It’s one of extreme metal’s most infamous and often repeated stories: In 1993, Norwegian black-metal pioneers Mayhem’s 25-year-old founding guitarist Øystein Aarseth, a.k.a. Euronymous, was stabbed to death by Burzum mastermind and his Mayhem bandmate Varg Vikernes, a.k.a. Count Grishnackh. The murder made international headlines and was eventually spread far and wide by the book and subsequent film Lords of Chaos. Now, a new interview with Heavy Consequence suggests that Vikernes wasn’t the only Mayhem member with murder on his mind: the band’s founding and current bassist, Necrobutcher, a.k.a. Jørn Stubberud, has revealed that he, too, was plotting Euronymous’ death.
“I can tell it right now, because I’ve been holding it in for many years, but actually I was on my way down to kill him myself,” Necrobutcher stated. “And when it happened, I saw the morning paper, thinking, ‘Fuck, I gotta get home to my place and get out all the weapons and drugs and shit I had in my house, because they’re coming to my house because I’m probably going to be the No.1 suspect for this.’
“But little did I know that the Norwegian police already knew that Count Grishnackh [Vikernes] was going down also to kill him. Because they bugged his phone, and he actually talked about this killing before he went to Bergen so the cops already knew that he was coming, so they probably were thinking to themselves, ‘We didn’t nail this guy for the church burnings, so let’s nail him for murder, and get rid of this fucking guy in Oslo the same time.’ So that’s basically what happened.”
Watch the interview below. Mayhem are gearing up to release a new album, Daemon, and hit the road in Europe.
Mayhem tour dates:
10/31 – Nijmegen, Netherlands @ Doornroosje
11/01 – Leiden, Netherlands @ Gebr De Nobel
11/02 – Leeds, UK @ Damnation Festival
11/03 – Dublin, Ireland @ Academy
11/04 – London, UK @ The Electric Ballroom
11/05 – Paris, France @ La Machine Du Moulin Rouge
11/06 – Rennes, France @ L’Etage
11/07 – Lyon, France @ CCD
11/08 – Toulouse, France @ Le Metronum
11/09 – Barcelona, Spain @ Salamandra
11/10 – Madrid, Spain @ Mon Madrid
11/12 – Milan, Italy @ Magazzini Generali
11/13 – Geneva, Switzerland @ PTR
11/14 – Vienna, Austria @ Szene
11/15 – Prague, Czech Republic @ Meet Factory
11/16 – Berlin, Germany @ Astra
11/17 – Lille, France @ Tyrant Fest
11/19 – Kassel, Germany @ Musik Theater 130BPM
11/20 – Wetzikon, Switzerland @ Hall of Fame
11/21 – Mannheim, Germany @ MS Connexion Complex
11/22 – Oberhausen, Germany @ Turbinehalle
11/23 – Vossellar, Belgium @ Biebob
11/24 – Copenhagen, Denmark @ Pumpehuset
11/26 – Tampere, Finland @ Pakkahuone
11/27 – Helsinki, Finland @ Tavastia
11/29 – Stockholm, Sweden @ Fryshuset Klubben
11/30 – Gothenburg, Sweden @ Pustervi
