SUNN vs SEATTLE		28 07 2009
Posters designed by Andy/ Broken Press

SUNN vs Athens		28 07 2009
Flyers via Henry Owings

Thorr's Hammer vs UK		28 07 2009
Hail to the UK hordes! Supersonic & Scala were great for us... TH decimation. Jamie "Boggy" Sykes from Leeds was the highlight in all ways. Someone needs to produce a reality show for that guy. More supersonic photos here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/supersonic/pool/show/

RIP Merce Cunningham		27 07 2009
from nytimes.com Merce Cunningham, Influential Choreographer, Dies By ALASTAIR MACAULAY Published: July 27, 2009 Merce Cunningham, the visionary American choreographer who helped transform dance in the 20th-century into a major art and a major form of theater, died Sunday night at his home in Manhattan. He was 90. His death was announced by the Cunningham Dance Foundation. Mr. Cunningham ranks with Isadora Duncan, Serge Diaghilev, Martha Graham and George Balanchine in making people rethink the essence of dance and choreography. Over a career of nearly seven decades, he went on posing “But” and “What if?” questions. He did so almost to the last. Until 1989, when he reached age 70, he appeared in every single performance given by his ensemble, Merce Cunningham Dance Company. In 1999, at 80, though frail and holding onto a barre, he danced a duet with Mikhail Baryshnikov at the New York State Theater. And in 2009, even after observing his 90th birthday with the world premiere of the 90-minute “Nearly Ninety,” at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, he went on choreographing for his dancers. Even in his final days, he told visitors who came to bid farewell that he was still creating dances in his head. In his final years he became almost routinely hailed as the world’s greatest living choreographer. He had also been a nonpareil dancer. The British ballet teacher Richard Glasstone maintains that the three greatest dancers he ever saw were Astaire, Fonteyn and Mr. Cunningham. He was American modern dance’s equivalent of Nijinsky: the long neck, the animal intensity, the amazing leap. In old age, when he could no longer jump and when his feet were gnarled with arthritis, Mr. Cunningham remained a rivetingly dramatic performer, capable of many moods. International fame came to him before national fame. In due course he was acknowledged in America as one of its foremost artists, but for a time his work was known here only in specialist dance, art and music circles. Not so in London, Paris and other cities. There he was widely celebrated as the creator of a new classicism, as Diaghilev’s successor, as one of the most remarkable theater artists of his day. And it was in Europe that he was most acclaimed right through to this decade, with sold-out Cunningham seasons in Paris at the Théâtre de la Ville or the Opera. Yet he was always a creature of New York. Close to the founding members of the New York Schools of Music, Painting and Poetry, Mr. Cunningham himself, along with Jerome Robbins and the younger Paul Taylor, led the way to founding what can retrospectively be called the New York School of Dance. These choreographers both combined and rejected the rival influences of modern dance and ballet, notably the senior choreographers Martha Graham and George Balanchine. They absorbed aspects of ordinary pedestrian movement, the natural world and city life. They tested connections between private subject matter and theatrical expression. And they re-examined the relationship between dance and its sound accompaniment. With Graham and Balanchine, they made New York the world capital of choreography, and the New York School influenced the world in showing how pure dance could be major theater. Many of the dancers who passed through Mr. Cunningham’s company, notably Mr. Taylor and Karole Armitage, went on to be prestigious choreographers themselves. Many other choreographers, notably Twyla Tharp and Mark Morris, paid tribute to his influence. Mr. Cunningham’s most celebrated and revolutionary achievement, shared with the composer John Cage, his collaborator and companion, was to have dance and music created independently of each other. His choreography showed that dance was principally about itself, not music, while often suggesting that it could also be about many other things as well. “Ambiguity” and “poetry” were among his favorite words when talking about choreography. So was “theater.” Wit and humor abounded in his work; his conversation was full of laughter and wry anecdotes. Partly because dance itself was the main subject of his choreography and partly because he often made dances requiring virtuoso skill, he did more than any other choreographer to demonstrate that dance can be classical while being in most ways far from ballet. Mercier Philip Cunningham was born on April 16, 1919 in Centralia, Wash., the third of four children of Clifford Cunningham, a lawyer, and the former Mayme Joach. (One brother had died before Mercier’s birth.) His two other brothers, Dorwin and Jack, followed their father into the legal profession. Like many artists, he grew up feeling different, “from about age two.” Later, with this in mind, he made a solo for himself called “Changeling” (1957). But he also took his birthplace with him. Even the names of Cunningham works like “Borst Park” (1972), “Inlets” (1977) and “Inlets 2” (1983), all made in New York, referred to parts of Washington. It was there that his interest in wildlife began. Even though he did not enjoy country life, his series of “nature studies” continued for decades, from “Springweather and People” (1955) to “Pond Way” (1998). In “Solo” (1975), which he alone ever danced, he seemed to metamorphose from one animal into another. He took his first dance classes in Centralia. In 1936, when he was 17, he went to Washington, D.C., to study at George Washington University alongside his elder brother Dorwin. He quit after a few months, but it was there that he first saw choreography that electrified him, in a performance by the Kurt Jooss company. In 1937, Mr. Cunningham began study at the Cornish School in Seattle. At first he concentrated on theater but also started his first formal study of modern dance with Bonnie Bird, a young woman who had trained and danced with Martha Graham and who went on to become an internationally renowned teacher. A clash with the drama teacher Alexander Koriansky (who disliked modern dance) led to Mr. Cunningham’s switching his first area of study from theater to dance. In his mind, however, he never left theater. Under Koriansky he had begun to play in Shakespeare and Chekhov and to practice Stanislavskian methods. In later years he was excited by many radical figures in drama, not least Artaud, and in the 1960s, as he and his company began to tour internationally, theater figures like Lindsay Anderson and Peter Brook hailed his work as drama. At the Cornish School, Bird’s classes introduced him to modern dance as a rigorous discipline. He also started to choreograph. And he became close to Joyce Wike, an anthropology student who had privileged access to the Swinomish Indian tribe; he once watched an extraordinary dance ceremony from which nontribesmen were barred. (One of his first major solos for himself, from 1942, was called “Totem Ancestor.” ) His new interest in anthropology became a permanent source of inspiration, most obviously in “RainForest” (1968), where he took ideas from Colin M. Turnbull’s account of life among African pygmies. In 1938, Bird hired the young composer John Cage as her chief accompanist and music director. Bird and Cage introduced Mr. Cunningham and other dance students to the photography of Edward Weston (whose son was a Cornish student) and to the paintings of Paul Klee and Mark Tobey. Tobey’s work, like Klee’s, anticipated many of the 1940s breakthroughs of Abstract Expressionism, particularly in its decentralized use of space; Cage and Mr. Cunningham became devotees. In 1939, Bird took her students to the first West Coast session of the Bennington College modern dance summer School at Mills College. Mr. Cunningham was 20. His extraordinary dance talent — his jump was phenomenal and remained so for many years — was immediately recognized. He accepted an offer from Martha Graham and that September moved to New York. Stepping onto a New York sidewalk for the first time, he looked at the skyline and, as he often recalled, said, “This is home.” That December he danced on Broadway in a Graham season at the St. James Theater. His long neck and sloping shoulders reminded people of a Picasso acrobat. Graham, unsure that her teaching methods were sufficient for him, sent him to study at the School of American Ballet. When Lincoln Kirstein, co-founder of New York City Ballet, asked him why a modern dancer should study ballet — the two genres existed in virtual warfare at the time — Mr. Cunningham replied, “I really like all kinds of dancing.” Though he was not the first modern dancer to study ballet, his way of splicing elements from both genres in his own work was a breakthrough. He was soon invited to teach modern dance at the school. The second man to dance in Graham’s previously all-female company, Mr. Cunningham remained a member of it until 1945, appearing in the premieres of masterworks like “El Penitente” (1940), “Letter to the World” (1941) and “Appalachian Spring” (1944). Spending time alone in a studio, he began to explore his own ideas about dance. In 1942, Mr. Cage and his wife, Xenia, an artist, arrived in New York; Mr. Cunningham and Xenia appeared in a 1943 Cage percussion orchestra performance at the Museum of Modern Art, as a photo spread in Life magazine records. Cage urged him to choreograph, and the two began to develop what would emerge in the early 1950s as the most radical of their ideas about dance theater: that dance and music should be performed at the same time but prepared separately, both autonomous and co-existent. Cage and Mr. Cunningham also became lovers, and the ensuing breakup of the Cages’ marriage was painful. For many years only a few people realized that the Cage-Cunningham relationship was sexual. Although their offstage partnership became an open secret, the subject was not open until 1989, when Cage, answering an unexpected public question about it, surprised everyone by replying, “I do the cooking, and Merce does the dishes.” Mr. Cunningham began to present his own choreography in 1942. In 1944, with music by Cage, he presented a performance of dance solos that he later regarded as the true beginning of his career as a choreographer. But his own dancing came first; he was the main dancer of his own choreography for decades. His animal-like qualities of grace and intensity were as remarkable as his jump. His dance vocabulary owed much to both Graham modern dance (especially its use of the back) and to ballet (especially its use of the legs and feet). For many people Mr. Cunningham was also a superlative dance teacher, right up to 2009. Although he often spoke of teaching as if it were a necessary evil, he was passionate about it. No other choreographer has asked dancers to move the torso with such rigor and intensity while also keeping the lower body busy. No modern-dance choreographer has ever made more brilliant use of legs and feet. In 1947, Kirstein commissioned him to make a dance for Ballet Society. When Mr. Cunningham asked what kind of piece he wanted, Kirstein, thinking he was being open-minded, said, “Well, I think it should have a beginning, a middle and an end.” Mr. Cunningham, however, steeped in Joyce’s “Finnegans Wake,” thought of how nature doesn’t have finite forms with beginnings and ends. Instead, his mind turning to Joycean and cyclical form, he choreographed “The Seasons” (1947). Like Cage and other composers, as well as several painters, Mr. Cunningham also began experimenting with chance as a compositional tool. He used the I Ching in particular but also cards and dice to determine which parts of the body would be used, which directions, how many dancers. The point had nothing to do with improvisation; Cunningham choreography was very precisely made. Rather, he wanted to banish predictable compositional habits. The I Ching is the “Book of Changes,” and Mr. Cunningham’s choreography became an expression of the nature of change itself. He presented successive images without narrative sequence or psychological causation, and the audience was allowed to watch dance as one might watch successive events in a landscape or on a street corner. “Psychology doesn’t interest him; zoology and anthropology do,” Mr. Cunningham’s leading co-dancer, Carolyn Brown, once wrote. When another dancer asked what “Minutiae” (1954) was about, Mr. Cunningham took her to the window of the New York studio, showed her the street below and said, “That.” Zen Buddhism was another influence. Though Mr. Cunningham’s choreography often featured qualities of attack and conflict, it also expressed a Zen kind of acceptance. Mr. Cunningham, always a superlative dance soloist, now created a dance theater in which the basic condition was soloism. Even in a duet or a trio, each dancer retained marked degrees of independence and detachment. The Merce Cunningham Dance Company gave its first performances in 1953, at the Black Mountain College in North Carolina. And it was there that Mr. Cunningham and Cage met the young painter Robert Rauschenberg, who embraced their ideas. With Rauschenberg, the company became a three-way demonstration of the autonomy of the theater arts. The dancers often did not know what their costumes, décor or music would be until the dress rehearsal or first night. Mr. Cunningham, Cage and Rauschenberg all found this liberating, and the work cemented them as colleagues. In tours across America, Cage would drive the company van while Rauschenberg took charge of the lighting. From the mid-1940s, Mr. Cunningham began using other composers as well, including David Tudor, Christian Wolff, Earle Brown, Morton Feldman and Takehisa Kosugi. Among more recent musical colleagues have been Brian Eno, Gavin Bryars and (in 2009) Sonic Youth. Mr. Cunningham was himself a remarkable dance partner. One female dancer said the strength and focus he applied made a duet with him the equivalent of a profound sexual experience. Male-female duets always stimulated his creative imagination: he showed how people can be intensely involved and isolated at the same time in a relationship, both cooperating and independent. Modern dance had been notable for its earnestness; Mr. Cunningham’s work was often characterized by humor. “Antic Meet” (1958), for example, seemed to satirize the more foolish mannerisms of the Graham dance theater. Much of Mr. Cunningham’s wit arose out of his concentration on pure form. An unpredictable change of rhythm or direction, a brisk figure of nifty footwork could provoke the same smiles and laughter as the jokes in a Haydn symphony. Mr. Cunningham finally achieved international fame with a world tour in 1964. As soon as the curtain rose on opening night in London, at Sadler’s Wells Theater, the company felt that they were receiving a quality of attention they had never received before. The tour included several other European cities and crossed Asia. Once, discovering that the company was booked to perform in a space without a proscenium arch, Mr. Cunningham decided to arrange a one-off anthology of separate sections of choreography, using costumes and music different from those of their original contexts. This became a new and important Cunningham genre, the Event. Events provoked questions about how choreography could look when decontextualized and recontextualized. How would a solo from a 2002 work look between a duet from a 1982 work and a 1997 quartet, all before a 1953 Rauschenberg décor and in newly designed costumes? Events also stimulated Mr. Cunningham’s love of unconventional spaces for performance; over the years they included the Piazza San Marco in Venice, Grand Central Terminal in New York and a beach in Perth, Australia. At the end of the 1964 tour, Mr. Rauschenberg and some dancers left the company. In the years afterward, the company’s designers included Jasper Johns, Frank Stella and Andy Warhol. Mr. Cunningham continued to experiment. In the 1970s, he became fascinated by filming dance. But one of the most controversial factors in Cunningham dance theater in recent decades was Mr. Cunningham himself, now aging visibly. Often he gave himself roles where his seniority was an element in the drama. In 1989, he began to explore composing dances on a computer; his first dance made this way was “Trackers” (1991). This became, until late in his life, his main method of dance-making. He also increasingly resorted to a wheelchair and stayed at home in New York while his company toured. John Cage died in 1992. Although he had advocated the autonomy of the arts, he was often a controlling figure. Mr. Cunningham once said of life without Cage: “On the one hand, I come home at the end of the day, and John’s not there. On the other hand, I come home and John’s not there.” Mr. Cunningham’s dance invention remained startlingly fecund after Mr. Cage’s death. “Biped” (1999), with computer-generated visual imagery suggesting many aspects of transcendence, proved the single most sensational dance choreographed by anyone in the 1990s. He remained a man of secrets. Few people knew he had taught himself Russian or had written his own translation of “The Bear” by Chekhov. When he invited Baryshnikov to dance a duet with him in his New York 80th-birthday season (“Occasion Piece,” 1999), he surprised Mr. Baryshnikov by writing to him in perfect Cyrillic script. He took up drawing, frequently combining features of two or more different species to create a convincing but fictional animal. Mr. Cunningham often spoke and wrote movingly about the nature of dance and would laugh about its maddening impermanence. “You have to love dancing to stick to it,” he once wrote. “It gives you nothing back, no manuscripts to store away, no paintings to show on walls and maybe hang in museums, no poems to be printed and sold, nothing but that single fleeting moment when you feel alive.”

