The black metal band Mayhem became one of the founders of the Norwegian black metal scene after their foundation in 1984. Though their music has strongly influenced the black metal genre, the early days of their career didn’t entirely gain recognition with their sound. The band was notorious for their live shows, but their performances couldn’t even come close to the incident that happened between their band members.
The initial shock wave came when the lead vocalist and lyricist Dead took his life in 1991. The musician had already been fascinated with death, which worsened his mental health. He started cutting himself casually, and his friends were concerned about him. Allegedly, Euronymous was interested in Dead’s suicidal thoughts since they benefitted Mayhem’s image. Moreover, some claimed he encouraged Dead to kill himself, which was an accusation that wasn’t proven correct.
Dead’s loss was the first among the band, but it wasn’t going to be the last. Another catastrophe began when Euronymous and Varg Vikernes grew hatred towards each other. This tension exploded on the night of August 10, 1993, when Vikernes arrived at Euronymous’s apartment. Whatever happened between them, Vikernes stabbed Euronymous to death, and the musician’s body was found outside the apartment with 23 cuts.
This shocking incident fueled countless allegations since Vikernes’s motive was unknown then. People first alleged that the bandmates didn’t get along, which resulted in a power struggle. Some claimed the murder could be related to a financial dispute over Burzum records. Despite many rumors surrounding this incident, Vikernes denied them and stated that he killed Euronymous in self-defense.
Moreover, Vikernes claimed that Euronymous had plotted to shock him with electroshock, tie him up and torture him to death while filming his actions. According to the musician, Euronymous even planned to ambush him with an arranged meeting about an unsigned contract. Vikernes said what had happened that night was due to Euronymous’ attack from which he defended himself.
As a result of his crime, Vikernes was arrested on August 19, 1993. After a lengthy interrogation and questioning process, the musician was sentenced to 21 years in prison for the murder of Euronymous, along with other criminalities. In 2009, Vikernes was released from jail and continued with Burzum for a while, releasing albums. He then became an active user of YouTube until the platform removed his channel. As of now, the musician released an album in March 2020 as Barzum and noted that it was the last one under the band’s name.
