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A review by atnow
Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground by Didrik Soderlind
2.0
Lords of Chaos is an extremely irresponsible book. Originally published in 1998, and revised in 2003, as it stands, this book borders on the dangerous. Oftentimes meandering, occasionally bafflingly tangential, and criminally uncontested, this book needs revision and extension in 2022 or a sequel that allows more commentary to level out this book.
Lords of Chaos is a book about heavy metal. Not all heavy metal. The heaviest, harshest, darkest, black metal. Black metal is trash. It is abrasive to listen to, it is inaccessible by choice, and it is created by abrasive inaccessible people. At least it was. Black metal today is still heavy, harsh, and dark, but it is commercial. In the late 80s and early 90s when black metal took Norway by firestorm, it was as underground as possible. Nominally the Norwegian black metal scene is the impetus of this book and its wider “study” of the rise of satanism.
I want to stress the good about this book before I deconstruct what is bad. For those who have heard about the early black metal scene, this is a great primer on the scene. It describes early satanic inspirations in music (mostly to shock people into free publicity), the culture of Norway at the time (mostly irreligious, where violent media is taboo), and the principal figures of the early black metal scene, Dead, Euronymous, and a shithead named Varg.
Norway has a high standard of living, little to no diversity in its population, an extreme aversion to violent media of any type, and a stagnant, indifferent relationship with religion. The majority of the population is Christian, but most are not active in any sense of the word. They are baptized, married, and buried by the church, and that is about it. So what happens when naturally rebellious (and in some cases those with clear mental health problems) get a taste of the “satanic” music like Black Sabbath and Mercy Fate? They push it to the edge. They want more. Since there is little to no violence in Norwegian media, there isn’t the suspension of disbelief that accompanies a lot of American views on media violence. It was taken at face value, then scorned when the commercialism was made apparent. Like an addict, however, they got the taste. Harder, harsher, more aggressive, actual real evil and Satan worship became the name of the game.
Enter Dead and Euronymous. Dead clearly is the one with mental health problems, most likely some sort of severe depression. Euronymous seems more of a hanger-on that inherited the head of the movement and was in way over his head. That is the good of the book. It establishes the setting, and the scene, indicates some potential influences, and details some of the key figures. It is not a spoiler that Dead commits suicide, and the Euronymous is killed. Before, during, and after Dead and Euronymous’ death, there is a smattering of church burnings that vaulted this underground scene into the international spotlight.
This is where the bad of the book begins, and it is no coincidence that the bad beings with the festering shitpile of a human being who goes by Varg Vikernes. Dead and Euronymous were part of the band Mayhem. While a few other bands were also prominent in the black metal scene, the one-man project is known as Burzum also held sway. Burzum is Varg Vikernes. Imagine Donald Trump with no money, but musical ability (ability, not talent). Varg was a satanist, but not really. The media put that term on him for their own agenda. Varg is really a heathen. But not really, the media put that on him too. Varg is an Odinist, which we should have known from the start, obviously. Also, as history has shown, Varg is a racist, nationalist, a murderer (he killed Euronymous), and is mostly responsible for the destruction of the Fantoft Stave Church.
Two of the pinnacles of black metal are dead, and the remaining tentpole is Varg. I doubt black metal would have ever been mainstream in any sense of the word, but it is undoubtedly Varg’s influence that has made black metal one of the genres attributed to what we would call the alt-right of today. In the 90s and early 00s, we were content to just call them neo-Nazis.
What is bad is the irresponsibility in which Varg is handled in this book. He is essentially given a platform to talk, unchallenged, under the auspices of an interview. The author never challenges Varg, because without Varg there would probably be about 150 fewer pages in this book. Lords of Chaos is about 30% history, 40% Varg soliloquy, and the rest is nonsense.
It is 2022. I hate the “it is {insert year here}” as a basis for an argument, but here it is appropriate. It is 2022, and if any time is given to an alt-right, neo-Nazi, fascist, nationalist, murderer, there needs to be equal time spent deconstructing the arguments. Letting these statements stand in a vacuum is dangerous. I came to this book because I am a fan of metal. Not all metal, but a fan enough to know about the general story of Norwegian black metal. Someone who is already feeling like an outcast and finds themselves in their local black metal scene and wants to know more is going to see Dead, and Euronymous, and Varg shit head Vikernes and possibly see a kindred spirit, and that is unacceptable.
Oh yeah, there is a whole chapter about Nazis and UFOs, which… is so strange and unnecessary.
I put this book back on the digital shelf and felt so conflicted. Without more, it is irresponsible. Without a revision, or a volume 2, this is a Varg Vikernes platform sandwiched between footnotes in metal history. As it stands, I don’t think I can recommend it to anyone. Also, the author, unsurprisingly, has been criticized for alt-right sympathies. So it is no wonder Varg is mythologized instead of torn down as he should. Stay away. 2/5.