PITCHFORK on SUNN O)))		27 07 2009
Long format interview posted here: http://pitchfork.com/features/interviews/7678-sunn-o/ SUNN O))) by Grayson Currin, posted July 27, 2009 Judging by the consistent criticism that Sunn O)))'s metal-based drone experimentation suffers-- that is, it's boring, self-serious, humorless, and mean-- perhaps one wouldn't expect Greg Anderson and Stephen O'Malley to be cruising around Manhattan, tossing around Sarah Palin-as-MILF jokes, and listening to voice mails from Jim Jarmusch. Maybe you wouldn't expect Anderson, who's also the entrepreneur behind Southern Lord Records, to crowdsurf, either. Or for O'Malley, a prolific improviser and composer who's generally busy with seven projects at once, to empty bottles of wine on crowds of kids in the front row. But while scavenging for a parking space for a van full of amplifiers and guitars, O'Malley told such jokes and Anderson relayed that message ("The best thing I've ever seen," Jarmusch said). And when playing their last show in Manhattan's legendary Knitting Factory just two months before it closed its doors, they surfed crowds, poured wine, and booted a kid off of stage, all while sustaining a vortex of rapturous sound. Indeed, despite the robes and the crushing tones, O'Malley and Anderson aren't too serious to sit and laugh over stories about their friends and bands and the gear they play. After finally finding that parking spot, that's what we did in the first of two (appropriately) extended Sunn O))) interviews. Pitchfork: So you crowdsurfed at the Knitting Factory, Greg. Greg Anderson: Totally inspired by Atsuo Mizuno from Boris. I had a great time. New York is always a great show, and part of it has to do with the fact that I feel a lot of stress here. It's a challenge. Finding a parking space, just everything. I feel really lucky. The shows have gone really well. It's a payoff. The reason the shows did well is because we overcame these challenges. Stephen O'Malley: I used to live here, so it's cool to see who comes out. It's pretty surprising to be able to get the audience riled up with our music, too. The whole crowd was reacting last night. GA: There was a moshpit. Pitchfork: Do you remember the first time Sunn O))) played New York? SO: We played at Tonic in New York, I think, New Year's 2003 [Ed.'s Note: January 2, 2003.] That was right after we started touring, and a lot of stuff happened that year that lead the band to where it is now. The first time a band plays in New York that you're hearing about, it's kind of an event. I remember having that feeling, and Tonic has this history as an experimental venue. That year, we came into that scene for the first time. GA: We weren't going to play live. It was more of an idea of being in the studio, or Stephen and I drinking a lot of wine and getting high and playing loud riffs. There were never aspirations to go out and tour and play shows. It became a thing where we realized the impact of what we were doing would be best felt in a live setting because people's stereos suck, or listening to it on a computer or an iPod. It was like, "Let's bring it to them as loud as possible." The physical element of what we're doing is really important, and we wanted to get that across. Pitchfork: What were you hoping to achieve when you started Sunn O)))? What was the point? GA: It started in Seattle in a rehearsal room called Mars. It was friends jamming on as many amps as we could string together. I moved to Los Angeles in 1996 and formed the band Goatsnake. Steve came down shortly after that, and we wanted to keep playing music together. We'd played together in Burning Witch and Thorr's Hammer, and we wanted to keep it simple and keep playing music together in some form. That was the easiest thing. We didn't need anybody else-- just the two of us playing music. We didn't have to rely on anybody. Our aspirations, even to this day, are still really minimal. We keep our expectations pretty low, and we've been fortunate that things have happened. It makes it even better because you don't expect it. SO: The title of [last fall's] tour, the Shoshin Tour, is what Greg's talking about-- always having the mind of the beginner. It has to do with your philosophy of how you do things, but it also allows you to always be surprised by the results, good or bad. Trying to keep the expectations low keeps it real. In music, people get their expectations boosted by things that happen. If you try and keep your expectations low, then there's less disappointment. Even with simple things, like power problems onstage: It allows you to be creative on the base level with any kind of problem. Pitchfork: Such a philosophy seems like it would open you to trying new things, especially collaboration. That's always been an important part of that band, or at least not long after GrimmRobe. SO: Totally. It also comes into the personality of who we end up collaborating with. They usually have that viewpoint, too, and that makes the collaboration that much stronger rather than having a cast of egos and charismas and styles. It comes back to working on the sound itself as its own thing rather than having special guests. It always comes back to the fundamental structure of the music. Pitchfork: Who's the most important of those collaborators right now? SO: Recently, or for the past few years, Attila Csihar has been a major role in the music. His approach has inspired me to keep that idea and the real value of the sound and its capacity to be a real important spiritual experience if you want it to be. He's extremely entertaining in a number of ways. GA: He's gotten really into this performance art thing where he gets into costumes, and he creates different characters for each show. He's doing it with Mayhem, which is really making that group interesting in a different way. That will be his persona for the show. A lot of times, it changes per show, and it's interesting to see what he comes up with. SO: It's this metamorphosis that he does. Attila himself is such a unique character anyway, and then he transforms into this other thing that reflects even in his vocal style. I guess he uses it to push past and break the expectations the audience might have of him. Pitchfork: Speaking of state of mind, you mentioned watching Attila work for the first time in the studio. What’s he like in that situation? And why are you smiling? GA: [Laughing.] We were hashing out the record, and Attilla was awesome. You never know what is going on with that guy, but you're never surprised. We were in the studio, and studio time can be somewhat monotonous or boring if you're not actually doing anything. So as we were hashing out the original ideas, and he was running around Seattle doing stuff. He would show up at certain moments, and we’d be like, "Oh yeah, Attila is here." SO: He'd have been partying with Slipknot. They played, and he was like, [in stiff Hungarian accent] "Oh, yeah, we have to go party with these guys." I'm like, "I'm not going to see Slipknot in the arena. We're fucking recording a record." GA: We'd have been recording all day, and he would be like, [in stiff Hungarian accent] "Come on, man, we got to party." "No," you know? And that's the thing: Of course he knows somebody from that band and is going to go party with them. It’s Attila. But at some points, you'd be like, “What is this guy doing? Is he going to work at all?” You felt like his mind maybe wasn't that in it, and then all of the sudden he'd bust in with this whole thing and would be like, "I've been researching this." It was, "Oh, OK." He was going to the library while we were recording. He really did step up to the plate and come through. It wasn't just him partying with Slipknot. Pitchfork: When the tape was on, what was his demeanor? How does he fit into your dynamic? SO: He brought some really cool performances to the table. At the same time, he was explaining and presenting his plan of what he was going to deliver, and he would say, "OK, tell me what you think. I'm an instrument for you to use. Please think about it that way, so I don't do anything inappropriate." That's really humble from someone like him. He’s a major guy. GA: That's probably what I appreciate the most about Attila: He's pretty egoless in a lot of ways, especially for a frontman. He was the frontman for the most infamous black metal band there is, Mayhem. And, in a lot of people's eyes, he's a god, but he's the most down-to-earth guy. He doesn't think of himself like, "Oh, I'm the frontman." Even though he's an amazing performer and he can command an audience, he doesn’t have that sort of ego. He is not a prima donna. SO: He’s not making assumptions that he knows exactly what is best, which I think is a really important thing about Sunn O))) in general. We try to leave the possibility open that there are better ideas for people to think about. Pitchfork: You mention Attila's stage persona and people's expectations. Both of you get labeled reductively as being misanthropic or mean because of the somewhat mysterious, metal-based music you make. GA: I can be mean. [Laughs.] Randall is mean. SO: I don't know. For me, the idea of dark or light doesn't really apply as much as the intensity of it. And maybe it's that intensity that comes across threatening, which can be a mean or a dark aspect. There are other words that are used, like heavy. What does that mean? It just means it's a super-focused, intense version of something. It's not meant to be intimidating. It's meant to be enjoyable and ultra-pleasurable, so that aspect is the real personality of it. It's not like Watain destroying people's psyches with their stuff. It's an intensely pleasurable experience for us. GA: If you're a sadist. [Laughs.] That's pretty much what I think. I think there's a lot of mystery to what we do, and that's something we go for. People can interpret it in many different ways. I would hope people wouldn't be intimidated. That's definitely not what I want to get across. Pitchfork: You've certainly engendered some mystery. On the cover of the Thorr's Hammer EP, Dommedagsnatt, the first Southern Lord release, you're plainly visible. But, when you're pictured on albums now, you're generally obscured by something. GA: It's taking away the ego and giving it an element of mystery. We've had our photos on every record except for Black One, so there have been some photos that have gone with the record. SO: Also, the robe is not a uniform, but it serves a similar purpose, where all the musicians involved will be on a similar level. The sound and the amplifiers are more the star of the show. Like last night, when Tony Conrad was playing, I was watching from the balcony with a friend, and we were like, "Look at all the amplifiers studying his playing." They were personalities onstage. I think it's interesting with the smoke, too. It puts some haze and blur between the performer-entertainer role and the real experience you're having of the music itself. Pitchfork: How many amps do you keep onstage now? SO: Yesterday, we were laughing because Greg bought a few Model Ts recently but he forget. He was like, "Hey, man, I usually have seven." GA: Six. Pitchfork: Six Model Ts? GA: Yup. Part of the reason I have so many amps is because I provide backline for Boris when they come over. These days, it becomes more cost-effective for people to fly in and do a coast rather than have to drive all the way across the country. In some ways, we're trying to be strategic about where we have our amps placed, where we have our arsenals, so that we can fly in and do a couple of shows rather than having to spend all that money on gas and a van and all that crap. It's not like I'm hording amps. They have a purpose. The reason I have six Model Ts is because they always come in handy. There's no way they're going to be collecting dust. They’re going to be put to use. On that last Boris tour, Takeshi used my Model Ts. I don’t think he had really used Model Ts very much before, and he was so excited about them that when their tour ended, he was like, "Where do I get tattoo?" He went and got the Sunn O))) logo tattooed on his arm. He was like, "Model T!" That was pretty cool. Tone is really important. A huge aspect of what we're doing is that we're really concerned with having the right tone, and good tone. Those are our favorite amps. Pitchfork: How did you first become interested in the Model T? GA: I had one in Engine Kid, actually. I saw this band called Lice, with Tim Green who went on to be in the Fucking Champs. I went and saw them play, and they were like an Eyehategod-style band. He was playing this amp that had this insane fucking tone, and I'm like, "What is that?" I was familiar with Sunn O))) amps because of Earth and Melvins, and I knew Buzz [Osbourne, of the Melvins] played a lot of the solid-state stuff. But I was not familiar with this behemoth tube amp. I found one in Seattle at a flea market, at the Fremont Flea Market. It was just sitting there next to a bunch of jeans and coats that this guy had. I was like, "Oh my god, that's the amp Tim Green had." I bought it and had it for Engine Kid. I went on to play it in every band since then. Pitchfork: Last night, you were selling a limited-edition version of The GrimmRobe Demos, and-- as expected-- people were breaking their banks to own one. Sunn O))) and Southern Lord have long been into limited releases. Is that a monetary concern, or does it go beyond that? GA: The whole idea of the limited stuff started with an idea to help fund the tours because touring is expensive, as everyone knows. A lot of the time, you're not making very much money at the shows, or your costs are so high you need something else to help fund it. That's kind of where it started out: Let's create these limited things that will help fund that. But it also became a reward for people that came to the show. We can give them something special that they can't get anywhere else. I think that's something people appreciate. It's a win-win situation. SO: It's cool to work at making stuff like that, too. I'm really into design, obviously, and just to be able to work on these smaller projects, a lot of the time it's stuff we really like. Sometimes we're like, "This [music] doesn't need to be unlimited. This should be smaller, harder to access." The mystery of the discography is similar to the stage mystery stuff. Some obscure moments have happened live and also on these releases. Pitchfork: Speaking of design, Sunn O))) and Southern Lord both create big, ornate packages. The vinyl packaging for Altar, for instance, suits me better than the music. GA: To me, the whole concept stems from there's so much hard work, sweat, and blood put into the music, and we try to release records that