Interview with Varg Vikernes
"The Crypt" magazine (#2, 1995)
Gregory Whalen and Ross

It would be bullshit to say that "The Crypt" is in some way special or unique for featuring as Burzum interview, so I won't. What I will say, however, is that what follows is perhaps one of the most enlightening of its kind, having been conducted by Ross in early August 1993, a short while after the fifth and final Burzumic opus "Filosofem" was recorded and a short while before the shit hit the proverbial fan. Since then, as we all know, much has happened in camp Grishnackh yet none of it musical, so this exchange is a relevant as any other. Slightly more intelligible too, as this was a pre-I am God/I've swallowed dictionary Vikernes. There some terrific "Vargisms" throughout, most of which I have refrained from highlighting, but some I found too hilarious to resist...

I've heard tons of rumours lately that you have signed to Earache. Is this true?!!

I have not signed to Earache, but there is a chance I will. I have talked with the guys of Earache and they are as far as I know currently working on a deal. If I sign or not is left to know. I am having talks with labels like Earache because I am tired of being a band nobody can buy because of lack of distribution. I have no interest in being an underground band and seek good promotion and distribution. DSP is a label with debt bigger than ten income for DSP! He (DSP) has done absolutely nothing to promote the "Aske" mini-album and will probably never do. DSP is the most lazy label I have ever known and I have no interest in staying at a communist label with no money at all. DSP owes me some 4000 GBP because I had to loan him money to pay back the expenses for the debut album in early 1992. He didn't pay back a penny and wasted all the income on silly things, I was fool ever to trust a red one! Now he is ripping me off by not paying me what he owes me from the record sales. DSP is a falling angel, it will fade away and fail to exist because of bad organisation and laziness. I wish him bad luck...

Sounds as if there are some bitter feelings between yourself and Euronymous...

Yes of course there are bitter feelings between me and Euronymous! I learned many things while and after I was in prison. While I was interrogated Euronymous did interviews in the newspapers of Norway where he excused himself on the behalf of the scene, which was bullshit. The scene would never apologise for anything! He claimed the whole thing was childish and stupid, he fucking apologised to everybody that might have been provoked or in any way moved by the things happening in Norway in 1992. The worst thing is that Euronymous has fucking never ever done a single thing himself or even been involved in the things he apologised for on the behalf of the scene. He told "Kerrang!" that he was "the economic fundament" and excused himself for not having done anything himself with that! Well the truth is that he hadn't ever given a penny to anybody in the murders and church burnings! When I got out of prison and found out all this he claimed that he said it all just to calm down his family and that he was "evil" after all. If he is so goddamned evil why the hell does he care what his family say? He also said in "Kerrang!" that he had "no feelings left". Hey, why do you care about your family if you have no feelings left? Besides, hate is a feeling, music is also a feeling and just about everything else too! He is just a wimp... a coward and a stupid wimp! People talk about DSP as a cool label and so on... What is the truth is that he harvested a lot of honour from OUR doings while deserving nothing but being thrown out of Norway after being shot dead! Now Mayhem is falling down and down... Only Emperor, Darkthrone, Burzum and "Slayer Mag" is real!

I take it you no longer play in Mayhem, then...

I view Mayhem as a dead band, there was no point in continuing playing when the vocalist shot himself. Dead was the only thing that made Mayhem something special and now when he is dead Mayhem is nothing. The new vocalist sounds like a fool compared to Dead and most other musicians in Norway. He is not even a Norwegian, which is ridiculous (neither was Dead, he was Swedish - ed). Norway for Norwegians! I left Mayhem unofficially in the end of 1992 but officially in April 1993.

I heard you had declared war on the Norwegian Black Metal scene. Is this true?

What? No! I have more or less declared myself as an enemy to fakes who honour from things they have not done, but most of the scene is true people. When I say true I mean people who do not claim otherwise than what is true! Like Mayhem is not true when claiming to have no feelings left, Euronymous is a true wimp! Well there is no war, most of the bands and people in the scene understand that there are clowns trying to be evil, while in truth being just clowns!! Only the fools and the slow-witted have not understood this yet! They will, believe me! I dislike most of the bands in the scene, but I do not view them as my enemies just because of that. Enslaved is ripping Burzum off a bit too much for my taste, so I don't like them too much, but still they're my allies against the clowns in the scene! There is no real problem here, only about 5% of the scene is fakes worthy of a bullet in their heads, so things will work out when we put the clowns back where we belong.

When will the next Burzum release be out and on which label will it appear?

I did a full-length album in April that was supposed to be released by DSP in mid 1992. Of course DSP was lying again and have now wasted the opportunity to even release a sticker of Burzum! The LP/CD will be released in September on Cymophane Productions, that's my own label, and even by doing it by myself I get better distribution than DSP! Apart from that long-awaited piece there will be a new album just a few months after the September release (titled "Det Som Engang Var" by the way). The fourth album is titled "Hvis Lyset Tar Oss" and will be released on... well, I don't know yet. Earache, Candlelight or Cymophane I think. I don't know, time shall tell!

