passed the point where people point at you and laugh, and reached the point where people shy away from you.
LET’S NOT FORGET THE BIOLOGICAL DIMENSION EITHER, WITH HORMONES RUNNING AMOK.
There have been two major theories among the people that have been working with the Black Metal thing in the media. One has been that modern, secular society has created an atmosphere where all moral and ethical limits have been destroyed. Now that things have gone so far that it has produced Black Metal, it is time to draw some lines. The other has been that Black Metal is the result of all other symbols of rebellion having been used up. Almost every form of shocking behavior will only make your parents say, “Well, we did that when we were young too.” So, to get a shock effect, you have to go much further in your symbolism. Personally, I think these explanations are a bit simplistic.
A LOT OF THIS HAS FUNCTIONED ON A MYTHOLOGICAL LEVEL, AS WELL.
I think Vikernes is interesting in that he has been able to create a myth around himself, a myth that has made other people try to emulate his actions. I don’t think he is very interesting as a person.
HE SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SET HIMSELF UP AS A SYMBOL FOR SOMETHING THAT IS FAR GREATER THAN HIMSELF, AND ALMOST EVERYTHING THAT NORWEGIAN SOCIETY FINDS ABHORRENT: SATANISM, RACISM, NAZISM, MURDER, BURNING SACRED OBJECTS, ETC.
I am of the opinion that most people see Vikernes as a rather pathetic figure—someone with delusions of grandeur who is only able to function within this self-created image.
Kjetil Wiedswang is a Norwegian journalist who is also very skeptical of the way the media handled the Satanic hysteria that was imported to Norway in the early 1990s. He also argues that sensationalist media coverage conceivably made Satanism look glamorous and far more important than it really was, thereby attracting people to it:
There is obviously an interaction between the media and people who do things. This is especially clear in the case of terrorism. In many cases the whole point of the terrorist act is to get media coverage—if nobody wrote about it, there wouldn’t be a point in doing it.
It is hard to prove that people were attracted to the Black Metal scene because of Satanic scare headlines, especially so because the models for how people are affected by the media get more and more complicated each time they are revised. One no longer believes that people automatically emulate whatever they see in movies and read in books, but still, the idea that media has some level of influence over people seems reasonable.
Wiedswang realizes the dilemma inherent to news coverage of sensational activities, especially those which are based on mere hearsay. As he explains:
Journalists cannot be forced to always take into account the consequences of their stories when they write, because the alternative to an unrestricted press—censorship—would be much worse. The problem with the Satanism coverage in the ’90s wasn’t that the newspapers were writing about it, it was the way they were writing about it. They should have had a much better guard against urban legends slipping into their material, especially since the big Satanic scares in England and the U.S. were so recent.
As a journalist, you can never really know, and this was the case with the Satanic stories too. People do a lot of weird things. But the stories, and the way they were presented, should’ve smacked too much of the story of the “Evil Brotherhood” for a good journalist. The myth of the outwardly respectable, even upstanding, citizens that go out at night to do terrible things to children has been around for thousands of years and has been levelled at Christians, Jews, Catholics, Protestants, heretics, Freemasons, and lots of other groups. It was then recycled by horror writers, who fictionalized the material. It now seems to be influencing reality again. One account of “ritual abuse” I have read seems to have been lifted directly from Rosemary’s Baby, one of the great horror classics.
Another issue is that people who present these kind of “victim” stories maybe should be protected from themselves. One such story that was printed concerned a woman, an obvious mental case, who described having had a forced abortion in Oslo in the ’60s. The atrocity took place in an open back yard centrally located in Oslo, as she was surrounded by men in black robes. But when people started checking the date, it turned out that this coincided with a bombing spree in which a mysterious bomber left grenades with tripwires in public places. As a result, the city was in a state of panic, with everyone looking out for suspicious activity. So it doesn’t seem very credible.
BÅRD EITHUN
HOW SERIOUS WAS THE SATANISM FOR YOU?
For a few people it was bloody serious, but to a lot of them it was all a big hype. I had been interested in Satanism but there are other things as well. Basically, I don’t give a shit.
DIDN’T YOU TRY TO CONTACT THE O.T.O.?
Yes, that’s true. I contacted them once, just to check out what it was. But I doubt it was anything for me. They are beyond this good/evil shit, I like that, but it becomes a little too obscure for me.
SIMEN MIDGAARD HAS A THEORY THAT SENSATIONALISTIC NEWSPAPER ARTICLES ABOUT THE O.T.O. INFLUENCED THE BLACK METAL SCENE.
