Neo-nazi and black metal star arrested in France

[Duque de Bragança]

Guess whom... Kristian Vikernes a.k.a Varg
Nom de scène Burzum
One of the references in '90s black metal

French Yahoo and other crappy news services juste mentioned some neo-nazi being arrested deep in the French hinterland, Corrèze to be precise, dear to Jacques Chirac and François Hollande.

Black metal musician and neo-Nazi sympathiser Kristian "Varg" Vikernes was arrested in southwestern France on Tuesday after investigators decided he might stage a large "terrorist act", Interior Minister Manuel Valls said. The police suspect the Norwegian national of planning a "massacre" and searched his house for weapons and explosives.

Vikernes, 40, a well-known black metal musician in Norway, was arrested with his French wife Marie Chachet after she recently bought four rifles, Valls said in a statement.

"Having received the manifesto before (Breivik) committed his crimes and having been sentenced in Norway in the past for murder, this individual, who was close to a neo-Nazi movement, was likely to prepare a large terrorist act," Valls said.

Cachet, a member of a shooting club, purchased the rifles legally with her shooting permit. "The investigation will notably establish the conditions in which these (rifles) were acquired and their real objective," Valls said.

The anti-terrorist prosecutor has been put in charge of the investigation. In a statement, the French Ministry of the Interior deemed him "likely to prepare a large-scale act of terrorism".

Vikernes, the man behind black metal project Burzum, had spent 21 years in prison – the maximum sentence in Norway – for the murder of Øystein Aarseth, known as Euronymous, the guitar player of black metal band Mayhem.

Vikernes had also been convicted of arson attacks on four churches, he was freed in May 2009. He then moved to France with his wife and three children.

Vikernes, a Pagan and vocal neo-Nazi sympathiser, had reportedly received a copy of the manifesto of Anders Behring Breivik, the far-right terrorist responsible for the July 2011 Oslo bombing and Utoeya Massacre which left 77 dead. Breivik was sentenced to 21 years in jail for terrorism on August 2012.

Breivik sending a copy of a manifesto setting out his ideology to Vikernes, an official at the prosecutor's office said. "That was the origin of the investigation... There were several suspicions that made the services fear he could possibly carry out a violent act," the official said.

On his website, Vikernes discusses Breivik's manifesto, but in a post called "War in Europe: Part V – Breivik Unveiled" he also criticises the murderer for killing more innocent Norwegians than Muslims. Vikernes, who describes himself as a "pagan," accuses Breivik of being a Zionist agent and "Christian loser".

"If you, dear European nationalists, really want to save Europe (as a biological term) you have to realise that the only thing to do is to cast aside all Christian other international nonsense and embrace only the European (i.e. Pagan) values and ideals and if you like the European deities as well," said the posting, dated December 13. "If you work for Christianity in any way you work for the Jews. Plain and simple."

The mayor of Salon La Tour, where Vikernes and his wife lived, said he had been surprised by the arrest. "I didn't notice anything strange (about Vikernes) other than that he liked to wear military costumes and liked Gothic music," Jean-Claude Chauffour told French media BFM TV.

Things must be really bad for Hollande if he needs this kind of diversion from Valls. Receiving the manifesto and then criticising it plus legally buying some rifles means an arrest? Might be only a couple of nights at the gendarmerie after a stern warning.

[Syt]

Didn't even know he was out again.

[The Brain]

How did he find time for all this? His time management skills are solid.

[jimmy olsen]

What distinguishes black metal from other types of metal?

[Razgovory]

What distinguishes black metal from other types of metal?

Well clearly it doesn't refer to the performers.

[CountDeMoney]

Meanwhile, Shitgoat still eludes capture.

[DontSayBanana]

Meanwhile, Shitgoat still eludes capture.

Shitgoat eludes a lot of things, mostly common sense.

[derspiess]

What distinguishes black metal from other types of metal?

I'd ask my cousin who listens to that shit, but that would mean I'd have to talk to my cousin who listens to that shit.

[Syt]

What distinguishes black metal from other types of metal?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_metal

Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw (lo-fi) recording and unconventional song structures.

During the 1980s, several thrash metal and death metal bands formed a prototype for black metal.[1] This so-called "first wave" included bands such as Venom, Bathory, Hellhammer and Celtic Frost.[4] A "second wave" arose in the early 1990s, spearheaded by Norwegian bands such as Mayhem, Burzum, Darkthrone, Immortal and Emperor. The early Norwegian black metal scene developed the style of their forebears into a distinct genre. Norwegian-inspired black metal scenes emerged throughout Europe and North America, although some other scenes developed their own styles with no connection to the Norwegian one.[5]

Initially a synonym for "Satanic metal",[6] black metal is often met with hostility from mainstream culture. Many artists express extreme anti-Christian and misanthropic views, and several of the genre's "second wave" pioneers have been convicted for church burnings and murder. There is also a small neo-Nazi movement within black metal, although most fans and prominent artists shun Nazism and oppose its influence on black metal.[5][7][8] The black metal community generally condemns the seeking of mainstream success or attention, preferring the genre to remain underground.