What has the reaction been to your discussions with Earache? Have people been calling you untrue?

Yes, there are some very few kids claiming that I am not "true"! The people saying this are just jealous and I don't give it much thought. If it is "true" to continue to be an underground band who needs to work normally in order to survive then I am "untrue" indeed! I don't play music for any "special" people sitting home and doing nothing, the underground attitude is an excuse for not being able to sell more than a couple thousand records, cowards who don't even dare to try selling lots of records afraid of failure! I play music mainly to listen to it myself, but also to make a living of it. I seek power, and money is power, so great record sales is purely great! I don't care who listens to the records, be them nerds, posers, "true" or homosexual (isn't that the same thing? - ed.), I don't care. Also, I don't care what label is selling my records or if they do mosh or anti-mosh attitudes. Anti-mosh is even more childish than mosh, so they are all sort of jerks, that's what I told Earache too. The label's mission is to sell the most possible albums of Burzum and give me money for doing so! Mosh may be ridiculous, but the guy who cares so much about it that he does anti-mosh is even more ridiculous. People with brains find it positive that I (probably) sign to a major label, it only makes it possible for people to get the albums and T-shirts without having to sweat their ass off! (Editor's note: Earache turned Vikernes down when it emerged that he was a fascist)

How many songs have you written this year and have you recorded the fifth album yet? Any titles?

I have recorded the fifth album, yes. I have done some new songs, but less than I did in 1991 and even 1992! I seek more intelligent music now than I did before so it takes more time. The songs keep getting longer too... the fourth album (made in 1992) contains four tracks! Average playing time is about 10:30 minutes! On the fifth album I have made songs as long as 30 minutes and as short as 7 minutes! I have begun to do some English lyrics again (1992 was mainly Norwegian). I have no titles for the fifth album so far in English, one song is entitled "Burzum" and another... oh, English: "The Passing of the Now". And a Norwegian one: "Skyggen".

Why did you decide to re-record "A Lost Forgotten Sad Spirit"? Do you plan to re-record anything else?

I have no plans to re-record any other songs. I did the "A Lost Forgotten Sad Spirit" because I felt like doing it, the new version is more like I what I had in mind when I made the song. It was purely for my sake, I kept irritating myself every time I heard the "wrong" tempo in the middle. For others it sounded OK, but it didn't for me as I knew it was supposed to be otherwise. The only reason I did it "wrong" on the debut was because of my bad skill in drumming. I didn't manage to make it slower than I did. I had only played drums for two months on the debut album and at that time I could only play the drumming I did on that album and nothing else. I wanted to see a development in Burzum and that is now what I see in all ways...

Some of the "Aske" CDs came with a lighter. How many of these were made? Was there not also meant to be a map of Norwegian churches?!

I don't really know. I have never seen the lighter, DSP were too lazy to send me one. I have heard from a couple of people that there is such a lighter but I don't really know. A map? Not that I know of!

Will Burzum ever utilise keyboards in the manner that bands like Enslaved, Emperor, etc. do?

I did that in April 1992 so I have done that almost a year before Enslaved and Emperor did it! I am still doing it but not as Emperor and Enslaved. I try to do it as unnoticed and simple as possible!

Do you make much money from Burzum and is it enough to live on?

As I told you before, DSP is ripping me off by not keeping his promises in the contract, that weakens me, but I am surviving purely on Burzum and some other stuff I would prefer to be left out of this interview, illegal stuff so forget it! Sometimes I get lots of money, but sometimes I starve, ups and downs... more ups than downs lately, tanks to better promotion by myself!

A couple of letters ago you mentioned plans for a promo video. What kind of concepts do you have for this?

Burzum. The complete concept will be something like creating Burzum on a screen. To touch the feelings of the ones watching the video... and to recreate the essence of the music in a less abstract way than a lyric does. A picture is less abstract than music, no matter how you see it...

Was the Burzum logo influenced by that of Bathory?

I wanted to have a medieval looking logo and at the same time no logo at all. I find a logo rather uninteresting if it has nothing to do with the concept (if any) of the band. I view Burzum as a medieval band so I used it. I would do normal letters if it had not been the medieval concept. It irritated me that (still does) Gothic letters are very unoriginal, but I don't give a logo much attention so I don't care (still don't). Besides, originality is not everything I seek, I care more for quality...

What do you think of Unholy burning Burzum LPs at their gigs?

I hope it becomes a BIG trend in Finland, I will sell more records if that happens! Who the hell is Unholy?! I have never heard of this "band". I hope they do a lot of live shows... keep buying 'em records! THEY ARE HOLY AND YOU ARE UNHOLY! If they burn Burzum albums they will be TRUE as UNHOLY!

In an interview I did with Abruptum it claims you talk shit about Abruptum, Enslaved and Emperor. Wish to defend yourself?