are intense and a lot of work has gone into them. To me, you need to have a package that complements that. I hate it when with some of my favorite records, the music's amazing, the album's amazing, but the artwork is totally cheap and flimsy. What's the point? I think great music should be complemented by great art and great packaging. SO: We try and also keep it away from a product. It is ultimately a product, but we make it an object that you want to hold onto, that doesn't just get filed, ripped, whatever. Vinyl is especially important for that right now. Pitchfork: Greg, you've mentioned that you weren't into Tony Conrad too much, but Stephen is. What's was your avenue into drone? GA: Earth. Most of my life, I was really into Melvins, and when I heard Earth, it made a lot of sense. It clicked. It had some elements to it that were similar to Melvins, but obviously it was more open-ended and without as much structure. That's how I got into drone. SO: I got into Melvins, also, but a bit later. I was super into death metal at first. I discovered Earth because Dylan's wearing a Morbid Angel shirt [on the back cover of Earth 2]. My friend was working at Sub Pop at the time and said, "You should check out this band. He's got on a Morbid Angel shirt." [Laughs.] I checked it out, and was like, "Fuck." I loved Melvins-- slow Melvins, especially-- and then with them it's really psychedelic, no drums, super-heavy, slow metal. Slow Slayer riffs: That's how I interpreted it at the time. For me, it opened my mind to the possibilities and the structures of music changing. It was before I was really listening to any other out music. I was 18 or something. Pitchfork: Greg, Southern Lord now puts out Earth records. To now be releasing the music of the band that basically sent you in a new sonic dimension: That must be an honor. GA: I think what's really cool about it and the direction that they've taken the music and that Dylan is going in, he could have easily made Earth 2 again, and it probably would have been pretty popular. But he decided to take it somewhere else, and that raised my respect level for him even more. He's experimenting with it, taking chances. I remember when Hex came out, a lot of people didn't get it. They were like, "We want to hear the old stuff." But it's really developed now, and they've not only got a new fanbase, but the older fans, it's clicking with them. Especially on this last record, which has done the best out of the three that we've released. It's exactly what I want to be doing with the label, to work with artists like that, who I have a lot of respect for. It's very rewarding. SO: I think the similarities between Tony Conrad and Dylan are actually they're two players who have been playing a long time and love their instruments. It's so fresh with their tone. They're so into their sound and developing their sound. Probably about eight years ago, I got into La Monte Young's music and then got involved with the Table of the Elements train and spent too much money on Table of the Elements. One thread that runs through all this stuff is being a music fan and collecting and discovering. Pitchfork: From Morbid Angel to Tony Conrad through Earth: Is that a big jump? SO: Not really. I don't think it is. You've got Trey [Azagthoth], and that guy is super fucking into his history. He's making new music. He's a new music guy. It's just that he's in a metal band. I think their music is original and super-progressive every time. I'm not into everything that they've done, but when that Heretic record came out, and I was like, "Oh, another Morbid Angel record with a day-glo video game cover." I checked it out, and the guitar playing was amazing. And, also, the drummer [on Heretic, Pete Sandoval] of that band is completely unique. There's no one like him. People aspire to be that good. They're in that category. But the main difference is structural: How do you arrange your tones? I think the passion and drive for the playing is pretty similar. In October, Sunn O))) was but a handful of mixing and mastering sessions away from completing its seventh studio album, Monoliths & Dimensions. As it turns out, that album-- released in May-- is the band's most compelling effort to date: Full of unexpected ideas and contributions from an all-star cast that includes Mayhem vocalist Attila Csihar, arrangement visionary Eyvind Kang and Earth mastermind Dylan Carlson, Monoliths & Dimensions offers new sides of the Sunn O))) story with the addition of strings and horns and a lyrical cohesion they've never before achieved. It's a reflection of that open and intense vision Anderson and O'Malley mentioned in October. After an afternoon spent listening to Monoliths & Dimensions alongside other music critics and Jim Jarmusch in a Brooklyn mastering studio set alongside the Hudson River, we sat down with O'Malley and Anderson in a Manhattan Thai restaurant to talk more about collaboration and control. Pitchfork: How long has the idea for Monoliths & Dimensions-- mixing the metallic, amplified drone with acoustic instruments-- been gestating? SO: We talked about doing stuff like acoustic instruments a while ago-- six years ago, seven? For White1, one of our ideas was to do an acoustic instrument record and a drone record. It didn't turn out that way, obviously. GA: There's no grand, really thought-out plan when we record, and this album's the same. We had some ideas we wanted to try out, but the record that you heard yesterday is really not what we envisioned when we started a year-and-a-half ago. We had a few ideas that we wanted to try out-- like Stephen mentioned, trying out some different instrumentation. But it started the same as every single Sunn O))) record, which is basically Steve and I in the studio, writing and throwing riffs at one another and bouncing ideas off of each other. One of the things that's been really cool about these duo shows is that it is the core of Sunn O))), and that's exactly how it started and that's exactly how it starts for every record. I think it provides an interesting contrast in the context of this record. Pitchfork: Well, that's what happens right out of the gates on "Aghartha". It's just you two pawing at a riff. GA: Exactly. SO: Actually, "Aghartha", that's the first thing we put together in October 2007 with a little over a week of tracking, maybe two weeks. Pitchfork: Tony Conrad-- of whom you're a big fan, Stephen-- opened that Knitting Factory show in October, and, Greg, you released Stephen's collaboration with Z'EV on Southern Lord. Both of those guys use acoustic instruments to make massive drone music. What do you think the intersection of your history and theirs is? SO: I think it's about tone and timbre. The way we get our tone and timbre is through our amps. One of the things that was interesting to experience is Attila's vocal takes on the first record, "Aghartha". There's just so much sub-bass in his voice in this one section, You have to focus in on the details of the different instruments. It's not a richness. It's just a personality of the tone of the different instruments and the personality of the blend of the tones. Pitchfork: How soon did you know you had to get Attila involved with the opening riff? SO: He was at the session. GA: That's kind of the big difference in this recording session, especially with the other ones we've had with Attila. Those other recordings-- like with Oracle or White2-- basically Steve and I did the tracking, and Sunn O))) came up with the music. Attila came up with the vocals in Europe, and he sent them back to us, and we mixed them in the States. There was no face-to-face contact. This time, he was there the entire time. He's listening to what we're doing and getting some inspiration from that and really getting to focus more intently on what was going on. He was inspiring us as well, just to hear what he did. Even him coming up, like, "Hey, guys, I've got these ideas for these lyrics." He really put a lot of time and thought into it. It was really cool to see his process, which I had never been able to see before because everything was mailed. You could see how he works, and his enthusiasm was really exciting and inspired us to keep it going. [Laughs.] SO: It's the first time his lyrics have inspired the personality of some of the music. It's always cool to see what he comes up with, especially in the live setting, what he's talking about and his interests. But he was researching topics for "Aghartha," for example, and he was bringing us all these photos and art. That gives personality to what we were working on. Pitchfork: How do you feel Attila inspired what made it onto the record specifically? GA: With "Big Church", what he did on that added to the overall outcome of what we were playing, the vibe of it. SO: He inspired the spirit of that track-- to go further with the choir, the pseudo-religious choir. Pitchfork: How did the choir come together? When did that route-- to work with Jessika Kenney-- become obvious? SO: That track was hard to finish. Of all the tracks on the album, that's the one that stayed incomplete for a while. Finally, we were talking to Eyvind Kang, the guy who arranged the choir part and arranged a lot of the other acoustic instruments, about the possibility of having some other voices, like a choir. As it turns out, he'd work with these people. They're all young, experimental opera singers, basically. Attila was able to come up there because Budapest is a four-hour drive from Vienna. He went, and he was recording in a basement or cellar studio in an old aircraft factory. It was lucky that the timing happened: Eyvind was going to be in Europe doing a festival. Jessika-- who is his musical partner and wife; he works with her a lot-- ended up being the first chair of the choir. There were these people who wanted to try this idea out. Almost everything else-- all the other players-- were from Seattle and from the Pacific Northwest. It's a pretty rich scene there for experimental music and musicians up there. GA: That's the most exciting part for me, just to see what's going to happen. You might have an idea of what you think it's going to sound like, but we don't give much direction, if any, to the players. SO: There will be a lot of discussion, but it's not like, "Come in, and play this chart." Well, it was in some cases for some of the arrangements, but usually they come up with their own parts or improv. Pitchfork: We've talked a lot about Attila, and what he brings to the table. He's all over this album, just as Eyvind is. They seem as present here as both of you. Has it ever been difficult to let people into the fold completely? GA: I don't feel like it needs to be defined, but Sunn O))) is always going to be the core of Stephen and I. There's not going to be another full-fledged member, but other players are definitely a huge part of what we're doing. We like to keep it open, so we're not tied down to one specific thing or one specific group of people, allowing other people to move in if we want. Attila is someone we'd been working with so much in the last couple of years in performing live. There was some really great stuff that was happening onstage. When we invited him to be part of this record, we were thinking of some of the things we'd done live and hoping to capture some of that on the tape. SO: It's also not a big need to control. It's great to just leave it open to their interpretation. The results are not what you expect and generally better than what you hoped for if they're in the right state of mind. Attila is. Pitchfork: How did you meet Attila? SO: I did a fanzine in the 1990s called Descent, and I interviewed him in 94. I started a label with my friend Tyler Davis. It's called Ajna, which is still around. One of the first things we did was a Tormentor picture disc in 96 of the Anno Domini demo. I was in touch with him then, and we got out of touch. We hooked up again four or five years later. Sunn O))) had the opportunity to go to Europe in 2003. It was our first European tour. We were trying some things out with collaborators, and we invited him to come up to Austria. He came up, and we hung out. The first show we played was in Austria, and there were like two people in the audience. Pita [the sporadic live Sunn O))) collaborator Peter Rehberg, who also runs Editions Mego] played with us and Attila. Attila is the current face of the band. It was kind of an important show. Ever since then, he's become more and more involved. We've become really good friends, and we've done other projects together. GA: Southern Lord put out a compilation record [The Beast of…] of all of his works-- well, not all of them, but a lot of his works-- with different bands: Mayhem, a track he did with Emperor, his bands Tormentor and Plasma Pool. I put that out shortly after I'd met him. He's definitely one of my favorite vocalists-- ever. Pitchfork: What do you remember about the interview? SO: He talked a lot about playing in Tormentor in the 1980s and playing shows in Hungary and the scene there. It was the fucking Iron Curtain, and it was illegal to have concerts because they're public gatherings. Well, they weren't cracking down on it, but it's a totally different story than shows we play. He was a major vocalist then on a super-underground level. There used to be festivals in small towns. I thought that was pretty interesting because at the time, especially, it was so far away from my exposure to music. The appeal of black metal to me in the early 90s was the fact that it was exotic and such a different muse. It was my first experience with European culture. Even in that interview, he was really open about his experiences and generous with his knowledge and personality, like he is when we play with him. Pitchfork: It is a completely different trip, growing up and into black metal in Europe. He's only a few years older than both of you, for instance, but his earliest reference points predate yours by centuries. SO: Europe must be so different to grow up in. I grew up in the suburbs of Seattle, which is very different from Norway. The perception of culture is much more immediate around a generation or a decade. Growing up in Europe, there must be a depth to the cultural awareness because it's all around you. It must be interesting to encounter things that are from the 16th century as a teenager. GA: I never had that experience growing up. SO: Some of the oldest things I remember experiencing were Native American things, which are the root of this country and which are fairly old. But the manifestation of that stuff is from the 19th century. There's a limit of awareness to the 19th century, and not that that's bad, it's just different. The States is an immediate culture.