That might be true. I remember in the late ’80s there was much writing about this in the Norwegian newspapers, about secret cults and sacrifices. I thought that people might have been influenced by this, because it creates a very mysterious atmosphere and people want be the ones who the papers are writing about.
THE KERRANG! ARTICLE DID THE SAME THING.
After this issue was released the other guys got really enthusiastic about it, because it meant that we got a lot of attention.
IT SEEMS TO ME KERRANG! CREATED A LOT OF THE PROBLEM, WITH KIDS IN ENGLAND BEING INSPIRED TO COMMIT CRIMES AFTER THAT FIRST ARTICLE.
That’s true. Actually this happened in Norway as well, because after our arrests, and the media mentioning this, we saw there were many kids attracted to the scene. Most of the churches that are burned today are done by kids who got into it after our arrests. You could say that the media is making all this so big.
HOW CONNECTED DO YOU STILL FEEL TO EVERYTHING?
I’m part of the underground scene which existed when I was free. I’m not part of the one that exists now.
In the end of October, 1997, Willy Ko
bbhaug was charged with exposing himself to a 15-year-old, and therefore underage, neighboring girl. He had been standing in his own garden while the girl’s parents videotaped what was going on. The 52-year-old Kobbhaug confessed to the affair, and was suspended from his position. Ironically, Kobbhaug lives in Kløfta, the same town where Bård “Faust” is incarcerated.
In the years that passed since the Satanic scare in the media, Kobbhaug had built up a considerable reputation as an expert on sexual abuse, both in Norway and abroad. In a strange twist, the police confiscated around ten firearms in a closet in his house. These guns could be linked to criminal activities; one was stolen in Oslo, and another was stolen from the Kripos headquarters in 1977.
The police claim to be able to document that Kobbhaug exposed himself to the teenage girl on five or six occasions. The documentation is exceptionally good on the last occasion, the act having been captured on videotape. Some debate was sparked when his attorney speculated in the media that it was his work with abused children which may have turned him on to such activities. This caused an outcry from other policemen, who felt that these speculations stigmatized them as well.
Kobbhaug is also charged with a separate case of indecent exposure against another even younger girl in 1995. These cases have triggered a series of assertions from people in his neighborhood alleging that Kobbhaug exposed himself on other occasions, with some of the incidents dating as far back as twenty years. If that is true, then it is hard to take seriously the explanation that Kobbhaug’s behavior was caused by trauma at work since these cases then would predate his involvement in this type of crime.
If convicted, Kobbhaug will probably get off with a moderate fine. But Whether Kobbhaug is guilty or not, it seems reasonable to think that he has his own demons to fight against.
THE HIGH PRIEST SPEAKS
In uncovering the expressions of Satanism in Black Metal, evidence reveals two quite distinct viewpoints. Many of those involved have also shifted their outlook over time from one to the other, as they gained insight and maturity. The crude Satanism is found in the caricatures of “Devil worship,” black magic, and occultism presented by bands like Venom and Bathory, which is still perpetuated by the lower-brow echelon of music groups and fans. This is the ideology that may have been actively fostered and unwittingly encouraged by the media hysteria about Satanic cults and ritual sacrifices which entered Norwegian headlines in the nascent days of Black Metal.
There is a stark contrast between these views and the comments of musicians like Ihsahn or the members of Ulver. It is possible they may have started out in the “Devil worship” camp, but if so they have progressed far beyond those views. The ideas they express now are quite in line with the “official” Satanic doctrines as promulgated by Anton Szandor LaVey, the notorious founder and High Priest of the Church of Satan, who died in October, 1997.
There have only been a handful of Metal groups with direct ties to LaVey’s church over the years (King Diamond being one of the more outspoken), although in recent times this has begun to change. LaVey was himself a musician, specializing in lost or obscure songs of ages past, but he often mentioned a personal distaste for Rock and other modern music in interviews. This might have alienated some musicians—who otherwise exemplify LaVey’s philosophy—from any public allegiance with the Church of Satan. In reality, LaVey understood fully why a genre like Black Metal has appeal for youth, though he may not had have much interest in the cacophony of the music itself.
As Ihsahn mentions, members of the Scandinavian Black Metal crowd attacked LaVey’s philosophy in the past, although this was more common a few years ago. The standard reason for their dislike of the Church of Satan was its alleged “humanist” values. This seems to have been rooted primarily in ignorance, and a desire to draw attention for themselves as being more extreme than the recognized “official Satanists.” The Black Metalers are also quite mistaken if they believe LaVey is merely a humanist. Even a cursory study of LaVey’s actual writings will uncover his unabashed misanthropy and derisive scorn for the follies of humankind.