Lords of Chaos is a book about heavy metal. Not all heavy metal. The heaviest, harshest, darkest, black metal. Black metal is trash. It is abrasive to listen to, it is inaccessible by choice, and it is created by abrasive inaccessible people. At least it was. Black metal today is still heavy, harsh, and dark, but it is commercial. In the late 80s and early 90s when black metal took Norway by firestorm, it was as underground as possible. Nominally the Norwegian black metal scene is the impetus of this book and its wider “study” of the rise of satanism.
I want to stress the good about this book before I deconstruct what is bad. For those who have heard about the early black metal scene, this is a great primer on the scene. It describes early satanic inspirations in music (mostly to shock people into free publicity), the culture of Norway at the time (mostly irreligious, where violent media is taboo), and the principal figures of the early black metal scene, Dead, Euronymous, and a shithead named Varg.
Norway has a high standard of living, little to no diversity in its population, an extreme aversion to violent media of any type, and a stagnant, indifferent relationship with religion. The majority of the population is Christian, but most are not active in any sense of the word. They are baptized, married, and buried by the church, and that is about it. So what happens when naturally rebellious (and in some cases those with clear mental health problems) get a taste of the “satanic” music like Black Sabbath and Mercy Fate? They push it to the edge. They want more. Since there is little to no violence in Norwegian media, there isn’t the suspension of disbelief that accompanies a lot of American views on media violence. It was taken at face value, then scorned when the commercialism was made apparent. Like an addict, however, they got the taste. Harder, harsher, more aggressive, actual real evil and Satan worship became the name of the game.
Enter Dead and Euronymous. Dead clearly is the one with mental health problems, most likely some sort of severe depression. Euronymous seems more of a hanger-on that inherited the head of the movement and was in way over his head. That is the good of the book. It establishes the setting, and the scene, indicates some potential influences, and details some of the key figures. It is not a spoiler that Dead commits suicide, and the Euronymous is killed. Before, during, and after Dead and Euronymous’ death, there is a smattering of church burnings that vaulted this underground scene into the international spotlight.
This is where the bad of the book begins, and it is no coincidence that the bad beings with the festering shitpile of a human being who goes by Varg Vikernes. Dead and Euronymous were part of the band Mayhem. While a few other bands were also prominent in the black metal scene, the one-man project is known as Burzum also held sway. Burzum is Varg Vikernes. Imagine Donald Trump with no money, but musical ability (ability, not talent). Varg was a satanist, but not really. The media put that term on him for their own agenda. Varg is really a heathen. But not really, the media put that on him too. Varg is an Odinist, which we should have known from the start, obviously. Also, as history has shown, Varg is a racist, nationalist, a murderer (he killed Euronymous), and is mostly responsible for the destruction of the Fantoft Stave Church.
Two of the pinnacles of black metal are dead, and the remaining tentpole is Varg. I doubt black metal would have ever been mainstream in any sense of the word, but it is undoubtedly Varg’s influence that has made black metal one of the genres attributed to what we would call the alt-right of today. In the 90s and early 00s, we were content to just call them neo-Nazis.
What is bad is the irresponsibility in which Varg is handled in this book. He is essentially given a platform to talk, unchallenged, under the auspices of an interview. The author never challenges Varg, because without Varg there would probably be about 150 fewer pages in this book. Lords of Chaos is about 30% history, 40% Varg soliloquy, and the rest is nonsense.
It is 2022. I hate the “it is {insert year here}” as a basis for an argument, but here it is appropriate. It is 2022, and if any time is given to an alt-right, neo-Nazi, fascist, nationalist, murderer, there needs to be equal time spent deconstructing the arguments. Letting these statements stand in a vacuum is dangerous. I came to this book because I am a fan of metal. Not all metal, but a fan enough to know about the general story of Norwegian black metal. Someone who is already feeling like an outcast and finds themselves in their local black metal scene and wants to know more is going to see Dead, and Euronymous, and Varg shit head Vikernes and possibly see a kindred spirit, and that is unacceptable.
Oh yeah, there is a whole chapter about Nazis and UFOs, which… is so strange and unnecessary.
I put this book back on the digital shelf and felt so conflicted. Without more, it is irresponsible. Without a revision, or a volume 2, this is a Varg Vikernes platform sandwiched between footnotes in metal history. As it stands, I don’t think I can recommend it to anyone. Also, the author, unsurprisingly, has been criticized for alt-right sympathies. So it is no wonder Varg is mythologized instead of torn down as he should. Stay away. 2/5.