Message from Doomlord		23 07 2009
Just got this SMS from Doomlord the Great: "Just wanted to let you know that I cannot make the hammer gigs bud but i have give myself a tg warrior tash in honour of the shows" Our response: All our best wishes to you, wish you could attend. These shows are dedicated to you bud!!!! —Thorr's Hammer Einherjar.

How do we feel in the world?		22 07 2009
Whats that about a million words and a photo?

Everybody		22 07 2009

THORR'S HAMMER live		21 07 2009
Thorrs’ Hammer was the first time that Stephen O’Malley (sunn, KTL, Khanate, Burning Witch) and Greg Anderson (sunn, Ascend, Goatsnake) ever played music together. We formed in 1995 played 2 shows, recorded one demo and then disbanded. 15 years later (!!!) we reconvene with original vocalist: Runhild Gammelsaeter, and drummer Jamie “Boggy” Sykes! We are honored to have Guy Pinhas (Goatsnake, Obsessed) handling BASS duties. We hope you will join us in the re-invocation of grimm subharmonic Nordic hymns! 7/25 @ the Custard Factory. Birmingham, UK w/Corrupted, The Accused (and many other killer acts) 7/26 @ Scala. London, UK w/Corrupted, The Accused http://www.scala-london.co.uk/scala/event.php?id=1137 Read a interview with Ruhnhild about the upcoming shows here: SIGN OF THE HAMMER Submitted by JamMin on Thu, 09/07/2009 - 17:29 Unless you've been living under a rock, or find anything slower than Agoraphobic Nosebleed "a bit dull and uninteresting", you've probably heard that legendary doom troupe Thorr's Hammer (the Thorr's Hammer that gave us drone daddys Stephen O'Malley and Gregg Anderson) have reunited to play this year's Supersonic Festival. Sufficed to say we were a bit excited, so naturally we bombarded the University Of Oslo with phone calls and emails until we got hold of Dr Runhild Gammelsæter to get the lowdown on the whys, whens and hows from the vocalist extraordinaire. People often have a quite cynical view of bands getting back together (and rightly so), so why was now the right time to do this? “We didn't want to do a reunion previously because we thought it sort of cynical, not 'cult' and not 'true' as we say in metal. All members of TH are old friends, I still call Steve when I have a broken heart. I love those guys to death. But we are getting old, people are having babies, careers, living all over the world, rarely seeing each other. We loved the idea of having an opportunity to fly everyone in, spend time together and experiencing the vibe between us again. It may be the last opportunity we have to do that.” How were you occupying your time between Thorr's Hammer and Khlyst? Were you still engaged with music? Have you been working on any other projects more recently? “When I left the states and TH disbanded, I studied for ten years at different universities getting my PhD. Khlyst came out in 2006, but James and I had been working on that for a year or so before the release. I worked minimally with music while I studied, spending all of my times with books and in the lab. Played some guitar at home, singing Nirvana and Gram Parsons, which perhaps prepared me for my solo record released last year.” In terms of lifespan versus influence/impact, Thorr's Hammer are probably one of the most significant bands of the past two decades. How does it feeling knowing you were part of it at that time, at that age? Did you consider staying in the US longer to continue with the band? “It is very surprising to me that TH would earn such a reputation and becoming such a cult phenomenon. I was seventeen, we played dive bars in Seattle released a demo on cassette and were not known at all. When I left, I never thought the band would have such an impact, and certainly not that we would still be selling records fifteen years later! I am naturally thrilled and awed to have been part of that. Receiving positive attention for something I did as a young girl has definitely affected my life in ways I could never have imagined. “It's mind baffling, and very flattering. In fact, I never thought we would release it as a CD on a good label. In retrospect I see that we had something different, that few have followed our trail. And listening to the record again, I humbly admit that I sometimes think: damn, that is a good record! I'm very proud to have been a part of that. Makes me happy to see people appreciate what we made.” What inspired you to revisit Thorr's Hammer after all this time? Is it something that's been on the cards for a while? "We have spoken of it many times and have had numerous offers for reunion shows throughout the years. All members of the band are old school, and we really didn't believe in reunions. For many years we agreed that TH should be left in peace and remembered for what it was. But because of the success of Sunn O))) and the increased acceptance and exposure of doom and underground music, we have gotten more and more attention as the years went by. We are getting 'old', and we are all still great friends, and consider TH as one of the best and most fun periods of our lives. So we are doing it to all meet up, have a party and revisit that music we made together. Also, a ton of our old friends and fans are coming to see us, it is sure to be a blast." I assume you’ve had rehearsals ahead of the Supersonic show, so just how strange is it playing these songs again after all this time? "We are all rehearsing separately now, and meet up ahead of the shows to rehearse together. Listening to the record again is a strange experience. And my lyrics! I have good laughs at myself for those. And why did I write such long lyrics! Why didnt I go for the three verses and chorus? Relearning those is a project in itself... I will have to write things down on my arm or something, my memory has gotten so bad." Are you nervous about playing Supersonic? It’s an obvious question but Thorr’s Hammer weren’t exactly road-tested for the short time you were active. "Yes, I am terrified. It is quite a strain for my voice to do long shows and physically demanding as well. We are rehearsing and playing many days in a row, and I have not done this for many years. I can still do a decent growl though, and hope the vocal chords will hold through the mayhem of it. Perhaps my vocals will never recover, getting a rasped voice like Marianne Faithfull. But I dont care, I aim to do my very best and hope that the shows will be amazing for the audience" Obligatory gender based question, apologies. What was your experience as a young female in the 'business' during the '90s? "I got a lot of attention, of course. But I didn't experience sexism at all. I felt respected, and that much of the focus was on my vocal performance, which was seen as good compared to vocalists of both genders. Rather than a 'female vocalist', I was a doom vocalist, part of the boys club. And I always enjoyed the company of the guys and always have had a lot of male friends. I like the way men communicate - straight talk. When I had parties, there was a keg in the bathtub and fights outside whiIe I was trying to give people hugs, Steve and Greg (self declared big brothers) protecting me from unwanted male attention. I consider myself a feminine woman, and never took up the metal image or dressed or acted like the boys though. Communicating with though guys back then has been very useful in my current job. Going into the boardroom with men in suits is not very different that rehearsing with long haired men with attitude. Also, metalheads are not stupid or unsophisticated. Most of the long haired men in black clothes back then were revolutionaries, creative geniuses and very intelligent." What are your thoughts on how the doom/drone scene has developed courtesy of Greg and Stephen's activities as a certain popular band? "It's wonderful! I have been a fan of this type of music since I was a teen. I enjoy the whole experience of doom. It's more than just sound, it's physical. It leaves room for reflection and feeling the music shake the body. When I was young, people were afraid of this music, and I always thought it was a pity they didnt sit down and give it a chance. Now people wearing suits show up to Sunn0 ))) shows and lie down in front of the stage. That thrills me. Doom has no religious or political affiliations, it's not aimed at a certain audience. Doom is for everyone." …and here is how it went down 15 years ago at a Chinese Restaraunt in Ballard Washington!

SUNN O))) MONOLITHS & DIMENSIONS EAST COAST DATES		21 07 2009
We are pleased to announce the east coast leg of SUNN O)))'s Monoliths & Dimensions tour. Support comes from Eagle Twin. SUNN O))) Monoliths & Dimensions East Coast 0909 Thu Sep 17 Pittsburgh PA Mr Small's Sat Sep 19 Providence RI AS220 Broad Street Sun Sep 20 Philadelphia PA First Unitarian Church Tue Sep 22 Brooklyn NY Brooklyn Masonic Temple (w/ Earth, Pelican) Wed Sep 23 Baltimore MD Sonar Thu Sep 24 Knoxville TN Bijou Theatre Fri Sep 25 Asheville, NC The Orange Peel (w/ FAUST!!!) Sat Sep 26 Atlanta GA Legends Sun Sep 27 Athens GA Seney-Stovall Chapel Mon Sep 28 Athens GA Seney-Stovall Chapel Wed Sep 30 Nashville TN Mercy Lounge

HELLHAMMER/CELTIC FROST Photo History Book Announced		07 07 2009
HELLHAMMER/CELTIC FROST Photo History Book Announced Former HELLHAMMER/CELTIC FROST mainman Tom Gabriel Fischer and Bazillion Points Books have announced November 2009 as the publication date for 'Only Death Is Real: An Illustrated History of Hellhammer and Early Celtic Frost." Authored by Fischer with cooperation from HELLHAMMER/FROST partner Martin Eric Ain, the deluxe large-format 288pp hardcover will feature over 300 astonishing high-quality photos by Csaba Kézér, Martin Kyburz, and Andreas Schwarber documenting the very dawn of death metal and black metal. Five years in the making, this extraordinary artifact sets an audacious new historical standard in heavy metal literature. Further information and sample photos are available at THIS LOCATION: http://www.bazillionpoints.com/?p=207 HELLHAMMER's adolescent hardships were played out in dramatic and sometimes violent episodes set in small villages around Zurich, Switzerland, during 1983 and 1984. The ultimate insider document of the earliest era of death metal and black metal, 'Only Death Is Real' documents this unique and cataclysmic moment in modern music history with hundreds of never-seen vintage images, classic artwork reprinted by kind permission of HR Giger, a full visual reference to HELLHAMMER promotional material, flyers, and memorabilia documenting the birth and evolution of extreme metal—all supported by sharp-tongued oral accounts direct from Tom G. Fischer, Martin Ain, Stephen Priestly, Steve Warrior, and other survivors of the HELLHAMMER inner circle. * * * [please see above bazillionpoints.com link above for photos - drag out of viewer to capture] CONTACT: bazillion@bazillionpoints.com, (718) 383-7122 Thank you! -- Bazillion Points http://www.bazillionpoints.com

SUNN O))) vs LA flyer		07 07 2009

SUNN in SLUG		07 07 2009
http://www.slugmag.com/article.php?id=1765

death, tea and opium		07 07 2009
Just discover this genius: "Walter Potter and His Museum of Curious Taxidermy" you'll find more lovely stuff on: http://www.acaseofcuriosities.com/pages/01_2_00potter.html#

