Ah, the rebellious vigor of Norweigan Viking youth…

For those scratching their heads at the sight of the following images, in the last two decades a bizarre and violent musical subculture called Black Metal has emerged in Norway. It has its roots in a heady blend of splatter movies, heavy metal music, Satanism, Pagan mythology and adolescent angst. In the early-mid 1990’s, members of this extremist underground committed murder, burned down medieval wooden churches, and desecrated graveyards. What started as juvenile frenzy came to symbolize the start of a war against Christianity, a return to the worship of the ancient Norse gods, and the complete rejection of mainstream society. American documentary photographer PETER BESTE has spent the last eight years working in the milieu of this insulated and secretive community. Beste’s access and insight has been absolutely without precedent, resulting in an amazing photographic journey as he earned the respect and trust of this impenetrable, suspicious and often elitist community. With each visit Beste saw more, photographed more and eventually accumulated enough material for his new book “True Norwegian Black Metal,” ($60, Vice Books) a stunning visual testimonial to this subculture. In it, Beste and editor Johan Kugelberg have created a unique photographic narrative that explores black metal from a truly visceral perspective that offers an in-depth look at the amazingly-named key players and bands in the scene including Nocturno Culto and Fenriz of Darkthrone, Necrobutcher, Hellhammer, Blasphemer, and Maniac of Mayhem, Samoth of Emperor, Frost of Satryicon, Enslaved, Abbath of Immortal, Gaahl, Infernus, King, and Kvitrafn of Gorgoroth, Nattefrost of Carpathian Forest, 1349, Dimmu Borgir, Ildjarn, Aura Noir, and many more. Fas can keep their eyes peeled for shows of Beste’s black metal photos in Exhibitions in London, Stockholm, Oslo, Berlin, Los Angeles through 2009. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »