Black Metal & Christianity

“Kvitrafn,” black metal drummer

I heard of the documentary Until the Light Takes Us which interviews Norwegian Black Metal leader Varg Vikernes on the events leading up to his conviction and imprisonment for murder and church burnings. ¹  Vikernes speaks and writes often about his hatred of christianity and he is very open about the murder of his one-time friend and several church burnings.

Nude crucified models on stage during Gorgoroth’s performance in 2004

The murder was not linked to the church burnings and therefore will not be discussed at length here—however, it helps paint a picture of the beliefs and morals of Vikernes and others in the industry.

I watched Until the Light Takes Us and learned about the early days of metal in the 1990s. It was not intended to be associated with Satan or satanic worship—rather, it was about self-hatred, paganism, and anti-Christian sentiments.

However, the genre is characterized by murders, terrorism, and other bloody acts. Albums with titles about murder, suicide, death, destruction, rape, and more are common. Euronymous, the lead singer in popular band Mayhem, says that he is only interested in music that “represents total evil.” ² Band members have nicknames like “blasphemer,” “necrobutcher,” and “dead.” Black metal shows are particularly violent and disturbing: performers slit their wrists, spray blood on the crowd, and sacrifice animals. ^{3 4}

It might seem that this community’s hatred of Christianity lies in their very different morals and practices, but the issue goes much deeper than simple moral differences. Many leaders in the black metal community agree that Christians are at the root of today’s societal problems and that society must be rebuilt. Vikernes in particular has strong feelings on this:

“[We burn churches and destroy buildings] not because we enjoy destruction so much but because to build something new you have to destroy the old first.”⁵

Why is there such strong hatred for Christians, not Muslims or some other religion? Why does the black metal community feel such strong hatred for Christians? The answer can be found in history.