For those unfamiliar with Norwegian black metal, understand that it is the baddest of the bad, the most notorious of the notorious. It takes all the murder and vehemence against religion preached by "popular" metal bands and actually goes through with it. Among black metal musicians, none are more renowned than Varg Vikernes of Burzum. The guitarist was arrested in France under suspicion of terrorist plots on Tuesday report French police. 

Vikernes is known to have connections with Anders Behring Breivik, the Norway man who killed 77 people during a planned assault in Utoeya. Vikernes sympathized with Breivik, writing in 2011 that the terrorist was the patsy of a "sinister" Jewish conspiracy (Vikernes hates all religions. He just seems to hate Judaism more). Police suspected that the former musician was planning a "massacre" in France. 

Vikernes had just finished 15 years of a 21 year prison sentence in 2009, for the murder of fellow black metal musician Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth in 1994. Aarseth, the guitarist for the band Mayhem, had been involved in a disagreement over money with Vikernes, and the latter killed him for it, in less than conventional fashion for a murder. He was arrested and simultaneously charged with his role in three church arson cases. Upon searching his apartment, Norway police also found 150 kg of explosives and 3000 rounds of ammunition. 

During his prison sentence, Vikernes wrote several books on white-supremacist ideology, including "Teutonic Mythology and Worldview," and he's since maintained a blog where he routinely goes on anti-Semitic rants. 

Not a cool guy at all, but I wouldn't put anything nasty on his Facebook if I were you. 

Join the Discussion