Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground

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Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground

3.75 of 5 stars 3.75 · rating details · 2,433 ratings · 181 reviews

"* * * * * *! The most incredible story in the history of music a heavyweight book."-Kerrang!

"An unusual combination of true crime journalism, rock and roll reporting and underground obsessiveness, Lords of Chaos turns into one of the more fascinating reads in a long time."-Denver Post

A narrative feature film based on this award-winning book has just gone into production

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Paperback, 358 pages

Published April 13th 1998 by Feral House (first published 1998)

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Feb 25, 2013 Mariel rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Thor was a ginger so let's start a fire

Recommended to Mariel by: this was going to be my 666 review last year. I'm dorky enough to have "saved" this for that long. But I'm on a Norway kick so sue me

I'm telling you these people are Satanists. As I sit here, they are satanists. Look, look, the world is full of these kind of things - black masses, mutilations. Mutilations. The incubus, the succubus. [Editor's note: Yes, I am making a The 'Burbs quote medley here. Pretend I'm Sting trying to satisfy an audience who only came to hear The Police hits when he wants to push his new album.]
Ray Peterson: [chanting] I'm not going to listen to this, I'm not going to hear this now.
Art: Ray! Ray! You'r

...more

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Nov 07, 2011 Jason rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ok, this book was a fascinating read, but one that I wouldn't recommend. On one hand, I am completely intrigued by fringe groups and underground subcultures (in a scholarly if not voyeuristic way), and on the other hand I really really hate these guys and want them to stop. It was been a frustration of mine for years that a lot of music I like and entire genres of music that appeal to me are chock full of downright fucked up and dangerous people. That was the real value of this book for me: a ch...more

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Mar 20, 2008 Nora rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Okay. I'm reading this because I'm a music fanatic and fascinated by fanaticism and counterculture, not because I'm a Satanist OR a fan of black/death metal. That said, this book is hilarious. If you read between the lines, you see a bunch of scrawny, insecure boys who stumbled upon a way to scare the crap out of their country, and beyond. Come on -- how can you really boast that you're an evil agent of Satan when you have to borrow money from your mom to put out your band's record? Seriously. S...more

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Jun 29, 2007 Chuck rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Kids in Norway wear corpsepaint and worship the devil, burn churchs and act otherwise retarded.

This book delves into these subjects and often times does so via strange avenues.
Interesting read, but sometimes too many mundane details and redundant points.

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Feb 26, 2008 Beth rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This might as well be called "Everything you wanted to know about Satanism in music but were afraid to ask." It's ridiculously comprehensive, and I would recommend that you skim some sections (unless you're fascinated about the late 1990s state of death metal worldwide, detailed on a country by country basis). After a while, you stop noticing that the authors have chosen to capitalize many words that you wouldn't necessarily think deserve it - Rock Music, Rapper, Punk, etc.

An excellent resource...more

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May 16, 2013 Aaron rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I don't know what I was expecting from this book, but it didn't give me what I was looking for. I almost gave it two stars for the good information it provided (it is well-researched), but I took it back when I remembered other sources that present the same info in a much better way. I picked up this book to do some of my own research on the topic, because I'm fascinated with that movement in music and I read more of it to get some extra info on a lyric essay I was working on for a non-fiction c...more

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Jan 03, 2013 Nicholas Pell rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The first half of this book was a lot of fun, but then Moynihan decides to take his thesis about "atavistic resurgence" and "underground fascist black metal" to absurd conclusions. Yes, there were many people in BM who were enamored of fascist imagery. Yes, many of them talked the talk and even walked the walk in terms of anti-social behavior. But no less an authority on the matter than Kevin Coogan systematically debunked Moynihan's thesis in "How Black Is Black Metal?" The answer is not very....more

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Sep 30, 2012 Michael rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Satanists, Metalheads, Sociology students

Recommended to Michael by: Pete Buttitta

Shelves: left-hand-path, media-studies, religious-studies, true-crime

This book came out just as I was beginning to explore the black metal musical genre, and it served as a kind of guide and context for my embrace of a new sound. In retrospect, it's probably not as "perfect" as my five-star rating would imply, but its impact on my life cannot be ignored.

