* (restored) * (warning: disturbing image below)
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‘My mum told me when I was a baby I slept so intensive so I turned white! So she had to check me all the time if I were still alive! This is serious! That is true! Maybe the whole thing started there? And maybe it started before that? My great great grandmother was a sorceror but only white magic. I have never been into fuckin white magic! I have always hated the Christianity and all faiths who had anything to do with God, but especially the Christianity. I want to get into a cult because it is difficult to understand something from a book with alot of scripts in Sumerian, Hebrew, etc. And it is very dangerous to do something wrong … So I need a cult. Thats another thing. But I must tell you, no one of us is normal.’ — Dead, 1990
(l. to r.) Euronymous, Dead, Necrobutcher
Per Yngve Ohlin (January 16, 1969 – April 8, 1991), better known by his stage name Dead, joined the pioneering Norwegian Death Metal band Mayhem when his down band Morbid folded in 1988. Serious illness as a child and a near death experience convinced him that he had died and was now a being from another world. His beliefs are preserved in the vampiric lyrics he wrote for the album De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas. Dead reputedly carried around the carcass of a crow in a jar and would inhale fumes from it before taking the stage so he could perform with the stench of death in his nostrils. He also took to donning a white greasepaint visage, designed to mimic the pallor of 13th-century plague victims.
Necrobutcher (ex-Mayhem): ‘It wasn’t anything to do with the way Kiss and Alice Cooper used makeup. Dead actually wanted to look like a corpse. He didn’t do it to look cool. He wouldn’t eat for weeks in order to get starving wounds. He would draw snot dripping out of his nose. He was the first black metal musician to use corpse paint.’
Bård “Faust” Eithun (Emperor): ‘He (Dead) wasn’t a guy you could know very well. I think even the other guys in Mayhem didn’t know him very well. He was hard to get close to. I met him two weeks before he died. I’d met him maybe six to eight times, in all. He had lots of weird ideas. I remember Aarseth was talking about him and said he did not have any humour. He did, but it was very obscure. Honestly, I don’t think he was enjoying living in this world.’
Dead and Hellhammer
In order to complete his corpse-like image, Ohlin would bury his clothes before a concert and dig them up again to wear on the night of the event. According to bandmate Hellhammer, ‘Before the shows, Dead used to bury his clothes into the ground so that they could start to rot and get that “grave” scent. He was a “corpse” on a stage. Once he even asked us to bury him in the ground – he wanted his skin to become pale.’ Whilst singing on stage, Ohlin would often cut himself with hunting knives and broken glass. He claimed to be fascinated by people’s reactions to this. During one concert in Sarpsborg during February 1990, Ohlin cut himself so badly that he had to be taken to hospital due to blood loss.
When Dead first arrived in Norway, Necro Butcher took it upon himself to make sure their new singer had somewhere to live and was looked after. On the other hand, Mayhem founding member and chief songwriter Euronymous — later to become infamous himself when he was murdered by ex-Mayhem member and future cult hero Varg Vikernes (Burzum) — apparently did his best to make Dead feel uncomfortable. ‘He tried to psych him out,’ says Necro Butcher. ‘He would tell Dead, “We don’t like you. You should just kill yourself.” Stuff like that.’
And then, one day in the spring of 1991, Dead did just that. The members of Mayhem had moved to an old house in the forest in an area called Krakstad near Oslo to write and record their next album. Hellhammer claimed that Ohlin ‘just sat in his room and became more and more depressed. It would take twenty minutes to get from the house to the nearest shop, and we had to go by train to the nearest town. Teachers from the nearby schools told children: “Do not come up to this house. The house is haunted!” Everybody hated us, but we enjoyed it. One day I decided to go to Oslo with my friends. Before the departure I met Dead. He was grim: “Look, I bought a big knife. It’s very sharp.” Those were the last words I heard from him.”’
Euronymous
One day Euronymous came back to their house to discover Ohlin’s body slumped against a wall. He had slashed his wrists with a butcher’s knife and blown his brains out with a shotgun. His suicide note had a morbid humour . It read, ‘Excuse all the blood. Let the party begin’ and included an apology for firing the weapon indoors. Instead of calling the police, Euronymous hitchhiked to the nearest town and bought a disposable camera to photograph the corpse, after re-arranging some items. Later he called his bandmate Hellhammer: ‘“Dead went back home,” he told me. “Back to Sweden?” I wondered. “No, he’s blown his head.”’
‘He called me up the next day,’ recalled Necro Butcher, ‘and says, “Dead has done something really cool! He killed himself.” I thought, have you lost it? What do you mean cool? He says, “Relax, I have photos of everything.” I was in shock and grief. He was just thinking how to exploit it. So I told him, “OK. Don’t even fucking call me before you destroy those pictures.”‘ Several years later a lurid photo of Dead, lying in a shabby room in which the only splash of colour was provided by his blood, somehow found its way onto the cover of a Mayhem bootleg produced in South America.