Esoteric Book Conference		05 07 2009

Greven returns		04 07 2009
From Dagbladet.no via google translate (sorry!) "Greven" regrets nothing RUNE MIDTSKOGEN rmi@dagbladet.no Varg Vikernes (36) visste hvem som tente på kirkene. Varg Vikernes (36) knew who fired on the churches. — Er du rasist? - Are you racist? — Ja, men jeg hater ingen. - Yes, but I hate no one. In pure spite said we pretty much always the opposite of the other said, no matter what they said, only to mark distance. Det var slik vi endte opp med å kalle oss satanister, til tross for at vi slett ikke var det. It was so we ended up calling us satanister, despite the fact that we were not there. Det var faktisk ikke en eneste satanist i hele black metal-miljøet i Norge i 1991 — 92. It was not a single satanist in the whole black metal scene in Norway in 1991 - 92. Vi kalte oss satanister fordi death metalmusikerne som regel var svært så samfunnsengasjerte og svært negative til satanisme. We called us satanister because death metal musicians often were so very socially responsible and highly negative to Satanism. Jeg understreket til retten at jeg slett ikke var, at jeg aldri hadde vært og at jeg aldri kom til å bli satanist, men dette var naturligvis ikke detaljer journalistene ønsket å videreformidle til det norske folk. I emphasized to the Court that I was not, that I had never been and I never came to be satanist, but this was of course no details reporters wanted to disclose to the Norwegian people. De ville at jeg skulle være satanist, og dermed framstilte de meg som en satanist. They wanted that I would be a satanist, and thus they produced me as a satanist. Miljøet ble rett og slett satanisk på grunn av medias fokus på satanisme. The environment was simply SATA because of the media's focus on Satanism. Fra Varg Vikernes' upubliserte bok. From Varg Vikernes' unpublished book. Telemark, juni 2009: Vi kjører gjennom tett skog med bratte fjell og daler på hver side. Telemark, June 2009: We drive through the dense forest, with steep mountains and valleys on each side. Sola skinner fra en skyfri himmel, det er klamt og varmt. Sun shining from a clear sky, it is muggy and hot. Vi passerer en bensinstasjon idet mobiltelefonen piper. We pass a petrol station as the mobile phone beeps. Det er Varg Vikernes, også kalt «Greven». It is Varg Vikernes, also known as "Count". Han lurer på om vi er på rett vei. He wonders if we are on track. 20 minutter seinere svinger vi bilen inn på en holdeplass. 20 minutes later we turn the car into a stop. Foran oss står en høy, lys, skjeggete og blid bergenser iført joggebukse, treningsgenser og joggesko. In front of us is a high, light, sweet skjeggete and native wearing joggebukse, training sweater and sneakers. Vi setter kurs for hans nye hjem. We set course for his new home. Småbruket, som ble kjøpt av et familiemedlem for noen år siden, ligger idyllisk til med naturen som nærmeste nabo. Farm, which was bought by a family for a few years ago, is idyllically situated with nature as its nearest neighbor. Her kan hans franske kone — som venter parets andre barn — og deres felles sønn (1 ½) boltre seg på flere mål dyrket mark. Here, his French wife - waiting family's other children - and their common son (1 ½) frolic on multiple targets farming. — Det er helt tilfeldig at vi kjøpte her. - It is completely random that we bought here. Vi ønsket oss et stille og fredelig sted med flott natur utenfor byen. We wanted a quiet and peaceful place with beautiful scenery outside the city. Det er så nydelig her oppe. It is so beautiful up here. Her kan vi være for oss selv. Here we can be for ourselves. Men det er mye jobb som må til for å vedlikeholde alt av bygninger, plen og hage. But there is much work that needed to maintain all of the buildings, lawn and garden. Jeg liker å snekre og har alltid likt å bruke kroppen. I like to snekre and have always liked to use the body. Det er ikke noe problem å få tida til å gå, sier Vikernes. There is no problem to get time to go, "said Vikernes. Det er bare noen uker siden mannen, som på 90-tallet var en av Norges mest fryktede menn, ble sluppet ut — etter å ha tilbrakt nesten halvparten av sitt 36-årige liv bak murene. There are only a few weeks ago the man, who on 90-century was one of the most feared men, was released - after having spent almost half of its 36-year-old lives behind walls. Han var bare 21 år gammel da han 16. He was only 21 years old when he 16. mai 1994 ble idømt Norges strengeste straff — fengsel i 21 år for overlagt drap på musikerkollegaen Øystein Aarseth (25), tre kirkebranner, en brannstiftelse og flere tyverier. May 1994 was sentenced Norway strictest punishment - 21 years in prison for premeditated murder of a musician colleague Øystein Aarseth (25), three church fires, an arson and several burglaries. Dommen, publisiteten og skriveriene gjorde sitt til at unggutten fra Bergen fikk en nærmest mytisk status, både i Norge og i utlandet. Dommen, publicity and did their skriveriene that teen from Bergen had an almost mythical status, both in Norway and abroad. Dagbladets Magasinet har fått tilgang til Varg Vikernes' upubliserte bok. Dagbladets magazine has gained access to Varg Vikernes' unpublished book. Boka, som Vikernes har skrevet under sitt nesten 16 år lange fengselsopphold, er hans egen versjon av hva som skjedde i åra fra black metal-miljøet ble dannet i Norge i 1991 og fram til han ble dømt for drap og kirkebranner tre år seinere. The book, which Vikernes has written during his nearly 16-year prison stay, his own version of what happened in the years from the black metal community was formed in Norway in 1991 and until he was convicted for murder and church fires, three years later. I passasjen under beskriver Vikernes hva som skjedde da han ble løslatt etter seks uker i varetekt med brev- og besøksforbud i 1993 — mistenkt for å stå bak flere av kirkebrannene han seinere ble dømt for: In the passage below describes Vikernes what happened when he was released after six weeks in custody with the letter and besøksforbud in 1993 - suspected to be behind a number of church fires, he later was convicted for: Selv ble jeg svært overrasket da jeg kom ut av fengselet og fikk se det bildet media hadde malt av situasjonen. Although I was very surprised when I came out of prison and got to see the picture the media had painted of the situation. Det var side opp og side ned om «Greven», et økenavn journalistene hadde fra Øystein, som kalte meg det fordi jeg hadde brukt pseudonymet «Count Grishnack» på debutplata, og jeg kunne lese intervjuer med alt fra psykiatriske pasienter til selvutnevnte eksperter på satanisme. It was page after page about the "Count", a nickname from the journalists had Øystein, who called me that because I had used the pseudonym "Count Grishnack" on the debut album, and I could see everything from interviews with psychiatric patients to self-appointed experts on Satanism . Selv hadde jeg bare brukt begrepet satanisme for å provosere eller i betydningen «motstander av kristendommen», siden «Satan» tross alt var et ord som ble oversatt med «motstanderen». Although I had only used the term Satanism to provoke or to mean "against Christianity", as "Satan" after all, was a word that was translated "adversary". Den satanismen jeg kunne lese om i media hadde slett ingenting med denne forståelsen eller meg å gjøre, eller med noen av de andre i miljøet å gjøre for den saks skyld . The satan-semitism I could read about in the media had nothing with this clear understanding, or me to do, or with any of the others in the community to do for that matter. — Jeg er ikke den «Greven» som er blitt framstilt i media. - I am not the "Count" that has been presented in the media. Det er bare trist. It is just sad. De som har kjent meg lenge kjenner seg ikke igjen i det som ble skrevet om meg. Those who have known me a long time know not again in what was written about me. Men jeg har delvis skyld i at vi ble presentert slik. But I have partial blame in that we were presented as such. Det er årsaken til at jeg har skrevet denne boka, som jeg håper å utgi på et forlag. That's why I have written this book, which I hope to publish on a publisher. Jeg vil bli ferdig med denne saken, og legge det som skjedde bak meg. I will be finished with this issue, and put what happened behind me. Jeg vil begynne en ny fase i livet, sier 36-åringen. I will begin a new phase in life, "says 36-year-old. Vi sitter under tomtas største tre. We sit under the site's largest tree. På bordet står en kanne med kaffe og to store skåler med hjemmebakte pikekyss. On the table is a pot of coffee and two large bowls with home baked pike wink. — Jeg er veldig glad i dette treet og denne plassen. - I love this tree and this place. Jeg liker å sitte her og slappe av. I like to sit here and relax. Det er stille og fredelig. It is quiet and peaceful. Det er kona som forsørger den lille familien. It is the wife who provides the small family. — Jeg har aldri bedt om hjelp. - I never asked for help. Ikke fått det, heller, sier Vikernes. Not been there, either, "said Vikernes. Den lyse sommerdagen Varg Vikernes slapp ut, hadde han fire avslag på søknaden om prøveløslatelse bak seg. The bright summer Varg Vikernes got out, he had four rejection of the application for parole behind them. Kriminalomsorgen begrunnet avslagene med at han ikke var klar for samfunnet. Kriminal care reasoned rejection of that he was not ready for society. Nå har han — som prøveløslatt — meldeplikt hver fjortende dag de tre første månedene, deretter én gang i måneden de neste ni månedene. Now he has - as on parole - the duty to report every fourteenth day the first three months, then once a month for the next nine months. Dersom han begår et lovbrudd er det rett inn i fengsel igjen. If he commits a crime, it is straight into the prison again. — Selvsagt var det godt å komme ut av fengselet og hjem til familien. - Of course, it was good to get out of prison and home to the family. Det er deilig at vi endelig kan være sammen hver dag. It is wonderful that we finally can be together every day. Han drar hånda gjennom den lyse manken. He takes my hand through the light mane. — Jeg trykket på pauseknappen da jeg kom i fengsel, og slo den på igjen da jeg slapp ut. - I pressed the pause button when I was in prison, and beat it on again when I got out. Mennesker er tilpasningsdyktige. People are adaptable. Jeg tenkte ikke på hva som skjedde i fengselet, jeg levde i framtida. I thought not on what happened in prison, I lived in the future. Jeg skrev, trente, spiste sunt og taklet livet i fengsel veldig bra. I wrote, practiced, ate healthy and responded to life in prison very well. — Men jeg har ikke noe pent å si om det norske fengselsvesenet. - But I do not have anything nice to say about the Norwegian prison system. Det finnes ikke rettssikkerhet i norske fengsler. There is no rule of law in Norwegian prisons. — Jeg blir bare provosert av Knut Storberget, som sier at de tar rusproblemene på alvor. - I will only be provoked by Knut Storberget, who says that they take the drug problems seriously. Det er bare tøv. It is just rot. Selv har jeg aldri rørt alkohol eller medikamenter. Although I have never touched alcohol or drugs. Hvem er egentlig denne mannen vi kaller «Greven»? Who is this really the man we call "Count"? Han ble født i Bergen og vokste opp der. He was born in Bergen and grew up there. Som liten var han som barn flest — aktiv, nysgjerrig og munter. As small as a child, he was the most - active, curious and cheerful. I tillegg var han veldig kreativ, glad i å lese, skoleflink og han hadde en evne til å fordype seg i ting. In addition, he was very creative, love to read, skoleflink and he had an ability to specialize in things. Han var medlem av et skytterlag, aktiv i friidrett og kampsport — og ble tidlig glad i musikk. He was a member of a skytterlag, active in athletics and martial arts - and was an early love of music. Spesielt klassisk og visesang, men han hørte aldri på pop. In particular, classical and visesanger, but he never heard in pop. 14 år gammel fikk han en gitar. 14 years old he got a guitar. Det skulle bli starten på hans musikalske karriere. It would be the start of his musical career. Det er ganske ironisk å tenke på at jeg aldri drømte om noen form for berømmelse eller beryktelse. It is quite ironic to think that I never dreamed about any kind of fame or notorious. Da jeg startet opp mitt enmannsband ønsket jeg tvert imot å være anonym. When I started my one-man band on the contrary, I wanted to remain anonymous. Jeg brukte et pseudonym på platen, brukte et bilde hvor ingen kunne kjenne meg igjen og ønsket verken å spille konserter eller vise meg offentlig i sammenheng med musikk. I used a pseudonym on the disc, used a picture where no one could recognize me again, and neither wanted to play concerts or show me the public in connection with music. Vikernes var aktiv i flere band, og bare 17 år gammel ble han medlem av gruppa Old Funeral — et death metalband fra Os utenfor Bergen. Vikernes was active in several bands, and only 17 years old he was member of the group Old Funeral - a death metalband from Os outside Bergen. Året etter startet han enmannsbandet Burzum — som i dag betraktes som et av opphavene til black metal, og som fortsatt er et av de mest kjente bandene innenfor sjangeren. The following year, he started one-man band Burzum - which today are considered one of the origins of black metal, and which remains one of the most famous bands in the genre. Antallet solgte skiver er ukjent, men trolig dreier det seg om hundretusener, ifølge beregninger gjort av musikkeksperter. The number of washers sold are unknown, but probably we are talking about hundreds, according to estimates by the music experts. — Burzum var et friskt pust på 80-tallet, som var preget av intensitet og aggresjon. - Burzum was a fresh breath of air in 80-century, which was characterized by intensity and aggression. Burzum åpnet for en inderlig monotoni, som mangler sidestykke i musikkhistorien, sier frontfigur og vokalist i et av verdens største black metal-band, Gylve Nagell i norske Darkthrone. Burzum opened an intense monotonicity, which is missing page piece in music history, says frontfigur and vocalist in one of the world's largest black-metal band, Gylver Nagell in Norwegian Dark Throne. Vikernes har allerede skrevet ferdig ni låter til et nytt Burzum-album, som han håper å utgi på nyåret. Vikernes has already finished writing nine songs to a new Burzum album, which he hopes to publish next year. Han forteller at flere plateselskaper er interessert i å gi ut det første albumet på elleve år. He says that several record labels interested in releasing the first album in eleven years. — Jeg vil bruke god tid, slik at jeg får det slik jeg liker det. - I want a good time, so I can get it the way I like it. Det blir metal, og fansen kan vente seg ekte Burzum, sier han. There are metal, and fans can expect a real Burzum, "he said. 6. 