Anti-Christianity and Nazism of Norway’s Black Metal

Scene Reflected through Lords of Chaos

INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1

A. Background of the study

Lords Of Chaos is a horror-thriller movie which most awaited, and

full of madness directed by legendary drummer of a black metal band

Bathory and video director, Jonas Åkerlund. Lords Of Chaos attempts to

weave a grand narrative.

It aims on the often touchy relationship between Varg and

Euronymous, its escalation and ripple effects into the spate of church

burnings, the murder of a gay man at the hands of Emperor drummer Bård

Eithun a.k.a ‘Faust’, and the possible motivations for why, on August 10,

1993, Varg went to Euronymous's condominium armed with a knife and

stabbed him several times. Further researched, with input from

Euronymous's parents and famous band photographs painstakingly

reproduced, Lords Of Chaos sets out to balance the infamous plot points

with the personal tribulations, and transformations, of the people involved.

Åkerlund, Jonas. “LORDS OF CHAOS -

Jonasakerlund.com.” Metalhammer.com, 2018,
http://www.jonasakerlund.com/wp-content/uploads/20
18/11/MHR316.lordsofchaos3.pdf.

Almost every travel guide in Norway bears at least a passing

reference to the wave of church burnings that swept out the country in the

early 90s. Frommer’s even names one of the character, Varg Vikernes, said

that he was a Satanist who went to jail for murder. To many Norwegians,
Vikernes is the country’s Charles Manson, the ultimate boogieman. That's

because he was in the epicenter of the country's most terrify of spreading

domestic terrorism, which Jonas Åkerlund has depicted in his new film,

Lords of Chaos. It covers the narrative of Mayhem, one of the country's

most well-known and infamous black metal bands a subgenre that is a

distant cousin of devil-worshipping death and thrash metal it focuses on the

band's most problematic period. From 1987 until 1994, the music was

overshadowed by murder, suicide, cannibalism, satanism, general acts of

morbidity (such as someone huffing a bag with a dead bird in it), and, of

course, arsonism influenced the band’s musical theme from 1987 to 1994.

The story inspired a few authors to rewrite the book Lords of Chaos in the

late 90s, which loosely became a source material for the movie.

Grow, Kory. “'Lords of Chaos' Review: Black Metal

Biopic Should Be Burned at the Cross.” Rolling Stone,
Rolling Stone, 8 Feb. 2019,
https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-reviews/l
ords-of-chaos-movie-review-mayhem-790078/.

Mayhem, Darkthrone, Emperor, and Immortal arose in Norway to

head what is now known as the Second Wave of Black Metal, with Venom

and a few others making up the majority of the first. The new subculture

finally gathered around Mayhem guitarist Euronymous’s record store,

Helvete (meaning Hell in Norwegian), in Oslo, smearing their faces in

black and white "corpse paint" and developing horrific on-stage costumes.

It was a group led by largely guys in their teens and early twenties

who composed ambient and strong music, used dark imagery, and, in some

cases, stood in violent opposition to any foreign influence in their country,

including homosexuality, theology, and any non-European population. As

 much as the music they created, some of the genre's main progenitors are

infamous for suicide, anti-theology, and murder.

Smith, Peter. “A Look Back at How a Metal Scene

in Norway Led to the Arson of over 50 Churches:
Mapped.” How the Black Metal Scene in Norway
Led to the Arson of over 50 Churches, Daily Hive,
18 May 2019,
https://dailyhive.com/mapped/norway-black-metal-
church-fires-history.

B. Scope of the study

This paper aims on the existence of Anti Christianity and Nazism

seen only on a movie called Lords of Chaos toward black metal scene

continuations. Also, the writer will mark out the discussion about the

connection of Anti Christianity and Nazism within Norwegian black metal

scene and the rest of the world.

C. Problem Formulation

1. Why the black metal scene in Norway led to the Anti Christianity and

Nazism acts?

2. Does black metal music always full of hatred (e.g., Anti Christianity,

Nazism, Domestic Violence)?

D. Objectives of the Study

According to the background of the study, the writer has stated the

objectives as follows:

1. To breakdown psychologically the Anti Christianity and Nazism acts

based on a movie called Lords of Chaos

 2. To inform everyone about kind of hatred as a black metal pictured on

Lords of Chaos movie

E. Review on the Related Studies

Spracklen, Karl. “True Norwegian Black Metal: The Globalized, Mythological

Reconstruction of the Second Wave of Black Metal in 1990s Oslo.” Sounds and the
City, https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137283115.0017.

Guibert, Gérome. “Michael Moynihan & Didrik Søderlind, Lords of Chaos. the Bloody
Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground.” Volume !, no. 1 : 1, 2002, pp. 124–126.,
https://doi.org/10.4000/volume.2540.

Bujalka, Eva. “Kvlter than KVLT: ‘True (Norwegian) Black Metal’ and the Satanic
Politics of Bataillean ‘Authenticity.’” Popular Music, vol. 38, no. 03, 2019, pp. 518–
537., https://doi.org/10.1017/s0261143019000333.

Sgourev, Stoyan Vassilev, and Erik Aadland. “Burning the Bridges: Authenticity,
Innovation, and Transgression in Norwegian Black Metal.” Academy of Management
Proceedings, vol. 2020, no. 1, 2020, p. 19945.,
https://doi.org/10.5465/ambpp.2020.19945abstract.

Wallin, Jason, et al. “Second Wave True Norwegian Black Metal: An Ideologically
Evil Music Scene?” Arts and the Market, vol. 7, no. 2, 2017, pp. 159–173.,
https://doi.org/10.1108/aam-12-2016-0025.

