
On July 8th, a French court found Varg Vikernes guilty of inciting racial hatred and exalting war crimes. Vikernes is the sole member of Norwegian black metal and ambient band Burzum and is an outspoken National Socialist (read: Nazi), anti-semite, xenophobe. He is widely known for his role in burning several churches to the ground in Norway in the early ’90s and then murdering his Mayhem bandmate Euronymous (Øystein Aarseth) by stabbing him 23 times over a contract dispute. Vikernes, then going by the stage name of Count Grishnackh, maintained that he killed Euronymous in self-defense with an explanation so convoluted as to be laughable. If you want to hear it straight from the horse’s mouth, you can do so here. He was convicted for the murder and sentenced to 21 years in prison (the maximum sentence in Norway). Vikernes famously turned to the cameras in the courtroom and smiled when his sentence was read.
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