Published: September 25, 2025
From the creation of Burzum to church burnings, the murder of Euronymous, prison years and life after release, the story of Varg Vikernes remains one of the most controversial chapters in extreme metal history.
Originally published on Rockum December 8, 2008. Updated and upgraded for 2025 with additional context and post-release developments.
Black metal beyond the music
Black metal is not just a musical style. It is something more, much more. Its strictly musical dimension might even be the least important. Black metal represents an anti-Christian, often satanic and essentially pagan worldview. It is an attitude toward existence, a symbolic way of life. And when speaking about black metal, it is impossible to ignore Varg Vikernes.
Early years and the birth of Burzum
Vikernes was born in Bergen, Norway, on February 11, 1973. His birth name was Kristian Vikernes, but he later changed it to Varg, which means “wolf” in Norwegian. In 1988–1989 he founded a solo project called Kalashnikov, named after his favorite assault rifle, the AK-47. By 1989 he joined the band Old Funeral, but his stay there was short-lived.
In 1991, he revived his solo project under a new name: Burzum, taken from Tolkien’s Black Speech, meaning “darkness.” A devoted fan of Tolkien, Vikernes explained that his concept was rooted in the idea that “the world needs darkness, because too much light does not illuminate or warm us, it blinds and burns us.”
With Burzum, he quickly gained recognition within the underground, recording multiple albums in a very short span of time. He played all instruments himself, creating raw, stripped-down black metal with harsh vocals and deliberately lo-fi production. Within a year he had enough material for more than three records.
The Norwegian scene and Euronymous
Black metal as a genre had its roots in bands like Venom, Hellhammer, Celtic Frost and Bathory in the early 1980s, but it found its most notorious incarnation in Norway at the end of that decade. Vikernes and Burzum became central to this second wave, alongside Euronymous of Mayhem.
Euronymous (Øystein Aarseth) was a key figure in shaping the scene. He played guitar in Mayhem, owned the record store Helvete, and ran the label Deathlike Silence Productions, which released albums by Mayhem, Enslaved, Abruptum and also Burzum. By 1991–1992, Vikernes and Euronymous were close friends, united in both music and ideology.
The Inner Circle and the arsons
The so-called “Inner Circle” of Norwegian black metal was less a band collective than an underground sect. Its core members, including Vikernes and Euronymous, shared the goal of eradicating Christianity in Norway and returning to pre-Christian pagan traditions. To them, Christianity was never truly embraced by rural Norway but rather imposed during the Protestant conversions of the 16th and 17th centuries.
This ideology was put into violent practice through church burnings. Vikernes was linked to several, and one of them even became the cover of Burzum’s Aske EP. The arsons shocked the country and brought the black metal scene under intense police scrutiny.
Murder of Euronymous
By 1993 the relationship between Vikernes and Euronymous had soured. On August 10, 1993, Vikernes went to Euronymous’s apartment in Oslo armed with a knife. The confrontation ended with Euronymous being stabbed 23 times.
Vikernes later claimed in interviews that he had not planned to kill him, only to confront him. According to his account, Euronymous panicked, attempted to reach for weapons, and the situation escalated fatally. Regardless of his explanation, forensic evidence left little doubt.
In 1994, Vikernes was convicted of murder and several church arsons, and sentenced to 21 years in prison, the maximum penalty in Norway. The case became international news and cemented his place as the most infamous figure in black metal.
Prison years
During his incarceration, Vikernes continued to attract attention. He released writings expressing increasingly racist and neo-pagan views, and shifted musically toward ambient recordings created with limited prison equipment. His ideological transformation led him to adopt terms like “Odalism,” a mix of paganism, ethnic nationalism and environmentalism.
Post-prison years (2009–2025)
Vikernes was released on parole in May 2009 after serving nearly 16 years. He soon revived Burzum, releasing a series of albums: Belus (2010), Fallen (2011), Umskiptar (2012), and Sol austan, Mán vetnan (2013). These works attempted to return to the essence of his early material while also exploring ambient soundscapes.
After his release, Vikernes moved with his family to France, taking the legal name Louis Cachet through his marriage to French filmmaker Marie Cachet. He maintained an online presence through books and videos, especially his Thulean Perspective YouTube channel, which was removed in 2019 under policies on extremist content.
In 2013, French authorities arrested him briefly on suspicion of planning extremist violence. He was ultimately convicted of inciting racial hatred, receiving a suspended sentence and a fine.
Since then, Vikernes has largely withdrawn from music. He has instead focused on family life, writing, and online discussions about paganism, survivalism and role-playing games. While some fans continue to follow his output, his reputation remains permanently tied to the crimes and ideology of his past.
Legacy
The story of Varg Vikernes is inseparable from the history of black metal. His early recordings as Burzum defined a sound and aesthetic that influenced countless bands, while his actions outside of music shocked the world.
More than 30 years later, he stands as both an influential artist and a cautionary tale about the dangers of ideology and violence crossing into real life. His legacy is a reminder of how music history can sometimes blur with true crime, leaving a shadow that still hangs over extreme metal.
Written by Gino Alache – Music Journalist