What Moynihan and Sonderlind attempted was to write an analysis of a new musical subculture that contains a critique of the rock world and the society that creates it. They also examine some of the contradictions...more This book came out just as I was beginning to explore the black metal musical genre, and it served as a kind of guide and context for my embrace of a new sound. In retrospect, it's probably not as "perfect" as my five-star rating would imply, but its impact on my life cannot be ignored.

What Moynihan and Sonderlind attempted was to write an analysis of a new musical subculture that contains a critique of the rock world and the society that creates it. They also examine some of the contradictions inherent in a "terrorist" pop music phenomenon. For those who don't know (and a of us lot didn't, back in 1998), black metal is a form of heavy metal particularly popular in Scandinavia but with branches all over the world, which emphasizes blasphemic anti-religious or Satanic lyrics, guttural or growled vocals, rapid beats and jarring or unpleasant guitars, and is often associated with highly theatrical makeup and costume. Each of the above generalizations may or may not apply to any given band, however, and as is usual for current rock subcultures, any ten people you ask will give ten different definitions. Probably the most difficult distinction for most non-fans is the difference between black metal and death metal, and like any two frequently-confused sects, fans of black and death metal thrive on denouncing and hating one another.

I have said that black metal is associated with Scandinavia, and much of the book is dedicated to documenting its rise from bands like Bathory in Sweden and especially Mayhem in Norway. According to the authors, one of whom is Norwegian, the isolated and small music scene of Norway, plus national characteristics of the country, made for fertile ground for the flourishing of extreme ideas, grounded as much in action as in words and attitudes. Metalheads who loved “evil” began to experiment with it more seriously, leading at first to crimes like grave robbing, and vandalism, then to burning several of the country’s historic “stave” churches, and finally to murder and suicide of some members. The story proceeds out into Germany and the USA, where imitative crimes have occurred. The journalistic coverage of the crimes (still recent at the time of writing) is compellingly thorough, although there is no doubt that the sensationalism of the story is part of what got the authors a book deal, and they aren’t above playing it up with gory photos and interviews with metal criminals proudly strutting as neo-Mansons.

The prose is enjoyable and far more erudite than one expects from a rock history, and much of the analysis rises above the sensationalist material, however. The many photos add to the story, illustrating the style of the movement, as well as the many sources it draws upon. One criticism is that the lack of an index makes it harder to use as a reference. Similarly the bibliography and endnotes are discouragingly short, seemingly inadequate to document the many hours of interviews the authors claim to have performed. I recently heard this questioned; apparently some of the interviewees have claimed they were misquoted, which amounts to nothing more than a rumor, but seeing the lack of precision with which these interviews are documented here, I find it at least possible (although bearing in mind the types of people involved and the soap opera that is the black metal scene, I also consider it possible that this is a form of “sour grapes” over the book’s success).

Black metal has grown musically and philosophically since this book was published, or at least some of its participants have. Still, this remains a fascinating document of the roots of a genre that continues to explore the meaning of evil in the post-modern rock universe, and in spite of any misgivings about its scholarship, I recommend to anyone interested in the genre.
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Aug 10, 2012 Paul rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: music

Lords of Chaos is almost a book in three parts. Part one is short overview of various bands that are credited with bringing together all the elements that we know as black metal. Part two is the story of the first black metal bands and the crimes that they committed. Part three covers the newer waves of black metal bands through the world.

