Varg Vikernes Biography

Varg Vikernes was born Kristian Vikernes on 11 February 1973, in Bergen, Norway. His mother Helene Bore worked for an oil company and his father was an electronics engineer. He has an elder brother who is a civil engineer.

When he was six years old, his family moved to Iraq after his father took up a project with Saddam Hussein. They lived in Baghdad and he attended an Iraqi elementary school for a year. During this period, he had his first experience of racial discrimination. Due to the fact that he was white skinned, he was not punished, while others were.

His parents were very race conscious and did not want him to be associated with dark skinned people. He had a cordial relationship with his mother but very little contact with his father. His parents divorced by the time he was 11-years-old.

Vikernes got involved with the extreme right as a National Socialist skinhead during his adolescence. He admired the Germans and hated the British and the Americans.

He loved classical music and was influenced by heavy metal at the age of 12. He soon became a fan of bands like ‘Iron Maiden,’ ‘Kreator,’ and ‘Celtic Frost.’ He was also influenced by ‘Black Metal,’ an album by the popular band ‘Venom.’

He was also fascinated by the fictional realm of ‘Middle Earth’ created by JRR Tolkien. His stage name ‘Grishnackh’ was taken from the series ‘The Two Towers’ and his band’s name ‘Burzum,’ meaning darkness, was taken from ‘Black Speech.’

He started playing the guitar at the age of 14. By the time he was 17, he came into contact with members of the Bergen death metal band ‘Old Funeral.’ He played for them from 1990 to 1991 before beginning his solo musical project called ‘Burzum.’

Vikernes soon got involved with the early Norwegian black metal scene and had recorded four ‘Burzum’ albums by 1993. During this period, he did not possess the required musical equipment and had to play an old guitar and some borrowed instruments.

A member of the black metal band ‘Mayhem’ committed suicide and Vikernes joined the group to fill up the void. During this period, he also got involved in arson and the burning down of churches, such as the ‘Fantoft Stave Church,’ a heritage building dating back to 12th century. His group claimed to be devil worshipers and aimed at spreading fear. Although the jury found him not guilty, the judge did not close the case.

In 1993, a brawl broke out between Vikernes and Euronymous over ‘Burzum’ records and Vikernes stabbed the latter to death, which he claims was in self-defense. Vikernes was sentenced to 21 years imprisonment for murder and arson in May 1994. The same year, Mayhem’s album ‘De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas’ released. The album had Euronymous on electric guitar and Vikernes playing the bass.

Vikernes served his sentence in a prison in Bergen. In late 1994, he wrote a Norwegian language book called ‘Varg's Speech’ in which he defends himself. The book was initially available on the internet and later got published in paperback in 1997.

During his time in prison, he recorded two albums consisting of ambient and neofolk music. Since he did not have access to electric and bass guitars, he composed the music on a synthesizer.

In the late-90s, he took a break from making music albums and took up writing seriously. He wrote five books in Norwegian language between 1998 and 2004. These books were later translated into English. He also took to writing articles on ‘Burzum.org’ which became his official website.

During his prison term, he claimed to receive death threats from other inmates due to his ideology. After being granted a short leave, he went on the run and was subsequently arrested from a car containing weapons, a gas mask, and camouflage clothing.

After serving 15 years in prison, he was granted parole and released from prison on probation. He continued with ‘Burzum’ after his release from prison and recorded three black metal albums, namely ‘Belus’ in 2010, ‘Fallen’ in 2011, and ‘Umskiptar’ in 2012. He also released a compilation of re-recorded songs titled ‘From the Depths of Darkness’ in 2013.

In April 2013, he posted a song titled ‘Back to the Shadows’ on his YouTube channel. This was to be the last metal track released by ‘Burzum.’

He continued to write on ‘Burzum’ website and on his personal blog ‘Thulean Perspective.’ The website ‘Ancestral Cult’ was created by him and his wife and they also released a film called ‘ForeBears,’ based on the Bear worship in the time of Neanderthals.

In 2015, he released his own tabletop role-playing game called ‘MYFAROG,’ which was based on European values, geography, history, mythology, traditions, and morals.

In 2019, he planned to release a new album called ‘Thulean Mysteries.’ Later in the year, his YouTube channel ‘Thulêan Perspective’ was removed from the platform due to its hate speeches and extremist content. The album ‘Thulean Mysteries’ was released in March 2020.

Vikernes made his debut with the album ‘Burzum’ in January 1992. Thereafter, he worked on several projects, such as ‘Aske’ (1993), ‘Filosofem’ (1996), ‘Belus’ (2010), ‘Fallen’ (2011), and ‘The Ways of Yore’ (2014).

He also wrote the lyrics for ‘Darkthrone – Transilvanian Hunger’ in 1994 and played bass guitar for ‘Mayhem – De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas’ the same year.

Varg Vikernes has not won any award, but is known for his hard hitting lyrics that drive home a message.

Vikernes has a daughter, who was born in 1992. He later married a French woman named Marie Cachet with whom he had a son in 2007.

After his release from prison, he moved with his family to Limousin, France. He stated that he has six children. In 2020, he announced that his wife is pregnant with their seventh child.

He is known to be one of the most notorious metal musicians due to his religious and political views coupled with criminal activity. He has a strong inclination towards paganism and National Socialism. He differentiated himself from Nazis by claiming that he was not socialistic, nor was he materialistic and that he believes in democracy.

He has embraced Nordicism and Eugenics. He says that he acknowledges the differences between people from various regions. He also claims that he doesn’t hate any particular race and maintains that hate crime charges against him were irrational.

Vikernes and his wife were arrested in France in July 2013 on suspicion of terrorism after his wife bought four rifles. They were released as the police failed to prove any charges. As it turned out, his wife has an arms permit which allows her to purchase firearms.

In July 2014, he was convicted of inciting racial hatred and sentenced to six months’ probation along with a fine of 8,000 Euros.