6. juni 1992 våkner Norge til nyheten om at en av Bergens mest populære turistattraksjoner, Fantoft stavkirke, er totalskadet i brann. June 1992 Norway wake up to news that one of Bergen's most popular tourist attractions, Fantoft cult, is the total damaged in a fire. I løpet av seks måneder brenner enda tre norske stavkirker ned til grunnen. In the course of six months will burn even three Norwegian stave churches to the ground. Politiet setter inn store ressurser i jakten på brannårsaken, men det skal gå hele åtte måneder før politiet går til aksjon mot Varg Vikernes. The police put large resources in the hunt for the cause of fire, but it will be eight months before going to the police action against Varg Vikernes. Da Fantoft kirke brant ned i juni 1992 fikk Øystein det for seg at det var jeg som sto bak, fordi vi noen uker eller måneder tidligere hadde snakket om å brenne kirker, etter at en kirke hadde brent ned på grunn av lynnedslag. Da Fantoft church burned down in June 1992 Øystein got it for him that it was I who stood behind, because we have a few weeks or months earlier had talked about burning churches, after a church was burned down because of lightning. Han var mest opptatt av å bruke dette for å promotere norsk black metal, og skremme bort «trendy drittunger i lyse joggebukser» og andre svake personligheter. He was most eager to use this to promote Norwegian black metal, and scare away "trendy shit kids in bright joggebukser" and other weak personalities. Han fortalte i øst og vest at jeg hadde brent ned Fantoft stavkirke, og det ble etter hvert allmennkunnskap i undergrunnen. He said the east and west that I had burned down Fantoft cult, and it was eventually allmennkunnskap in the subsurface. Alle «visste» at jeg hadde brent Fantoft stavkirke, trodde de, fordi Øystein hadde spredd dette ryktet. All "knew" that I had burned Fantoft cult, they believed, because Øystein had spread this rumor. De brydde seg ikke engang om å spørre meg om det var sant når vi møttes. They did not even have to ask me if it was true when we met. Jeg brydde meg dessuten ikke om å forsøke å avkrefte ryktet. I bothered me not to try to debunk rumors. Ikke tok jeg det særlig seriøst og heller ikke syntes jeg det gjorde noe. No I took it particularly seriously, nor I thought it did anything. Det er påfallende at ingen i noen av de bandene som ble sett på som «true» (sanne, ekte — red.anm.) noensinne ble siktet eller tiltalt for å stå bak kirkebranner, med unntak av undertegnede selvfølgelig. It is striking that no one in any of the bands that were seen as "true" (true, true - editor.) Was ever indicted or prosecuted for standing behind the church fires, with the exception of yours truly of course. Hvorfor skulle vi brenne kirker eller gjøre noe annet ekstremt, når vi allerede ble sett på som «true»? Why would we burn churches or do anything extreme, when we already were seen as "true"? Det var andre, som regel yngre individer, som sto bak kirkebrannene, og de brente dem først og fremst for å bli akseptert og respektert av Øystein og oss andre. There were other, usually younger individuals, who were behind the church fires, and they burned them first and foremost to be accepted and respected by Øystein us and others. — Vet du hvem som tente på kirkene? - Do you know who fired on the churches? — Jeg visste det, men hadde ingen interesse av å tyste. - I knew it, but had no interest in silence. De klarte utmerket godt å få seg selv dømt uten min hjelp. They did exceptional well to get himself convicted without my help. Jeg snakket ikke med politiet i det hele tatt, fordi jeg ikke hadde noe tillit til dem. I spoke not with the police at all, because I had no confidence in them. De hadde ingen interesse av å få fram sannheten, bare å få meg dømt. They had no interest to reveal the truth, just to get me convicted. Vikernes ble tiltalt for fem kirkebranner, Eidsivating lagmannsrett dømte ham for tre: Holmenkollen kapell i Oslo, Skjold kirke i Vindafjord og Åsane kirke i Bergen. Vikernes was prosecuted for five church fires, Eidsivating Court sentenced him to three: Holmenkollen Chapel in Oslo, Skjold Church in the world and Åsane church in Bergen. I tillegg ble han dømt for å ha tent på Storetveit kirkes klokketårn i Bergen. In addition, he was sentenced to be lit on Storetveit bell tower in Bergen. Vikernes ble felt på grunnlag av vitneutsagn fra personer i black metal-miljøet. Vikernes was felt on the basis of witness accounts from people in black metal circles. Flere av dem ble også dømt til medvirkning i noen av brannene. Several of them were also convicted of complicity in some of the fires. Han beskriver denne tida slik i boka si: He describes this time as in the book: Da muligheten til å gi et intervju til en stor norsk avis dukket opp i januar 1993, grep vi sjansen. When the opportunity to give an interview to a major American newspaper appeared in January 1993, we seized the opportunity. Øystein og jeg ble enige om at jeg skulle gi et intervju hvor jeg skulle skremme vettet av folk og promotere black metal. Øystein and I agreed that I should give an interview where I would scare mind of people and promote black metal. Det ville skape blest om «Helvete» (Øystein Aarseths platebutikk i Oslo som solgte black metal, red.anm.), tenkte vi, og dermed ville han få flere kunder. It would Promote on "Hell" (Øystein Aarseth platebutikk in Oslo that sold black metal, editor.), We thought, and thus he would get more customers. Med masse teater og skuespill møtte jeg en kristen journalist, og som avtalt med Øystein fortalte jeg om satanister som sto bak kirkebranner og den fiktive organisasjonen som sto bak. With lots of theater and the plays I met a Christian journalist, and as agreed with Øystein told I satanister about who were behind the church fires, and the fictitious organization that was behind. Jeg forklarte politiet at jeg ikke hadde brent en eneste kirke, og da de spurte meg om jeg visste hvem som hadde gjort det, sa jeg at ja, det visste jeg muligens, men jeg hadde ingen planer om å fortelle det til dem. I explained to the police that I had not burned a single church, and when they asked me if I knew who had done it, I said that yes, what did I possibly, but I had no plans to tell it to them. Som naiv og godtroende 19-åring ble jeg både skuffet, oppgitt og skremt av møtet med politiet. As naive and gullible 19-year old I was both disappointed, entered and frightened of the meeting with the police. De løy under avhør, diktet opp vitner som plasserte meg på steder jeg aldri hadde vært, og presterte sågar å si at de hadde meg på film utenfor en av de brennende kirkene. They lied under questioning, the poem up witnesses who placed me in places I had never been, and even managed to say that they had me in a film outside of the burning churches. Politiet brukte dessuten media bevisst i et forsøk på å forhåndsdømme meg. The police also used the media deliberately in an attempt to pre-judge me. — Jeg sto i retten og presiserte at jeg ikke hadde noe med kirkebrannene å gjøre, men jeg ble dømt. - I stood in the Court and precise kid that I had something with the church fires to make, but I was doomed. Jeg snakket bare om kirkebrenning på den tida for å skremme. I talked about the church burning at the time to scare. Det var fordi en i pressen gikk til politiet og anga meg, at politiet fikk snusen i meg, hevder Vikernes. It was because the press went to the police and entered me, that the police had Snusen in me, "said Vikernes. — Angrer du på valgene dine? - Undoes you on your options? — Nei! - No! — Hvem er du i dag? - Who are you today? — Jeg er fremdeles ikke den personen mannen i gata tror de vet noe om. - I'm still not the person the man in the street think they know something about. De totale gjenoppbyggingskostnadene av kirkene ble den gang anslått til 45 millioner kroner. The total reconstruction cost of the churches was the time estimated at 45 million. Forsikringskravet mot Vikernes var 19 millioner kroner, men han sier at han aldri har sett noe til det. Insurance requirement for Vikernes was 19 million, but he says he has never seen anything to it. Men han skylder Oslo kommune 23 millioner kroner etter nedbrenningen av Holmenkollen kapell. But he owes Oslo kommune 23 million after the burning of Holmenkollen chapel. Han sier han flere ganger de siste åra har fått brev om å betale inn flere millioner kroner på kort varsel. He said he several times in recent years has received a letter to pay several million dollars on short notice. — Jeg har null i inntekt og kommer aldri til å kunne tilbakebetale det jeg skylder. - I have zero in income and will never be able to repay what I owe. Eneste utvei er gjeldssanering. The only way out is debt. Da kan jeg kanskje tjene egne penger om fem år. Then I can perhaps earn their own money in five years. — Hvilke tanker har du om kirkebrenning i dag? - What thoughts have you about the church burning today? — Ikke noe spesielt. - Nothing special. Jeg har ikke ofret det så mye som en tanke på mange, mange år. I have not sacrificed so much as a thought for many, many years. Under ransakinger hjemme hos Vikernes i Bergen i 1993 fant politiet 150 kilo eksplosiver og rundt 3000 skudd av forskjellige kaliber. Under the warrants at the home of Vikernes in Bergen in 1993, police found 150 kilograms of explosives and about 3000 shots of different caliber. Mediene spekulerte den gang i om han planla å sprenge Nidarosdomen. The media speculate it started in if he planned to blow Nidarosdomen. — Tull og tøys. - Tull and the bull. Jeg hadde skaffet meg dette for å kunne forsvare Norge hvis vi ble angrepet noen gang. I was getting this in order to defend Norway if we were attacked any time. Under den kalde krigen var det USA og Sovjetunionen som kunne finne på å angripe oss. During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union that could come up with to attack us. Vi har ingen grunn til å stole på verken regjering, kongefamilien eller Forsvaret på grunn av det som skjedde sist gang vi ble angrepet. We have no reason to trust neither the government, the royal family or the military because of what happened last time we were attacked. Vi er overlatt til oss selv, sier han. We are left to ourselves, "he said. Vikernes myser mot den stekende sola og spiser et pikekyss. Vikernes myser against the blazing sun and eating a girl kiss. Det er sommerstille på gården, i det fjerne putrer en bil. It is quiet summer on the farm, in the distance, simmer a car. Bortenfor faren står sønnen og leker med biler. Bortenfor father's son and play with cars. Ved siden av ham sitter hans høygravide franske kone, som han traff mens han satt inne. Beside him sits his høygravide French wife, whom he met while he was sitting inside. I fjor giftet de seg i Skien, de hadde en liten, privat seremoni. Last year they got married in Skien, they had a small, private ceremony. Det er bare noen uker igjen til de blir foreldre igjen. There are only a few weeks left to become parents again. — Det er veldig morsomt med barn. - It is very fun with the children. Vi gleder oss, sier tobarnsfaren, og klapper minstemann kjærlig over hodet. We look forward, "says tobarns father, and slapping at least loving man over the head. — Kommer du til å fortelle barna dine om fortida di? - Are you to tell your kids about your past? — Selvsagt. - Of course. På skolen til dattera mi (17), som studerer musikk i Bergen, vet alle det. At school your daughter mi (17), studying music in Bergen, everyone knows it. Det har aldri vært noe problem, sier han. It has never been a problem, "he said. — Det gikk bra med meg da Varg satt inne, men selvsagt var det tøft. - It went well with me when Varg set in, but of course it was tough. Det var mye ansvar å bo på et småbruk alene med en liten baby. There was a lot of responsibility to live on a small farm alone with a small baby. Nå er vi lykkelige, sier Vikernes' franske kone på klingende norsk. Now we're happy, "said Vikernes' wife of French-accented English. Seinsommeren 1993 er forholdet mellom Øystein Aarseth og Vikernes blitt anstrengt. Late summer of 1993 is the relationship between Øystein Aarseth and Vikernes been strained. Ifølge Vikernes hadde Aarseth falmet som leder, og la skylda for dette på Vikernes, som for øyeblikket fikk mer oppmerksomhet. According to Vikernes Aarseth had faded as the head, and laid the blame for this on Vikernes, who currently received more attention. 8. 8. august dette året skjer følgende, ifølge Vikernes: Hjemme i leiligheten i Bergen får Vikernes lytte til en telefonsamtale mellom en jevnaldrende kamerat og Øystein Aarseth. August this year takes place the following, according to Vikernes: home in my apartment in Bergen Vikernes will listen to a telephone conversation between a peer buddy and Øystein Aarseth. Vikernes får høre at Aarseth har konkrete planer om å drepe ham. Vikernes is told that Aarseth has concrete plans to kill him. Dette til tross for at Aarseth og Vikernes hadde ferdigforhandlet en platekontrakt på Aarseths undergrunnsselskap, «Deathlike Silence Production». This despite the fact that Vikernes and Aarseth had finished negotiating a record deal on Aarseth underground company, "Death Like Silence Production." Han ville kvitte seg med meg, jeg måtte bort. He would get rid of me, I had lost. Han ville bruke en elektrosjokkpistol til å slå meg ut med. He would use a stun gun to hit me with. Deretter skulle han binde meg, kaste meg i bagasjerommet på en bil og kjøre meg ut i skogen, hvor han skulle binde meg til et tre og torturere meg til døde. Then he would tie me, throw me in the trunk of a car and run me out of the woods, where he would tie me to a tree and torture me to death. Vikernes skriver i boka at han dagen etter denne telefonsamtalen mottar et brev, som politiet seinere beslaglegger, fra Aarseth. Vikernes writes in the book that he was the day after this phone call will receive a letter, which police later seized post, from Aarseth. Her ber sistnevnte om at Vikernes kommer til Oslo, slik at de kan signere kontraktene. You ask the latter that Vikernes come to Oslo, so they can sign contracts. Samme kveld bestemmer Vikernes seg for å reise til Oslo — etter eget utsagn for å underskrive. The same evening determines Vikernes is to travel to Oslo - by their own statement to sign. Sammen med kameraten tar han den lange turen over fjellet. Together with his pal, he takes the long trip over the mountains. De bytter på å kjøre og sove natta gjennom. They take turns driving and sleeping through the night. Jeg ville levere kontraktene til ham med en gang, slik at han ikke lenger hadde noen grunn til å ta kontakt. I would deliver the contracts to him right away, so that he no longer had any reason to contact. Vi hadde ingenting med hverandre å gjøre ellers lenger, og det var bare disse kontraktene som kunne gi ham et påskudd til å komme nær meg igjen. We had nothing to do with each other or longer, and it was only those contracts that could give him a pretext to get near me again. Ifølge Vikernes parkerer de bilen i tre-fire-tida på natta utenfor Tøyengata i Oslo, hvor Aarseth bor. According to Vikernes park the car in three to four-time at night outside Tøyengata in Oslo, where Aarseth lives. Vikernes ringer på. Vikernes rings. Her er et utdrag fra den dramatiske natta Vikernes blir drapsmann, slik det framkommer i boka: Here is an excerpt from the dramatic night Vikernes is killer, as it emerges in the book: På grunn av telefonsamtalen og det falske brevet var jeg sint på Øystein, og da jeg kom opp må han ha sett det på meg, for han virket svært redd. Because of the phone call and the false letter, I was angry at Øystein, and when I got up, he must have seen it on me, for he seemed very afraid. Enten det, eller så tenkte han på sine egne planer om å ta livet av meg, og følte ubehag ved at jeg plutselig var der. Either that, or so he thought of his own plans to take the life of me, and felt