Of those three sections, the second part takes up most of the books page count and is clearly the reason that it was written, and it shows as the other two sec...more

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May 03, 2012 Justin Evans rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: history-etc

I've been looking forward to reading this for years, and only just got round to it. I think it's fair to say I got more pleasure out of the looking forward to than I did from actually reading it. The prose and editing are as bad as you'd expect in a Feral House book; I feel quite comfortable saying my freshman comp students could have given this a quick once over and made it as least twice as readable. The core story of the book - the origins and rise of Scandinavian black metal and the crimes c...more

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Aug 23, 2011 Michele rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: music-true-crime

Got this item years ago through a trade. Basically was getting rid of some stuff. Exchanged a VHS tape full of 70s XXX trailers for this book.

Personally, always thought I got the better end of the deal.

It's an interesting read, especially if you're into music that fly under the mainstream radar. Don't worry, it won't convert you into Satanism, nor have you purchase loads of Black Metal CDs. Nor have you burn down churches, then kill your annoying next door neighbor. What this book will deliver...more

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Jan 26, 2011 Graham rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The start of this book was well-done. Moynihan thoroughly details the genesis of black metal, the evolution of its ideals, and the roots of those ideals in bygone history and spirituality. I found the latter point the most interesting, as things like black metal can so easily be written off by the masses. The connection of its ideals with pre-Christian pagan ideals and Jungian archetypes offered a deeper analysis than the majority of music-related books.

However, at some point "Lords Of Chaos" lo...more

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Jul 27, 2010 Zac rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: music

It has been quite a few years since I read this.
Lords of Chaos narrates the origins of the Scandanavian black metal scene, and to a lesser extent satanic- and occult-themed heavy metal in general. It does a fair job of this but suffers from a drift in focus. Whether he was aware of it or not, Moynihan's interest quickly drifts to white supremacism. And while many (too many) of these bands have associated with those themes (part of metal's unfortunate tendency to see any "extreme" statement as a...more

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Aug 21, 2009 Brian Shevory rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What an interesting book. I didn't know a lot about black metal in Norway, even though I read another book from Feral Press entitled Lucifer Rising, which I felt was a much better book about the role of the devil in rock and blues music. However, this book wasn't just about music, since there were so many events tied into the black metal scene in Norway. It was weird because when I was reading this book, a friend's sister was getting married and moving to Norway to do ministry work with her Nors...more

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Mar 24, 2013 Hector Rosales rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm not a huge fan of black metal but this book was a pretty interesting read. This book briefly covers American death metal and thrash bands to form a basis and compare them to their Norwegian and Swedish black metal counterparts. I enjoyed the book for the most part. I wasn't too fond of the extensive coverage of Varg Vikernes and his overrated and racist outlook on life. For a while I thought I was reading a Vikernes biography. I understand Vikernes had a big role in the rise of the black met...more

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Mar 19, 2012 Matti Karjalainen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: tietokirjat, musiikki, uskonto-ja-okkultismi, rikos, yhteiskunta

Michael Moynihanin ja Didrik Söderlingin kirjoittama "Kaaoksen ruhtinaat - mustan metallin messu" (Johnny Kniga, 2008 - 2. uudistettu painos) käsittelee etenkin Norjassa 1990-luvun alkupuolella pinnalla ollutta black metal -alakulttuuria, jonka mediassa paljon näkyvyyttä saaneisiin lieveilmiöihin sisältyi muun muassa kirkkojen polttamista, niin satanismia kuin muinaista norjalaista jumaluskoa, kansallissosialismilta haiskahtavia mielipiteitä ja muutama veriteko.