To understand LaVey’s genuine opinions—both regarding his definition of Satanism, as well as his views on music such as Black Metal—we spoke with him directly. The following comments are compiled from interviews done with LaVey and his Secretary/Biographer Blanche Barton in 1994 and 1996. They form a fitting conclusion for our analysis of Satanism, particularly in relation to the phenomenon of Black Metal. LaVey dispels many erroneous notions about Satanism which have arisen in the wake of events in Norway and elsewhere, but by the same token his conclusions and predictions paint an ominous future role for music to pave the way toward a Satanic society.
ANTON SZANDOR LAVEY AND BLANCHE BARTON
WHAT ARE YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT BLACK METAL AND HOW SOME OF THE PEOPLE INVOLVED MAY HAVE MISREPRESENTED SATANISM?
LAVEY: I don’t know to what extent they misrepresent Satanism, since I only hear a limited amount of news about them. But as far the philosophy of genuine Satanism is concerned, all I did was write a book that explains it primitively. If someone wants to understand Satanism, they can get the book through a friend, or track a copy down themselves—it’s been available for almost thirty years now!—or find a spokesman of the Church of Satan to enlighten them. But really you need the book, it’s a primer which codifies contemporary Satanism. Many of the so-called Black Metal “Satanists” appear to me as essentially Christians—they’re defining Satanism by Christian standards.
BARTON: They buy into the Christian definition of Satanism which Doctor LaVey smashed in 1966.
LAVEY: That was the first time it had been demonstrated in such a way. A lot of people had tried to give it exposure, as Devil’s advocates—writers like Twain and Nietzsche—but none had codified it as a religion, a belief system.
HOW MUCH WAS YOUR INTERPRETATION OF SATANISM INFLUENCED BY THE ZEITGEIST OF THE ’60S?
LAVEY: The hippies lit a fire under me, because it was so close at hand, the last straw. Everyone was trying to get me to drop acid and join in. Push came to shove and I decided there had to be an alternative.
They were championing “Jesus Christ Superstar,” love and peace, while exalting the lowest classes of humanity. I interpreted it as the last burp, the last days of Christianity. I didn’t do anything consciously, it just developed. But I saw there were enough people out there to marshal it into something that was to become the Church of Satan, and the tracts I was writing at the time evolved into the Satanic Bible.
COLLAGE OF ANTON LAVEY BY PETER H. GILMORE
HOW DID YOU FORMULATE THE IDEAS THAT BECAME THE TENETS OF SATANISM?
LAVEY: In the case of the “Nine Satanic Statements,” it took me twenty minutes to write them out. I was listening to Chopin being played in the next room and I was so moved I just wrote them out on a pad of paper lying next to me. The crux of the philosophy of Satanism can be found in the “Satanic Rules of the Earth,” “Pentagonal Revisionism,” and the “Nine Satanic Sins,” of which of course “stupidity” is tantamount, closely followed by “pretentiousness.” Often pretentiousness comes in the form of so-called “independent thinkers” that have a knee-jerk reaction to any association with us.
As far as Satanists are concerned, taking the way things are and taking what suits you best and dwelling on it—that’s what it is all about. Religion should be about what’s most important in your life and recognizing that. For example, today I just wrote something about my favorite cars. Satanism is above all concerned with earthly indulgence. These Black Metal guys want to concentrate on death and destroying themselves—there’s nothing self-indulgent about that!
BARTON: For some people Satanism is their life, their fetish, but the real Satanists use and apply it to what they enjoy.
LAVEY: It sounds like there’s a lot of stupid people in Norway too, like any country. But the intelligent people are capable of responding if they receive the right information—again, it’s all about communication. We get
more mail from Russia than ever, now that the Soviet Union is gone. They’ve been under atheist control for so long and the new religious “freedom” is pushing bullshit they can’t swallow. They almost yearn for the good old days of Soviet atheism... like “the South will rise again!”
WOULD YOU CONCEDE THE BLACK METAL CROWD JUST REPRESENT A DIFFERENT BRAND OF SATANISM?
LAVEY: That’s not the way it’s intended, but they’re entitled to their own opinions. But if they say theirs is the right way, then they are acting even more like Christians.
BARTON: You have to keep all this in perspective—there simply was no legitimate, codified form of Satanism before the Church of Satan was formed.
Lords of Chaos Page 31