discomfort in that I suddenly was there. Han kunne bare reist dit pepperen gror og trengte aldri mer å så mye som skrive et brev til meg. He could only be raised there pepperen grow and never needed to as much as writing a letter to me. Jeg ville ikke ha noe med ham å gjøre mer. I would not have anything with him to do more. Mens jeg snakket tok jeg et steg framover, og virket da sikkert svært truende på Øystein. While I spoke I took a step forward, and seemed as likely a very threatening for Øystein. Han må ha fått panikk, for plutselig sparket han meg i brystet, men traff brystbeinet slik at sparket ikke hadde noen effekt. He must have been panic, for suddenly he kicked me in the chest, but struck the breast bone so that the fire had no effect. Jeg grep tak i foten hans og kastet ham i bakken. I pulled in his foot and threw him to the ground. Han så mot kjøkkenet. He looks toward the kitchen. Jeg hadde vært i leiligheten hans tidligere, og visste at han hadde en kjøkkenkniv liggende framme der, og jeg så at det var den han så mot. I had been in his apartment earlier, and knew he had a kjøkkenkniv liggende arrived there, and I saw that it was he so against. Han reiste seg plutselig så fort han kunne og satte av sted mot den åpne kjøkkendøra. He got up suddenly as soon as he could and set the place on the open kitchen door. Samtidig hoppet jeg fram foran ham. At the same time I jumped up in front of him. Jeg fisket opp en liten kniv jeg hadde i den ene lommen. I caught a small knife I had in one pocket. Det var egentlig en støvelkniv, med et omtrent ti centimeter langt blad. It was actually a boot knife, by about ten centimeters long blade. Kniven var ikke skarp, men relativt spiss, og jeg hogg ham i ansiktet. The knife was not sharp, but rather pointed, and I struck him in the face. Det var første gang jeg stakk noen med kniv, og det ble et rimelig halvhjertet angrep. It was the first time I did some with knife, and it was a reasonable half the heart attack. Det føltes veldig unaturlig og feil å stikke et annet menneske med kniv. It felt very unnatural and wrong to stab another man with a knife. All aversjon mot å stikke et annet menneske forsvant med første hogget. All aversion to sticking another man disappeared with the first Hogget. Barrieren var brutt. The barrier was broken. Jeg hadde å gjøre med en person som planla å torturere meg til døde, og som uten tvil ville forsøke å gjennomføre planen sin. I had to do with a person who planned to torture me to death, and that no doubt would try to implement his plan. Øystein ropte på hjelp og stoppet for å slåss. Øystein shouted for help and stopped to fight. Jeg parerte slagene hans med kniven, slik at hvert slag ble et knivstikk i hans arm eller kropp. I parry the blows with his knife, so that each kind was a knivstikk in his arm or body. Aarseth ble seinere funnet drept flere etasjer nedenfor sin egen leilighet. Aarseth was later found killed several floors below his own apartment. Med 23 knivstikk. With 23 knivstikk. Vikernes sa seg skyldig i forsettlig drap, men ble dømt for overlagt drap. Vikernes told him guilty of intentional murder, but was convicted of premeditated murder. Den jevnaldrende kameraten som hadde blitt med til Oslo ble dømt til åtte års fengsel for medvirkning, til tross for at Vikernes sa at han var uskyldig. The same age who had been to Oslo was sentenced to eight years in prison for complicity, despite the fact that Vikernes said that he was innocent. Ifølge Vikernes oppholdt kameraten seg hele tida utenfor leiligheten. According to Vikernes buddy stayed up all the time outside the apartment. Mens jeg satt isolert på cellen, prosederte politiet saken i media, godt hjulpet av pressekorpset. While I was isolated in the cell, the police issue proceedings in the media, assisted by the press corps. De framstilte saken som om jeg hadde myrdet Øystein helt uten videre, og at det lenge hadde eksistert en maktkamp oss imellom, som handlet om ledelsen av metallmiljøet. They produced the matter as if I had murdered Øystein without further, and that it had long existed a power struggle between us, which was about the management of the metal environment. Man fikk inntrykk av at det handlet om en slags hierarkisk oppbygget satanisk organisasjon, som hadde vært ledet av Øystein, og så prøvde jeg å ta over ledelsen ved å myrde ham. Monday got the impression that it is about a kind of hierarchical organized SATA organization, which had been led by Øystein, and so I tried to take over the leadership to murder him. Jeg hadde ingen interesse av å være lederfigur i dette miljøet. I had no interest in being the leader figure in this environment. Musikk var for meg noe jeg holdt på med fordi jeg var desillusjonert etter den kalde krigens slutt og ikke visste hva jeg ville i livet. Music for me was something I was because I was desillusjonert after the Cold War's end and did not know what I wanted in life. Å bli en lederfigur i dette miljøet var det siste jeg ønsket. To be a leader figure in this environment was the last thing I wanted. Hadde man i Norge på det tidspunktet hatt for vane å brenne hekser på bålet ville jeg garantert ha blitt brent levende, uten dom og uten rettssak, der og da. Had been in Norway at that time had the habit of burning witches at the stake, I would have been guaranteed burned alive, without conviction and without trial, where and when. I stedet måtte de foreløpig nøye seg med medias gapestokk. Instead, they had to so far just with the media gapestokk. De forhåndsdømte meg så til de grader og pisket opp så sterke følelser mot meg at til og med de engang så «tøffe» og «beinharde» black metal-musikerne nærmest sto i kø utenfor politikamrene rundt om i landet for å angi meg, og legge skylden for alt som hadde skjedd på meg. They pre-judged me as to the degrees and stirred up such strong feelings toward me that even the once so "tough" and "bone hard" black-metal musicians almost queued outside politikamrene around the country to set me, and add the blame for everything that had happened to me. Det er klart de gjorde det; jeg hadde jo myrdet deres idol i en kamp om ledervervet i Øysteins fiktive maktorganisasjon. It is clear they did it, I had the murdered their idol in a battle for leadership in Øysteins fictitious force organization. — Angrer du på at du drepte? - Undoes you that you killed? — Jeg kan ikke angre på at jeg tok livet av en som skulle drepe meg. - I can not regret that I took the life of one who would kill me. Jeg var truet av hans planer, men det var aldri min plan å drepe. I was threatened by his plans, but it was never my plan to kill. — Kan du drepe igjen? - Can you kill again? — Alle mennesker kan drepe. - All people can kill. Men det er mindre sjanse for at jeg vil drepe igjen, fordi jeg har vært i den situasjonen før, og vet derfor bedre hvordan jeg skal takle det. But there is less chance that I will kill again, because I've been in that situation before, and so we know better how to tackle it. Det går ikke an å vite hvordan man oppfører seg i truende situasjoner før man selv havner i en slik situasjon. It is not possible to know how to behave in threatening situations before you even end up in such a situation. Hadde jeg vært i samme situasjon i dag, hadde jeg kontaktet politiet først. Had I been in the same situation today, I had contacted the police first. Man gjør enkle valg i ung alder. Monday make simple choices at a young age. Det var en spesiell tone i miljøet jeg vanket. There was a certain tone in the environment I hung around. Det er ikke bra å være likegyldig, da blir man farlig. It is not good to be indifferent, then, is dangerous. Vikernes sonet straffen i Oslo, Ringerike, Trondheim og Tromsø, hvor han de siste par åra har vært på såkalt åpen soning. Vikernes sentence served in Oslo, Ringerike, Trondheim and Tromsø, where he is the last couple years has been the so-called open prison. I løpet av disse åra har han blitt koblet til nynazistiske og rasistiske miljøer. During these years he has been linked to neo-Nazi and racist environments. — Jeg har aldri stiftet eller vært medlem av slike organisasjoner. - I have never founded or been a member of such organizations. Eneste organisasjonen jeg er medlem av, er Riksmålsforbundet. The only organization I am member of, is Riksmålsforbundet. Under sitt opphold i Oslo kretsfengsel skriver Vikernes om sjokket som møtte ham: During their stay in Oslo kretsfengsel Vikernes writes about the shock that met him: Av 36 menn på avdelingen var det utenom meg bare to andre nordmenn. Of 36 men in the department, it was outside of me only two other Norwegians. Av de 33 andre var det en polakk og en tysker, og resten afrikanere, pakistanere og arabere. Of the 33 others had a Poles and a German, and the rest Africans, Pakistanis and Arabs. På den andre avdelingen var situasjonen omtrent den samme. On the other department, the situation was about the same. Enkelte av pakistanerne kunne ikke engelsk engang, men snakket bare urdu, og hele fengselet stinket basar. Some of pakistan buyers could not even English, but spoke only urdu, and the entire prison stinks basar. Var dette virkelig Norge? Is this really Norway? Var dette Oslo? Is this London? I 2003 ble Vikernes dømt til 14 måneders tilleggsstraff etter at han ikke kom tilbake fra permisjon fra Tønsberg fengsel. In 2003, Vikernes was sentenced to 14 months of additional imprisonment after he did not come back from leave of absence from Tønsberg prison. Da politiet pågrep ham, fant de blant annet et AG-3 automatgevær, et antall mindre våpen og rundt 700 skudd i bilen. When police arrested him, they found, among other things, an AG-3 automatic rifle, a number of small arms and around 700 shots in the car. — Jeg har aldri vært nazist, og er det heller ikke nå. - I've never been a Nazi, and it is not now. Det er bare tull at jeg har startet rasistiske propagandagrupper. It is crazy that I have started the racist propaganda groups. Blir du motarbeidet av fengselsvesenet kan du bli frustrert, aggressiv og lett påvirkelig fra andre miljøer. Are you opposed by the prison, you can become frustrated, aggressive and susceptible from other communities. Det jeg gjorde var et opprør mot dem jeg føler har behandlet meg dårlig. What I did was a rebellion against them I feel has treated me badly. Det var bare dumt, men der og da føltes det riktig. It was just stupid, but where and when it felt right. Man kan bli ganske utafor hvis man sitter isolert og hele tida blir motarbeidet. They can be quite outside if you sit in isolation and all the time opposed. Han fortsetter: He continues: — Men jeg har mine klare holdninger. - But I have my positions clear. Jeg ser at det går til helvete med dette landet — og jeg prøver å ikke bli dratt med. I see that it goes to hell with this country - and I try not to be gone with. Dette er ikke lenger Norge. This is not Norway. Vi er i ferd med å bli erstattet av fremmede, både kulturelt, religiøst og genetisk sett. We are about to be replaced by strangers, both culturally, religiously and genetically set. Ta en titt på befolkningen vår i dag, og sammenlikn den med den vi hadde for 50 år siden. Take a look at our population today, and compare it with that we had 50 years ago. — Er du rasist? - Are you racist? — Ja. - Yes. Men jeg hater ingen. But I hate no one. Hat er irrasjonelt. Hat is irrational. Selv er jeg en rasjonell person. Although I am a rational person. — Er du stolt av den du er blitt? - Are you proud that you have been? — Ja! - Yes! — Skjønner du at folk er redd for deg? - Understand that people are afraid of you? — Jeg forstår det ut ifra framstillingen i media. - I understand the basis of representation in the media. Vi rusler over tunet , som er dekket med blomster og gress, og tråkker inn i huset og «arbeidsrommet». We walk over the farm, which is covered with flowers and grass, and stepped into the house and the "work space". Her lager Vikernes musikk og skriver bøker. Her stock Vikernes music and write books. Han har planer om å skrive både fantasy- og science fiction-bok, i tillegg jobber han med et rollespill. He plans to write both fantasy and science fiction-book, in addition, he is a role-playing game. Tidligere har han utgitt to bøker, som blant annet er blitt oversatt til russisk. Previously, he has published two books, which, among other things, has been translated into Russian. Familien er blitt tatt godt imot i nærmiljøet. The family is being well received in the community. — Her har vi fått alt vi ønsket oss. - Here we have everything we wanted. Familien og jeg trives. The family and I enjoy. Han roser bygdefolket, kaller dem omtenksomme. He made shoes people, call them thought. — Jeg har ikke lenger noen venner. - I no longer have any friends. I fengselet saboterte de meg aktivt. In prison, they sabotage me active. Uansett hva jeg gjorde, og i alle de åra jeg satt der. No matter what I did, and in all the years I sat there. Det er det de kaller rehabilitering. That is what they call rehabilitation. — Hvordan klarer du deg uten venner? - How can you without friends? — Det går helt greit. - It's okay. Jeg har et bra forhold til familien. I have a good relationship with the family. Magasinet har vært i kontakt med Øystein Aarseths familie for å orientere om Vikernes' påstander og nye opplysninger som framkommer i boka. The magazine has been in contact with Øystein Aarseth family to brief about Vikernes' allegations, and new information that emerges in the book. Aarseths familie ønsker ikke å kommentere saken . Aarseth family does not want to comment on the matter. Statsadvokat Bjørn Soknes tar avstand mot påstandene fra Vikernes om at han ble forhåndsdømt, at politiet drev utpressing mot vitner og fabrikkerte bevis. State Bjørn pastor takes distance from Vikernes against allegations that he was pre-judged, that the police ran extortion against witnesses and fabricated evidence. — Tøv, sier Soknes, som var aktor i rettssaken. - Rot, "says pastor, who was prosecutor in the trial. — Var fenomenet «Greven» medieskapt? - Is the phenomenon of "Greven" media created? — Selvfølgelig ikke. - Of course not. Han hadde et ønske om å bli nasjonalt kjent. He had a desire to become nationally known. Fungerende avdelingsdirektør i Kriminalomsorgens sentrale forvaltning, Elisabeth Barsett, svarer følgende på Vikernes' påstander om at han skulle ha blitt sabotert av fengselet: Acting Deputy Kriminalomsorg in the central administration, Elisabeth Barsett, answer the following for Vikernes' claims that he should have been altered by the prison: — Jeg ønsker ikke å kommentere den saken spesielt. - I do not want to comment on the case specifically. Anja Hegg dekket rettssaken mot Vikernes som krimreporter i Dagbladet. Anja Hegg covered the trial of Vikernes as krim reporter in Dagbladet. — Var fenomenet «Greven» medieskapt? - Is the phenomenon of "Greven" media created? — Nei. - No. Men i ettertid kan man sikkert si at det hadde gjort seg med et mer nyansert bilde. But in retrospect, one can safely say that it had done with a more nuanced picture. — Ble han forhåndsdømt? - Was he pre-judged? — Det synes jeg ikke. - It seems I do not. Vi prøvde å få fram et mer nyansert bilde gjennom intervjuer med forsvarer Tor Erling Staff, Vikernes, miljøet og hans omgangskrets, uten å lykkes. We tried to get a more nuanced picture through interviews with defender Tor Erling Staff, Vikernes, the environment and his half circle, without success. Foto: LINDA NÆSFELDT/DAGBLADET