‘Dawn of the Black Hearts’
Eventually, rumours surfaced that Euronymous made a stew with pieces of Ohlin’s brain, and made necklaces with fragments of Ohlin’s skull. The band later stated that the former rumour was false, but that the latter was true. Additionally, Euronymous claimed to have given these necklaces to musicians he deemed worthy, and it’s well known that several prominent musicians in the Black Metal field are in possession of skull fragments. ‘Police took Dead’s body but we lived in the house for a few more weeks,’ Hellhammer explained. ‘Dead’s blood and pieces of skull were all over the room. Once I looked under his bed and found two big pieces of skull. I took one piece and Euronymous took the other. We made amulets out of them. Later on we lost them somehow. Somehow others have them now. It’s strange …’
Necrobutcher: ‘The Black Metal scene was just growing and we were doing what we were doing up until 1991 when our vocalist (Dead) killed himself. After that, it all started to happen. Some people became more aware of the scene after Dead had shot himself. After that, churches started to burn and it just went crazy here. I think it was Dead’s suicide that really changed the whole scene. I think (his suicide) was a very fortunate situation to happen, and I think the scene would still be around and gone in the same direction as it had, maybe just a bit later on. I don’t think it would have become as extreme as fast as it had in black metal. A lot of young musicians got into this scene because it was the most aggressive and violent scene out there at the time.’
Note: This text is collaged from numerous writers and sources: Chris Campion, The True Mayhem, Morbid Death Magazine, Sounds of Death Magazine, various interviews, a.o.
Masked
Unmasked
Dead interviewed by Slayer Magazine
Dead interviewed by Battery Magazine
The True Mayhem (R.I.P.) 1986 – 1993
Mayhem: Godfathers of Black Metal
The grave of Euronymous (video)
Dead walking outside the house in Krakstad
Mayhem rehearsing w/ Dead and Euronymous
Mayhem ‘Deathcrush’, live in 1990
All Songs Sung by Per Yngve “Dead” Ohlin for Mayhem and Morbid
Visiting the grave of Per Yngve Ohlin aka Pelle Ohlin aka Dead
A Visit To The house where Pelle (Dead) Ohlin Died
The Evolution of Dead (1983 to 1991)
Tribute to Dead
*
p.s. Hey. ** horatio, Hi, horatio! Thanks so much. Good old Jay. Oh, gosh, don’t be nervous, no need whatsoever. I’m really slow and sporadic with email, my apologies. And thank you about my work. That’s amazing to hear, or, well, to read. No, I never met Steve Albini. He produced records by a few of my friends’ bands, and they all said he was impeccable, but that’s it. I haven’t checked the comments on the Sotos lecture, but I will now. I can only imagine. How are you? What are you doing? Stick around and let me know, if you feel like it. And a fine morning or whenever to you too. ** _Black_Acrylic, Haha, it’s true. ** Charalampos, Hello from the big P. I think my favorite Sonic Youth song is ‘Schizophrenia’ maybe. On your hair, um, maybe use gel? I don’t know. My hair has always been a floppy mess. Nothing much else is going on here. Writing the next film script. Film stuff. Seeing art and friends and so on. Pretty regular. Paris is probably too grey to actually rain today but famous last words and all of that. ** Carsten, Glad you liked it and that it corresponded with your muse’s current taste. Nice poem quotes. I’ll hit the link. I haven’t read anything about the Linklater/Godard, it just intrigues me in theory. Every once in a while Linklater makes something interesting, so I’m always wondering. I’ve never heard of Sooner. ‘PGL’ is on Amazon Prime in a few places, the US at least and apparently Germany. No, when/if a distributor buys a film, ‘PGL’ for instance, we just get a flat fee (if anything) and they get all the money from selling to streaming services. We’ve never earned any money from our films and almost certainly never will, so don’t worry about us. I just want people to watch the films. I don’t even mind if they’re pirated as long as the version isn’t shitty looking. ** Jung ieon, Hi! It’s very good to meet you. Your English is actually quite good and everything was very clear, no worries. Thank you so much for reading my book and of course for getting the library to order more of my books. It’s really thrilling to know that my books are possible to read in Korea. I’m really happy you’re enjoying them. I have the new Sparks album on my hard drive, but I haven’t listened to it yet. Today for sure. I love them, and I’m sure it’s great. I’m going to see them live in the fall. Do they tour to Korea ever? They’re joyful live, if you get the chance. Of course I would be happy if you continued looking at the blog and even visited inside here whenever you feel like it. It’s a total pleasure to get to talk with you. How are you enjoying your schooling? Do you have future plans to utilise what you’re studying there? Take care. Have a superb day! ** julian, It’s true, flowers are a handy shortcut. Especially when they’re cut because they get to symbolise corpses too. Awesome that your revision is pay off. I love revising, it’s my favorite part of writing. First drafts are just what you have to go through to get there for me. One of my high school bands was a psychedelic rock band (this was in 1968). It was about half covers, half originals. The band members and I loved Pink Floyd, Velvet Underground, and Love so we did covers of their songs, and our originals were