Characteristics[edit]

Although nowadays, 'black metal' often refers to the Norwegian style with high-pitched or raspy vocals and raw production, it has also been used for bands as different as Death SS, Mercyful Fate, Mayhem, Blasphemy,[9] and the Greek and Finnish bands that emerged around the same time as the Norwegian scene.[5]

Instrumentation[edit]

Norwegian-inspired black metal guitarists usually favor high-pitched guitar tones and heavy distortion.[10] The guitar is usually played with much use of fast (un-muted) tremolo picking.[10][11][12] Guitarists often use dissonance—along with specific scales, intervals and chord progressions—to create a sense of dread. The tritone or flat-fifth is often used, for example. Guitar solos and low guitar tunings are rare in black metal.[12]

The bass guitar is seldom used to play stand-alone melodies. It is not uncommon for the bass guitar to be muted against the guitar,[12] or for it to homophonically follow the bass lines of the guitar. Typically, drumming is fast and uses double-bass or blast beats, or both.

Black metal songs often stray from conventional song structure and often lack clear verse-chorus sections. Instead, many black metal songs contain lengthy and repetitive instrumental sections.
The Greek style—established by Rotting Christ, Varathron and Necromantia[13]—has more traditional heavy metal[14] and death metal[15] traits than Norwegian black metal.

Vocals and lyrics[edit]

Traditional black metal bands usually use high-pitched and raspy vocals which include shrieking, screaming and snarling.[10][12] This vocal style was influenced by Quorthon of Bathory,[16] and is one of the traits that distinguishes the vocals of many traditional black metal artists from those of death metal, which usually uses low-pitched growls.

Black metal was originally used as a term for extreme metal bands with Satanic and anti-Christian lyrics; today, the most common lyrical theme is opposition to Christianity[12] and other organized religions. As part of this, many artists write lyrics that could be seen to promote atheism, antitheism, paganism or Satanism.[17] The anti-Christianity of secular or pagan artists is often linked to the Christianization of their countries. Other oft-explored themes are depression, nihilism, misanthropy,[17] death and other dark topics. However, over time, many artists have begun to focus more on topics like winter, nature, mythology, folklore, philosophy and fantasy. (For more information about black metal lyrics, see the ideology section below.)

Production[edit]

Low-cost production quality was typical for early black metal artists with low budgets, where recordings would often be done in their homes or basements.[10] Even when they were able to raise their production quality, many artists chose to keep making low fidelity (lo-fi) recordings.[12][17] The reason for this was to stay true to the genre's underground roots and to make the music sound more "raw" and "cold".[17] One of the better-known examples of this is the album Transilvanian Hunger by Darkthrone – a band whom Johnathan Selzer of Terrorizer magazine says "represent the DIY aspect of black metal".[17] Many have claimed that, originally, black metal was not meant to attract a big audience.[17] Trelldom and God Seed vocalist Gaahl said that during its early years, "black metal was never meant to reach an audience, it was purely for our own satisfaction".[11]

Imagery and performances[edit]

Many bands choose not to play live.[18][19] Those who do maintain that these "live performances are not for entertainment or spectacle. Sincerity, authenticity and extremity are valued above all else."[20] Some bands consider their concerts to be rituals[20] and often make use of stage props and theatrics. Many bands, such as Mayhem and Gorgoroth, are noted for their controversial shows, which have featured impaled animal heads, mock crucifixions, medieval weaponry and band members doused in animal blood.[21]

Black metal artists often appear dressed in black with combat boots, bullet belts, spiked wristbands[17] and inverted crosses/pentagrams to reinforce their anti-Christian or anti-religious stance.[4] However, the most stand-out trait is their use of corpse paint – black and white makeup (sometimes mixed with real or fake blood), which is used to create a corpse-like appearance.
In the early 1990s, most pioneering black metal artists used simple black-and-white pictures or writing on their record covers.[5] This could have been meant as a reaction against death metal bands, who at that time had begun to use brightly colored album artwork.[5] Most underground black metal artists have continued this style. In the main, black metal album covers are usually atmospheric or provocative; some feature natural or fantasy landscapes (for example Burzum's Filosofem and Emperor's In the Nightside Eclipse) while others are violent, perverted, sacrilegious and iconoclastic (for example Marduk's Fuck Me Jesus and Dimmu Borgir's In Sorte Diaboli).

[DontSayBanana]

It's easy.  Black metal's screamed, death metal's growled.  Shit Goat was closer to black metal than death metal.