Patterson, Dayal. Black Metal: Evolution of the Cult. Feral House, 2013.

Moynihan, Michael, and Didrik Søderlind. Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the
Satanic Metal Underground. Feral House, 2003.

F. Theoretical Approach

Because American studies is an interdisciplinary method, it is

impossible to analyze America using only one perspective or approach, a

multidisciplinary approach is required to have a deeper understanding of the

country. In this undergraduate paper, the writer uses American studies

 disciplines and methodologies that are relevant to the issues, such as

sociological, political, and mass media approaches.

One of many techniques taken by the writer to address the subject is

theories that define anti-christianity and nazism from a theological and

political ideological perspective.

Also, the writer tends to use semiotic theory to breakdown the sign

which appear on the movie. Semiotic are researchers who study at how

signs are used to transmit meaning and alter our perceptions of life and

reality. They pay close attention to how signs are utilized to convey

meaning to their intended audience and look for strategies to ensure that

their message is conveyed clearly.

Riera, José J. “Semiotic Theory.” Theoretical

Models for Teaching and Research,
https://opentext.wsu.edu/theoreticalmodelsforteachi
ngandresearch/chapter/semiotic-theory/.

G. Method of Study

A procedure, mode, or way of doing something is referred to as a

method. In authoring the research, method has played a significant part. It is

quite helpful to the researcher in determining what type of data the writer

should use. The method was also utilized to organize the data design of the

study in a methodical manner. By obtaining data and presenting it in

descriptive form, this study is methodologically qualitative.

The writer then employs a variety of methods in this paper to

conduct the research, including data collection methods, data sources

(primary and secondary), data collection techniques, and data analysis

techniques.
1. Method Of Collecting Data

This research is about qualitative research, which is a type of

descriptive research that collects data in words rather than numbers. The

term "qualitative" refers to a non-numerical data gathering or interpretation

based on the graph's or data source's qualities. The author seeks out all

relevant material on the terms anti-christianity, arsonism, and nazism. As a

result, the author decides to use a webpage as mental evidence for her

investigation. To have a thorough understanding of the website, the writer

reads, watches, and visits it frequently. Then she watches it and makes a list

of relevant information linked to the topic that will be investigated.

Given, Lisa M. “The Sage Encyclopedia of

Qualitative Research Methods.” UBBG
Institutional Repository, University of Albeta, 12
Aug. 2008, https://repository.bbg.ac.id/handle/515.

2. The Source of Data

a. Primarily Data

In this research, the main data which is used by the writer to be

analyzed is a movie called Lords of Chaos, a controversial yet pictured

horrific events of black metal scene back then in Norway.

b. Secondary Data

The research cannot stand alone on the basis of its primary data,

hence it needs additional data to support it. Secondary data is used to

supplement the primary data. It could be taken from other sources like

internet, journal, magazines, books, article, newspaper or other to analyze

the Anti Christianity and Nazism that emerged especially in Norwegian

black metal scene and the rest of the world.

 The writer will attempt to summarize the continued significance of

both of these fan groups, as well as their opposing beliefs, as expressed in

their interactions on Reddit black metal communities. Through this, I hope

to learn how these fans perceive black metal ideology, as well as their

views on theology and the various waves of black metal.

The writer is particularly interested in how this reinforces a

subcultural fandom through strict censorship of the types of information

and conversation permitted in these online places.

c. Technique of Collecting Data

The writer uses some techniques in collecting the data in her

research. Using movie Lords of Chaos as his main data, then he takes some

notes of important point and collect as many as possible data from other

sources that are related with the problem of Anti Christianity and Nazism,

analyze it, make a previous hypothesis, write it down and explain it in

clearly words.

Then follows by the secondary data which taken from online source

for better understanding how taste and differentiation are generated in the

online site, the writer opted to undertake a limited virtual ethnography of

participants in the subreddits R/Black Metal and R/MetalMemes, watching

interactions between members of these "communities." The writer of this

paper draws on the work of a number of experts who study popular music

fan cultures to provide the core of information.

d. Data Analyzing Technique

 In Analyzing this topic, the writer use qualitative research, it’s a type

of research that aims to uncover and comprehend the meaning that some

persons or groups of people attribute to social or human problems

(Creswell, 2013). A qualitative study's final report has a flexible structure

or framework. This study takes an inductive approach that focuses on

specific meanings and translates the complexity of a situation.

Qualitative research begins in the field, in natural settings rather than

in a lab. Because they prioritize the processes that occur in the field, the

data and information collected from the field are taken for the meaning and

concept, given in descriptive analytic and often without using numbers.

In general, information on the major phenomenon being investigated

in a study, research participants, and the study's location are included in this

type of research. The research design used in qualitative research can also

be stated.

lp2m, Admin. “Qualitative Research Methods -

Objectives, Characteristics and Strategies.” LP2M
Universitas Medan Area, 23 Dec. 2020,
https://lp2m.uma.ac.id/qualitative-research-
methods-objectives-characteristics-and-strategies/.

H. Presentation

The writer divides the paper into four chapters in order to make it

easier to understand. The first chapter, Introduction, covers the background

for choosing the subject, the scope of the study (which limits the discussion

to a specific topic), problem formulation (in which the writer organizes his

writing into specific problems), the objective of the study, a review of

previous studies, the theoretical approach, the method of the study, and

presentation.

Theoretical framework is the title of the second chapter. It

comprises the concepts and methods for analyzing problems that are now in

use. In addition, the writer provides a brief definition of the phrase that is

relevant to his study. The problem is discussed in the third chapter. The

writer analyzes his writing and shares the discussion in this section. The

final chapter will be the study's conclusion. This is the point at which the

writer summarizes what he has done in his analysis.