Dear Burzum Fans,

Yes, I see you. We all see you. Walking around in your Burzum shirts, attempting to be as dark as possible whilst reiterating the same story over and over. You lament how Varg Vikernes doesn't deserve people opposing him over the murder of Euronymous because he apparently killed the man in self defense. You agree with the lofty, strangely worded blog post he made on the subject matter, ignoring that a man had in fact been murdered. To make things worse, those of you that do perhaps recognize that he is in fact terrible continue to try and emulate him. You praise him and his works, posting images of him with his various, all equally insipid quotes, and never truly recognizing you are dying minority of metal fans who are beginning to acknowledge this man as a scourge.

So I would like to ask of all of you one simple favor: could you maybe stop?

I'll be the first to admit I don't understand how anyone with semblance of logic and reasoning is worshipping a man known for murder, racism, and overall destruction. In my mind that would put him in the same category as stomach issues I have after eating too much fried food. Yet here we are, I'm still confused on why he is relevant and you're all still ignoring what happened. So in light of this, I am inviting you to perhaps take a look at why we should let this man wither away in history.

First let's take a look at the claim that Varg murdered Euronymous was self-defense. It's little dubious when you put logic to it, and Varg's reasoning behind the murder is well, interesting. He says Euronymous had a plot to murder him instead, and he had a received a letter in regards to a contract Varg had not yet signed. So, thinking that Euronymous was a wimp and bluffing, Varg decided to go to him. The original plan was to go to Euronymous's residence in Oslo, hand him the contract, and then leave for Sarpsborg with a load of t-shirts. However, once he arrived and Euronymous was supposedly about to go after him with a knife (even though no weapon had been pulled out yet), Varg took action and decided "Hey, if this guy has a knife, I may as well have one too" and proceeded to attack him with an 8 cm long boot knife. He chased him down the stairs, and during the supposed struggle he says he only stabbed Euronymous a few times in the head and shoulder. However this claim is disproved by reports indicating that Euronymous had been stabbed 23 times: twice in the head, five times in the neck, and sixteen times in the back. His body was found at the bottom of the stairwell, where Varg had left it once the deed was done. Yeah, sounds a ton like self-defense, doesn't it?

I don't particularly care how much of a jerk Euronymous was, nor I do not see how any of the events that transpired before his death are justification for going to someone's apartment and brutally murdering them. Look, if you were acting in self-defense, you would not stab someone numerous times in the head, neck and back. You would not leave the body and its bloodied mess for everyone to see. This is not indicative of self-defense, this is indicative of murder. That someone wanted him dead. Think about it. If you're in a scene where the goal is to be as evil as possible image wise, it's entirely possible to start taking it way too far and in Varg's case, you serve a fifteen-year prison stay as a result.

To bring forth another point, let's take a look at 2014, when Mr. Vikernes was sentenced for hate crimes against Muslim and Jewish peoples. Vikernes was ordered to pay a €8,000 fine (around $8,946 in U.S. currency) in addition to being served a suspended six month prison sentence for racist blog posts he had published somewhere between March and June of 2013. Furthering the case against him is the fact the man has connections with Anders Behring Breivik, the same far-right, racist terrorist that was responsible for the attacks on Oslo and Utoya in July of 2011. The same man that before these attacks, wrote a manifesto claiming that multiculturalism was ruining his nation, as well as deeming himself as the Savior of Christianity. Due to these posts and his connections to Breivik, Vikernes had been arrested for a potential terrorist plot, however he was released 48 hours later due to lack of evidence. Now this does not excuse him, officials still moved ahead with the charges of inciting racial hatred shortly thereafter. His crimes still promoted dangerous ideas and hatred against entire groups of people. Mix those together and you get a bad situation in the mix.

So here we have a man that is known for racial hatred, murder, and his connections to neo-nazi terrorists, someone who deserves to be shamed for his actions and have no spotlight. Yet you continue to praise this man and buying into whatever he says because of his image and music, dismissing what happened or even promoting and praising his actions. That's ridiculous, and let me tell you why.

Listen, I know where Vikernes's place in musical history is. He was part of a group of people that helped shape Black Metal and its sound, changing music as we know it and introducing the world to something new and different. His work is respected throughout the community and his antics make for an interesting read. However, to idolize and want to emulate someone that is to be blunt the most delusional man in the scene right now is a terrible idea. Not only does it perhaps hint that you are just as far gone as Vikernes is in your quest to be as "evil" and "brutal" as possible, but you give this vile excuse of a human a platform that is in the same ilk as the platform people are giving Donald Trump for his political stunt as a frighteningly close to successful joke of a candidate.

You are promoting the idea that someone can be absolutely horrible and still people will follow them into the realm of disillusionment, all because of something great they once did. Sure, black metal is supposed to sound "evil" and "ominous" thematically, but that is where the line should be drawn; thematically, never to bleed outside of music into the real world where it could cause actual damage.