I'm sure you've all seen Varg memes floating around the internet at some point or another, but just who is this mysterious long haired fellow? He is the mastermind behind the black metal band Burzum, which lead to quite a few issues a couple years after the band was formed.
Varg Vikernes, born as Kristian Vikernes, was sentenced to 21 years in prison for murdering a man named Øystein "Eruonymous" Aarseth, and allegedly burning down a bunch of churches in Norway. While he still pleads innocent to burning down the churches, he openly admits to killing Euronymous.
In an interview, and in court, Varg tells his side of the story, which goes something along the lines of how a friend of his tipped him off on how Euronymous had plans to kill him with a sort of taser type weapon, and then how Euronymous planned to do some pretty grotesque things with Varg's body.
Later on, Euronymous, which was in the band Mayhem, contacted Varg about some music related things and how he needed to head over to Oslo, acting all friendly, which made Varg quite confused. So after reading the letter, Varg drove the distance to Oslo, Norway, to meet up with him. Upon arriving at around 3:00 a.m., Euronymous was a little thrown off and began to get nervous and panic a little as Varg was in the apartment. Euronymous kicked Varg in the chest, and he ran to the kitchen to grab a knife. Varg pulled out a small pocket knife to defend himself. During a small scramble, Euronymous knocked down a glass lamp, which caused a few lacerations, and he ran outside and down the stairs while Varg ran after him. Eventually, Varg ended up stabbing Euronymous in the head, thus killing him.
On May 2, 1994, the trial began and ended just 14 days later. During the trial, headlines printed "the first boogyman in 50 years," depicting his delinquent adventures in Norway. He was charged for burning down three churches, attempting to burn another one down, stealing about 150 kg of explosives, as well as the murder. He only admitted to the latter of the four. The day of his sentencing, two more churches were burned down in Norway, presumably fans of his.
He had served a total of 15 out of his 21-year sentence and was released in 2008 on parole. During his time in prison, he recorded two albums and wrote a book. He said in an interview that the time behind bars was bitter-sweet, providing time for him to read and whatnot, but of course, it limited his travel. Nowadays, his radical views gained in prison are seen in his internet shenanigans and slight issues with the law.