basically imitations of their stuff. My friend George Miles, who I wrote all these books about, was the keyboardist. My other band was a folk-rock band, very influenced by the Incredible String Band and Tyrannosaurus Rex (aka T. Rex before they shorted their name and went rock), again about half covers and half originals. Neither of the bands got very far. We weren’t very good, let’s just say. Thanks for asking me. ** Steeqhen, Thanks. You should make a terrarium. I think I did a post about terrariums here at some point. Hold on. Yes, a guest-post: Janet Montpas presents … Terrarium Makers. Inspiration, maybe? ** pancakeIan, Thanks! Yeah, don’t croak in Florida, yeesh. John W told me that when they were making ‘Pecker’ Edward Furlong had a girlfriend who was 40 years older than him and that every second that he wasn’t being filmed he played video games. My distant memory tells me that Drew likely survived albeit perhaps not in perfect shape. I don’t know that Philippe Besson novel but I’ll look for it. I read an interview somewhere with Molly Ringwald, and she does seem quite interesting and smart. Huh. ** Alistair, Thank you. Well, the only way you’ll know is if you put your work in front of total strangers i.e. publish it or I guess read it aloud at some soiree. But chances are that at least some of the people who told you that you’re good have objectivity and taste. Starting is for sure the hardest part. But the reward of getting your work validated in a way you can’t rationalise away is so good that it’s worth conquering the fear that’ll get you there. ** Diesel Clementine, Hey there! Yay to the flowers that lured you back within. Naturally I’m most curious about those personal observations, but no pressure. Haha, ‘Judith Butler’s performativity in action’: at long last! ** HaRpEr //, I thoroughly enjoyed the clip and your poem (!) even though, yes, the acoustics were a toughy. You’re brave to read without a microphone. I’ve gotten so I just won’t do that unless it’s a tiny place or unless I’ll feel like a cad if I don’t. Anyway, you read really well, and you looked great! The lighting was A-okay. Fantastic about your progress with your writing. ‘Dazed groove’: excellent characterisation of that pleasure. Nice! Trust it, duh. ** Darbz 🕷️, Hello to you, friend. I do think getting out and being around others in some comfortable context can help. I know it does with me, as much as I would rather stay here and do whatever I do solo. Sometimes the ‘other people’ thing works, and, yeah, sometimes it doesn’t. And besides you got some pumpkin bread. Sure, I’ll show you the cool galleries when you come over here. Most of them are in the very pleasant Marais, the old part of Paris where streets are narrow and history prevails. Mm, let me think about the best galleries. It changes, but I’ll have to give it a think to be able to list the most regularly good ones. I’m not 100% sure I read at Greenlight, but I think I did? Uh, maybe on my ‘Marbled Swarm’ tour? I’ll have to save your mix until later ‘cos I need to keep getting the p.s. under my belt, but very cool that you did that. See, now that’s enough to save and glorify any day no matter how otherwise meh or worse. I will share it. Everyone, the mighty Darbz 🕷️ made a mix thematically and/or vibe related to Tallulah Bankhead, and Darbz 🕷️ is one heck of a thinker and maker, so let me encourage to go over and sink into the mix, which is entitled My First mix ft Tallulah, and it’s … voila … here. Exciting! Make more! I will definitely tell you if there’s a screening in your realm. It’ll surely play in NYC at least, so maybe that can be one of your excuses to make a return trip up there. Dating, why not, right? When it works, it’s a personal boon. I’ll ask my roommate if he knows how to give wolf cuts. I don’t know what that is. I know I’ve been given flowers, but I can’t remember where or when. Strange. I’ll be in LA (and San Francisco) around the middle of June for a couple of weeks, I think. ** nat, Howdy! Definitely doesn’t get old. It’s always surprising and amazing. Glad your writing is going fine, and thumbs up on the printer. They do assist, those old fashioned things. Big picture opinions would be most welcome. Have a really good one (day). ** Uday, I know, cheery, strange, right? Charli XCX -> South Sudan. That’s a google trajectory you don’t hear about every day. I wish you were somewhere cooler too. ** Paul Curran, Hey, Paul! Awesome! Wow, 18, that is amazing and unnerving but mostly amazing. Is he going to do university in Japan? You finished the J-novel! Holy shit! That’s such incredible news. Man, congrats, and, wow, I so can’t wait. We submitted ‘Room Temperature’ to something called Tokyo Horror Film Festival. Know it? We probably won’t get picked, but nothing’s impossible. Writing-wise, I’m working on the script for our next film, and I think it’s going really well. No fiction. My head is kind of fully into making films these days, so that’s where everything’s heading. But fiction will make a comeback, I’m sure. ** ellie, Yay! Big congrats on finishing the post bacc year! Tom Raworth, excellent! He’s great. I should do something about him here. That’s so nice. I’ve never seen that Wojnarowicz before. I thought I had seen everything by him. Wow, it’s really pretty. Thank you, thank you, pal. ** Right. I decided to restore this old guest-post for you today for reasons now forgotten but seemingly understandable. See you tomorrow.
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