THOR vs. CRONOS of VENOM; Vintage 1984 photo-comic posted online		03 07 2009
From Bazillionpoints.com "A vintage 1984 three-page photo-comic depicting the epic battle between THOR and CRONOS of VENOM (fought over THOR's wife PANTERA) has been posted online at Bazillion Points Blog. Last weekend I was digging out Hanoi Rocks articles from old Kerrang!s to include as backstory with Bazillion Points’ upcoming press mailing of Andy McCoy’s autobiography. I got sidetracked looking for this long-lost photocomic battle between Cronos and Thor, the historic details of which must now immediately be brought to light. Firstly, this bout ‘tween the “God of Thunder” and “Venom’s Black Metal King” leaves no question about the show business side of heavy metal in its peak years. Cronos looks evil as ever crawling over a castle ruin in his leather underwear—but he’s battling a force of good in a Crazy magazine-style realm laced with bad puns and fake blood! That the battle is waged over Thor’s wife Pantera reminds me that she was the most famous Pantera in heavy metal until about 1991. Read ‘em and weep with laughter. Courtesy of Kerrang! #68, May 17-30, 1984."

Mon amie la rose, Francoise Hardy		03 07 2009

New Book - Includes STN Sunn O))) Profile		01 07 2009
Stephen - I've put together a new book, "Sound Levels: Profiles in American Music, 2002-2009," which I'm self-publishing through lulu.com. It includes the Signal To Noise piece on Sunn, along with profiles of Tom Waits, Ornette Coleman, Mike Patton, the Melvins, Oxbow, David Thomas of Pere Ubu, Noah Howard, Calle 13, the Mars Volta, Café Tacuba, Serj Tankian and Bill Dixon. Each piece is accompanied by a new introduction telling some of the story behind the piece or providing more background information, including tales of fights with publicists, pieces I actually didn't like once they were published, etc. I did the whole thing in Quark and Photoshop (my wife took the cover photo), and if you've got a book project in the works, I can unequivocally recommend lulu.com for print-on-demand sales. Their interface is ridiculously easy to use and the book looks great; nice paper stock and a thick, glossy cover. Here's a URL where people can get it: http://tinyurl.com/n3kvzf - Phil Freeman

Liebling speaks		01 07 2009
Cool interview from L.A. Record. Thanks to Jay Babcock for the tip. PENTAGRAM: DOWN AND DIRTY, NAKED AND NASTY I can pinpoint the exact moment that I became fascinated with Pentagram—exactly 20 seconds into ‘Buzz Saw.’ That’s how long it took to feel both utterly crushed and suddenly awakened by the weight of all that is good and heavy in rock ‘n’ roll. Further investigation revealed a wealth of musical offerings: some that were relics and some that remain alive and well. Fans of Pentagram (otherwise known as PENTA–FANS and RIVETHEDZ) are legion, and the band’s checkered history is legendary. Nearly forty years since he stepped on stage, lifer-front man-mastermind Bobby Liebling remains a human hurricane. I spoke to the man about heavy music, his forthcoming biographical documentary, his ever-expanding tour schedule and the spirituality and humility he has gained at this point in his life as the figurehead for the greatest underground heavy metal band of all time. As long as lesser groups continue to clog the mainlines of a music industry said to be dying a slow death, I will remain fascinated that Bobby’s artistic vision remains true. He’s the genuine article, with a life’s work that’s led him from the darkness into the light, and he will be playing Pentagram’s first-ever L.A. show this Friday. This interview by Kurt Midness. What is your full name? Bobby Liebling: Robert Harold Liebling. I don’t want the Harold part to be printed. Nah, it’s cool! I was curious what your middle name would be—thought it might be Aleister or Aldous since there is a lot of occult and mystical imagery in your music. Were you ever active in the occult? Yes. Many, many, many years ago. It’s the wrong way to go. Down and dirty. Naked and nasty. Heavy shit. Don’t fuck with it. I’m very spiritual. I’m very God-fearing these days. I don’t go to church because I don’t go for organized religion, but I pray avidly for hours every day. I’m Christian now for the record. Born to two Brooklyn Jews. Also for the record, I was born in Washington D.C. Is there something in the air in the D.C. area that contributed to the genesis of what’s now known as doom metal? I don’t relate it to it at all. Washington D.C. throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s had the worst music scene in the history of music ever. People there got their head up their ass when it comes to the arts in general. They can take the National Gallery and the Smithsonian and shove it. It’s all about making money. That’s not where I come from. I grew up on the order of a far-left hippie-radical thing. What were you listening to before you started Pentagram that drew you toward playing such heavy music? In the really early days—I’m talking pre-Sabbath—I was into what we called acid rock. Really heavy psychedelic rock with tons of volume. A lot of bands from Michigan. Ted Nugent—I respect the shit outta Ted Nugent. I met him when I was 16. Geof O’Keefe‘s dad would drive us to the airport to pick him up. Me and Geof would help carry his guitars. I was a hell of a groupie. I was a big fan of all those bands. I liked all their albums even when their other fans would turn on them. Cactus, Grand Funk, MC5, Stooges, SRC. Since you were a veteran musician by the time punk came into vogue, what was your take on punk? I don’t look at it like most. Most of my buddies from my generation died of AIDS or in ‘Nam. For me real punk rock was ‘64, ‘65, ‘66. The American bands that were the answer to the Merseybeat bands. They had melody and could play good and everything, but as far as authenticity goes, these bands were raw. I used to call them punks in ‘64 when I was 9 years old. Tough guys. The guys that vomited the words out. They sounded street-y. Bands like the Standells, the Leaves, the Count Five, the McCoys. Songs like the Sonics—’Psycho,’ ‘Witch,’ ‘Strychnine.’ They had the right dimension. My kingpin of that year is Sean Bonniwell from the Music Machine. He’s still one of my all-time favorites. Remember ‘Talk Talk’? How good was that voice? Pentagram seems to have experienced a real renaissance decades after you started out—how much would you say the music industry had no idea what to do with Pentagram when you started? 98 percent. We were all bummed out. Didn’t write choruses. None of our songs had choruses. We didn’t write formula hits. ‘Ever since I started out I keep on sinkin’ in the pit.’ I wrote that in ‘Sub-Basement.’ ‘I’ll stay a wrong sided hit / I don’t like what’s on the radio.’ I’m still true to that. Would you say that Pentagram’s music is known more now than ever before? Absolutely—hands down to the 100th power. I’m floored, astonished and just humbled by the whole thing. It’s too big for my britches. I was over the hill. This is where spirituality comes in. Since I quit heroin and methadone after forty years of use—I think I’m being rewarded now. God saved me. I’m a living testament. The immaculate conception. Reborn from the dead. Why do you think so? We have an old sound and a high quality standard. Not bragging. This is not a religious operation. This is a rock band. We are a great heavy metal band. It’s simple, it’s bold, it’s got mysticism and it’s got that hard-edged sound. I like the Pentagram sound. How does it feel to be touring in 2009? It feels nervous… extremely nervous! I’m thankful that I’m still here at all. I’m not gonna over do it like when I was younger. This is much more than working—it’s my whole life. I’ve written 450 songs. There could be 10 more Pentagram albums. Would you be willing to clone yourself or cryogenically freeze your DNA if it meant there would be new Pentagram records for the next hundred years? No. Absolutely not because what makes a man is what it is. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The older you get the more true that is. Has Pentagram ever performed on the West Coast or Europe? No. As far as Europe, we have ten times the fans as in the U.S., but in the past few years the U.S. has been growing like a sonofabitch. People that come to Pentagram shows now are anywhere from 16 to 60 years old. How do you feel about being a cult star for so long? I like it. Anyone in the entertainment business that doesn’t want to get recognized by even a small amount of people is a hypocrite. I got into it because of the Ed Sullivan Show and I saw bras and panties thrown on stage. Would you be a good cult leader or would your followers be forced to drink the punch? You mean like sweet or sour wine? Left-hand path or right-hand path? I would do neither. I’ve always presented both sides as something to think about. Let the audience review their choices. That’s what I’ve always done. Especially since I’ve been on both sides of the fence. Any word on when PENTA-FANS can expect to see The Fall and Rise of Bobby Liebling documentary? The movie has finished filming. Finally. There will be up to a year in editing and before it comes out it will go to Toronto and some other film festivals. Then it should be available on DVD. Last words? I’d like to thank all the fans. This means so much to me. Without you guys there is no Pentagram. Stay straight, stay heavy, stay alive… with Pentagram. PENTAGRAM WITH NACHTMYSTIUM, INTRONAUT AND RADIO MOSCOW ON FRI., JULY 3, AT THE HOUSE OF BLUES, 8430 SUNSET BLVD., WEST HOLLYWOOD. 7 PM / $17.50-$22.50 / ALL AGES. HOB.COM. PENTAGRAM’S SUB-BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE NOW ON SOUTHERN LORD. VISIT PENTAGRAM AT MYSPACE.COM/LIVEFREEANDBURN. VISIT BOBBY LIEBLING AT MYSPACE.COM/BOBBYDARLINGPENTAGRAM.

Kansas City		30 06 2009

Prehistoricman		30 06 2009
Hello there Mr. O'Malley - I would highly appreciate it if you would receive my bands latest CD.. 'All About Prehistoricman' Please email your address info. For more PHM info - go to www.prehistoricman.co.uk Thank you - Damon on behalf of the PH-Men.

Bartlett in progress		30 06 2009

Robe Gravy		30 06 2009
Pic; Alexandra Groover

Cameron Jamie		29 06 2009

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