Yllättävän kiihkottomasti ilmiötä...more

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Jul 07, 2012 Raisu rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, read-in-2012, contemporary

At first glance, this really isn't "my kind" of book: I'm just not a black metal type of person. But, as a teen-ager in northern Finland during the 90's, I too knew people who listened to Norweigian blakc metal and fancied themselves satanists, or pagans, or odinists, or whatever the favored label for the truly rebellious happened to be on any given day. They were racist, and homophobic, and talked about burning churches. (And of course I also knew their counterparts, the evengelical christians...more At first glance, this really isn't "my kind" of book: I'm just not a black metal type of person. But, as a teen-ager in northern Finland during the 90's, I too knew people who listened to Norweigian blakc metal and fancied themselves satanists, or pagans, or odinists, or whatever the favored label for the truly rebellious happened to be on any given day. They were racist, and homophobic, and talked about burning churches. (And of course I also knew their counterparts, the evengelical christians who could not have been more thrilled to have these utterly lost souls to save. It was a weird time.)

So the subject matter was naturally fascinating to me. The same could be said of my husband, who originally brought the book home from the library. He was even class-mates with one of people the new edition talks about, albeit very briefly. (Incidently, this person could have been left out of the book completely, as he has very little to do with the music Moynihan is supposed to be writing about.) Still, I wasn't going to read it. But I made the mistake of picking it up, and was unable to put it down again. So I guess the writers managed to spin an engrossing read from their materials. So, for that this would earn half a star, if we could give half star ratings here. Because, engrossing as it was, the book's just not good enough to deserve even the "it was okay" rating, since it actually wasn't.

First of all, the writers didn't bother to do much writing. They conducted a lot of interviews, some of them even interesting, and then reproduced them verbatim in the book. There's hardly any attempt to conceptualize or analyse what the interviewees say, and very little effort made towards some kind of synthesis, just interview after interview after interview, so that the book occasionaly reads like a transcript of a documentary film, rather than a carefully written, knowingly constructed book. It's lazy and annoying.

Secondly, I can't for the life of me understand why waste paper on someone like the German Neo-Nazi who murdered a school friend because he was weird and possibly bi-sexual. This person is completely irrelevant in every way, yet he's allowed to yap on and on about everything from Atlantis to Zionist conspiracies. Again, lazy and annoying. The same goes for a recounting a couple of murder-cases that have only the most spurious connection to metal music. One I already mentioned, the other comes from Florida. A group of boys styling themselves as "The lords of chaos" killed one of their teachers and caused other kinds of harm. But they're not musicians, and from what I could tell, not even big metal fans. So what are they doing in this book? I had to wonder the same thing about some of Moynihan's own esoteric theories concerning the mythical wild hunt, and how someone's assumed name can direct their destinies. That's what counts for anylysis in this book: his name made him do it.

Moynihan and Søderlind don't write this book as outside observers, as journalists, but as participants and believers. The chapter on Jung makes this painfully clear.

The third strike, however, is the writing style. When they do get around to actually writing something, using their own voice, it's dreadful. The awful, sensationalistic, melodramatic writing is the main reason I can't, in good conscience, give Lords of Chaos more than one star. It's funny, in a way. The writers constantly mock tabloid press for over-blowing and over-dramatizing things, yet they themselves write in such a way that you can practically hear the dun-dun-dun-dun "suspenseful" soundtrack. It made sense then, to find out that Moynihan is also a musician of some kind of metal, neo-folk persuasion. Say what you will about metal, but you can't deny that it's not exactly known for its subtlety. The operatic, the sensational and dramatic is brought in full force here.

All that said though, I'm not sorry I read the book. After all, I did learn a bit about the phenomenon the ripples of which were felt even in my own small circle, back in the day.(less)

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Dec 29, 2010 J rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: about-music, sociology-psychology-philosophy

I read Lords Of Chaos when it was first published. Thanks to my friend, Lydia, being employed at a bookstore on Sundays, I received a copy of this new, updated edition. Hot dog! Black metal, murder and mayhem.

The story of Norwegian black metal is, perhaps necessarily, wrapped up in Satanism and pagan beliefs. Not to mention, of course, teenage angst, alienation and rebellion. From the genesis of bands like Venom, Slayer and Celtic Frost, a sound developed. More than a sound, though, there was al...more I read Lords Of Chaos when it was first published. Thanks to my friend, Lydia, being employed at a bookstore on Sundays, I received a copy of this new, updated edition. Hot dog! Black metal, murder and mayhem.