No, but I will strengthen his claims. Yes, I talk shit about Abruptum. Not Evil of Abruptum, but about It. He is a half-breed, little and stupid like any other gypsy. He is a wimp and nothing else, and if you call this shit I hate the music of Abruptum... Abruptum like I hate cowards like It (I have pictures of you wearing a leather jacket with an Abruptum logo on it and if you say this is bullshit I can send you photocopies of them - Ross). Talking shit about Enslaved? Well, not really, I think they rip me off a lot when it comes to ideas and riffs but I don't view that as talking shit, it's more like telling the truth... MY truth!!! Emperor are a gang of murderers and church burners, but I don't think they'd view that as talking shit! They would most probably take it as a compliment and as a sign of support! I don't like the vocals of Emperor, but that's a matter of taste... good taste when talking about my taste... heh! Abruptum makes me wanna laugh, Enslaved got a fat and ugly guitarist, Emperor look like clowns in corpse paint, so now It is right! I talk shit about these bands!

"The Lord of the Rings" is your favourite book, but what do you think about the rest of the trilogy?

I hate books like "The Lord of the Rings", but the setting is fascinating. Same about "The Hobbit", "The Silmarillion", "Unfinished Tales" and other Tolkien books.

Are you at all interested in fire breathing?

Well, not really. I am more interested in flame-throwers really...

Are you familiar with old Viking torture methods like the Blood Eagle?

No, but I know a form of death (torture, as you call it) called Fly Eagle! It's like fastening a hook to the ribcage and throwing the victim out from a high roof or cliff after fastening the other end of the rope up high. When the rope ends the ribcage will break open and look like the wings of an eagle. I don't know if it was used only on Christians (I doubt it), but I know it was used... I prefer Holmgang, a western way of justice. Two men go, well, row to a little island and only one returns. The one who was right! YEEEEEESSSSS! Actually, I invited Holocausto from Beherit and the pussies from Impaled Nazarene to Norway. We had a struggle and I wanted to finish it by going Holmgang. I told them that I could do them all at the same time (5-6 Finns), but obviously they were too cowardly. I volunteered to fucking pay the tickets to Norway! Euronymous gave them the message... This offer is still on now guys! Well, I won't pay your tickets but you're still welcome to your death on a Norwegian isle! Of course I will bring a submachine gun and shoot you all as I am intelligent. I would not manage to do them all six in medieval combat, maybe three or four, but not six. I view this as intelligence, not cowardice. I tell you this about the SMG because I know they'd never come anyway... Now they know it was a smart choice not to come! Thanks to their cowardice they are still alive (and thanks to yours, one might say, so are you - ed).

Do you know anything about Scotland and will Burzum ever come here?

Well, I know some things... lotsa castles, hilly, lotsa Norwegian blood, long coastline, not much really! Burzum will probably never do a tour anywhere, it is still a one-man band and I view it as a bit too late to get a line-up.... That's not my interest at all either, so I won't get one. Samoth was a session bass player on the "Aske" CD/LP, but no member of the band. I hate doing live shows, so I won't. I will do some videos in the future, but no tours or even single gigs! I will maybe go to Scotland, but not as a band!! Maybe as a raging Viking with a sword...

What are your opinions on Fester, Carpathian Forest and Arcturus? Best Norwegian bands?

Fester did the ultimate wimp interview in a newspaper and proved to be one of the 5% I talked about earlier in this interview, even more wimpy than Euronymous, that's all I know about Fester! The others are unknown to me. Probably for a reason, right? I think the best Norwegian bands are Darkthrone and of course my own band. Emperor is okay apart from the irritating vocals. The best Norwegian bands are When and Mental Overload, but that's not metal... Thorns is great too! I must say I like the old Mayhem stuff with Dead on vocals too, but new stuff I prefer played in Singapore and not near me!

What sort of people are writing to you these days?

True people, well I don't really know what they are but as I see it most of them are either Nazis, Satanists, girls or simply fans... any combination of this. There haven't been too many letters from Israel... thanx divine powers for that!

Concerning the churches you burnt down, were any of them constructed by Vikings or dating back to Viking times?

Well, I won't admit burning any churches to anybody as that would be stupid of me. The churches have been of different ages, the eldest was 800 years old. The age of the Vikings is 800-1000, so no, no Viking churches. There were no churches in Norway when we were proud Vikings, the first ones appeared when the cowardly moral had won the fight. I hate the Danes and French for their doings. They forced Christianity on us ten to one, COWARDS! I am proud to be a part of the old Viking spirit! I will always consider myself as a man/boy (depends who's talking about me) from the age of the Vikings! Now WE are taking back what is OURS! It has just begun...

What sort of a funeral do you want? Anything special?

I wish to be left on a dark altar in a cold, hidden crypt in a deep West Norwegian forest, preferably on high ground like a mountain dressed with forest! Traps shall be laid and that shall be my grave...

What are the future plans of Burzum?

Do more albums, films, videos, kill, burn and keep on terrorizing my enemies!

Authors: Gregory Whalen and Ross (© 1995 "The Crypt" magazine, Scotland/UK)