The story of Norwegian black metal is, perhaps necessarily, wrapped up in Satanism and pagan beliefs. Not to mention, of course, teenage angst, alienation and rebellion. From the genesis of bands like Venom, Slayer and Celtic Frost, a sound developed. More than a sound, though, there was almost a belief system, part and parcel of the overall package. So many teenagers go through a stage of being as "evil" as possible, stemming from feelings of rebellion. These kids took it quite a but farther.

Lords Of Chaos revolves mainly around the rebellion of one Norwegian teen, Varg Vikernes, but encompasses the follies and foibles of a number of youths, some who took their own lives, some who took others', some who burned churches and robbed graves. It's incredibly fascinating, or it was to me, even though the actions and beliefs, not to mention the revisionist history of Varg Vikernes, Hendrik Mobus and the rest seem incredibly misguided and pitiful. The authors do a methodically complete job of analyzing the phenomenon of black metal and its inherent parts, interviewing psychologists, theologists, law enforcement and various involved persons. Their research is painstaking, almost to the point of overkill. There were definitely times, while reading Lords Of Chaos, that it felt like a bit of overkill.

The stories of the "protagonists" themselves, if such a term is fair to use, kept reminding me of incidents like Columbine. You have intelligent, well educated teens, angry and alienated, who create a fantasy world of sorts and lash out with violence at their peers and surroundings. It's an old story yet it never fails to shock and dismay.

Well worth reading if your interests stray in the direction of extreme metal, Satanism, paganism, youth culture, teen crime, etc. There's a little something for anyone with a yen for darker subject matter. It's been said before but Lords Of Chaos is certainly the definitive volume on black metal and the people who created it, as well as what might be called the fall from grace of its early adherents. Interesting and well done.(less)

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Mar 13, 2013 Joan Singh rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Norwegian Black Metal (NBM) described as “a bastard child, conceived from the promiscuous intermingling of a number of evil seeds, with only the general formula of Heavy Metal as its fecund womb.”

With a quote like-all the more reason to read this book!

In their book, Lords of Chaos: The Rise of the Satanic Underground, authors Soderlind and Moynihan discuss the roots of Black Metal music and then focus on Norwegian Black Metal, commonly accepted as the most visceral strain of the style. Beginnin...more

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Sep 13, 2009 Kate rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bizarre

Here's the deal. I am a bleeding heart liberal, and completely politically opposed to everything these musicians, authors and even Feral House stand for. I can't help but find it interesting, though. I went through an anti-Christian phase when I was about 14, although for different reasons (feminist). I grew out of it, realizing there are PLENTY of awesome people with beliefs similar to mine and I can largely ignore the exclusive conservative sects, or oppose them in the proper political channel...more

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Nov 15, 2011 Matthew Lippart rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: music-rage

Read this when I was much younger, so was neat to go back and check it out again. I am a huge, HUGE fan of black metal, have been since I was 12. When I was a kid I loved the imagery of it- the EVIL, the satan action, anti church, everything. These days, my older, mellower self still loves the music, but cringes at the imagery now- man, what was I thinking? One thing hasn't changed- I respected them for their anti church stand. I did not at all condone the methods, and the fallout of everything,...more

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Nov 20, 2012 Justin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A huge chunk of this book is dedicated solely to Varg Vikernes and just about anything even remotely connected to him. Understandably, this can get a bit annoying at times as the authors begin to go in circles and constantly reiterate several facts and scenarios.

The paths the authors go down with this book are at times extremely odd and unconventional. A few sections are downright laughable. By the end it's pretty repetitive and the initial excitement has long worn off.

This book is not without m...more

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Apr 05, 2013 Abraham rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Un trabajo periodístico exhaustivo sobre el origen y el desarrollo del black metal. Una de las grandes ventajas del libro es que puede ser leído por cualquier persona, aún desconociendo el género, y seguramente podrá encontrarlo interesante.

He leído algunas críticas (particularmente de los músicos entrevistados o referenciados en el libro) sobre su tono sensacionalista. Personalmente, pienso que no hay tal. Es muy posible que actualmente muchos de ellos se arrepientan de algunas estupideces que...more

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Jan 28, 2009 Felix rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: theory

Das Buch ist als Materialsammlung durch die vielen Interviews sehr brauchbar und die Darstellung der Ereignisse rund um den norwegischen 'Schwarzen Zirkel' ist detailliert und dicht. Soweit so gut.

Aber:

- die Atavismus-Archetypen-Oskorei-Theorien sind völlig abstrus und hart an der Grenze zur Legitimierung der geschilderten Gewalttaten
- der kritische Umgang mit dem Nazi-Gedankengut wird unter dem Vorwand der 'Neutralität' vermieden (Autor Moynihan ist selbst mit seinem Projekt 'Blood Axis' am rec...more

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Dec 12, 2008 Cwn_annwn_13 rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: on-my-shelf-home-library

Chronicles the literaly "killer" Scandinavian black metal scene. Fascinating look at the events that unfolded, where bands that were making brilliant music, were also burning down churches and comitting murders. And you thought Madonna and Bono took themselves too seriously!
Also includes some great essays on the wild hunt from euro folklore. Moynihan has this theory that Odinist Black Metal was a form of atavistic ancestral memory of the wild hunt manifesting itself, or something along those lin...more

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Jun 19, 2012 Dennis rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fictional

This is the most interesting and fascinating book about Black Metal and Satanism in Music that was ever written. I don't agree with Moynihan's White Supremacy-Shit, but luckily, he didn't use the book too much for propaganda on his sick theses. In fact, it's a really good book that provides a good insight into the Black Metal scene, especially the Scandinavian style and all the terrible and sick crimes that where committed in the name of Satan. I'm not a satanist, and my Black Metal days are ove...more

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Oct 22, 2011 Drommetenrot rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This isn't just a book on some part of music history as it contains loads of other materials, influences on the Norwegian Black Metal scene and some really strange stuff. However I think this is exactly the strenght of this book as it has brought together a lot of different things and encourages further reading on certain subjects. Some GR critizised that Moynihan doesn't comment critically on the stuff that went on in 1990s Norway or on the interviews. I agree that discrete thinking and critica...more

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Feb 28, 2009 Lee rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Investigation of the beginnings and maturation of the Norwegian Black Metal scene. Interesting to say the least especially considering the lengths that many of the persons involved in the scene went to to prove their loyalty and sincerity. The books does get a little bogged down in the center talking about the history of Pagan values and Varg Vikernes but it has been 10 years (I think) since I have read this so coming back to it may reveal some insights which I overlooked initially. I would reco...more

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Apr 04, 2013 Outi rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: lainatut, non-fiction

Oletin kirjan kertovan musiikista ja musiikin ympärille kehittyneestä kulttuurista. Sitä se olikin ensimmäiset 250 sivua. Pääsin sivulle 350 ja sitten alkoi tökkiä. Ensinnäkin, kirja sekoittaa koko ajan saatananpalvonnan ja satanismin, joka vahingossa tai tahallaan. Toiseksi, kirjan sivut 250-350 olivat lähinnä kauhistelua, kuinka sekaisin Vargin on pitänyt olla murhan aikaan ja kuinka sekaisin Varg on vieläkin. Kun harppomalla yritin lukea kirjaa eteenpäin, molemmat kohdat vain pahenivat, vaikk...more

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Mar 15, 2013 Brent Venton rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

An appealing book only in terms of the novelty of the subject material, serious readers will be frustrated by its poor organization and copious filler. Nevertheless it recounts some really amazing happenings in the backwoods of ye olde Norway: church burnings, murders and the invention of Norwegian Black Metal; one of the most interesting and influential metal genres of the last 20 years.

Unlike a lot of interviews with musicians, the parties here speak in grand hyperbole about their music and th...more

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About Michael Moynihan

Moynihan was born in Boston, Massachusetts to a lawyer father. Moynihan identifies his background as entirely Northern European: Irish, English, Welsh, and German.[5] He is involved in a long standing collaborative and romantic relationship with musician Annabel Lee, with whom he has fathered a child.[1] He became active in experimental music from 1984, forming Blood Axis in 1989 and releasing his...more Moynihan was born in Boston, Massachusetts to a lawyer father. Moynihan identifies his background as entirely Northern European: Irish, English, Welsh, and German.[5] He is involved in a long standing collaborative and romantic relationship with musician Annabel Lee, with whom he has fathered a child.[1] He became active in experimental music from 1984, forming Blood Axis in 1989 and releasing his first album in full length album under the name in 1995.

Moynihan collaborated with Boyd Rice from 1989, and in 1990 the two moved into an apartment in Denver.[6] Like Rice and Thomas Thorn, Moynihan was a member of the Church of Satan at this time.[7] Moynihan appeared as a guest with Rice on Bob Larson's "Manson Maniacs", a special for Larson's Christian radio talk show. During the summer of 1991, Moynihan states that he was visited at his apartment by agents of the United States Secret Service about an alleged plot to assassinate then President of the United States George H. W. Bush.[5]

Moynihan agreed to a polygraph test and no charges were filed. Moynihan stated that it was a simple case of intimidation stemming from his correspondence with Charles Manson and visits to Sandra Good. Moynihan stated that he felt that the he had been being monitored by the Federal Bureau of Investigation since 1984, that they had taken his luggage on an occasion, and that they had once called his father, admitting to him that they had taken a parcel from his mail. Moynihan cited his then-friendship with Peter Sotos as a potential cause.[5]

Differences between Boyd Rice and Michael Moynihan led to an acrimonious split between the two in the mid-1990s,[5] though Rice would later remember their time together fondly and refer positively to Moynihan.[6] After the split, Moynihan disassociated himself with Rice and was no longer involved with the Abraxas Foundation.[5] Moynihan has been a member of the small Asatru collective Wulfing Kindred since 1994.

In 1995, Moynihan released the first full length album by Blood Axis, The Gospel of Inhumanity and moved from Denver to Portland, Oregon where he became an editor at Feral House, a publishing company owned by Adam Parfrey.[7] After studying language and history at the University of Colorado and Portland State University, Moynihan received his B.A. in German language in 2001.

Moynihan is one of the editors of TYR: Myth - Culture - Tradition and the North American editor of Rûna.[8]

In 1992, Moynihan edited and published a collection of writings by ex-National Socialist Mansonite James N. Mason into a book entitled Siege: The Collected Writings of James Mason.[4][9] Published by Feral House, he co-authored the 1998 book Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground with Norwegian journalist Didrik Søderlind won the 1998 Firecracker Alternative Press Award.[4]

During this period Moynihan contributed to various magazines and journals, including Seconds and The Scorpion,[10] and has interviewed artists and figures such as power electronics founder Whitehouse,[11] Unleashed,[12] Bathory,[13] In the Nursery,[13] Church of Satan founder Anton LaVey,[14] controversial figure Charles Manson,[15] Peter Steele of Type O Negative, discussing Social Darwinism,[16] Misfits founder Glenn Danzig,[17] Throbbing Gristle and Psychic TV founder Genesis P-Orridge,[18] and Swans founder Michael Gira.[19]

In 2001, Moynihan co-authored The Secret King with Stephen Flowers. 2001 also saw Moynihan also editing a reprint of Introduction to Magic, originally published in 1929, and in 2002 edited the first English language translation of the 1953 book Men Among the Ruins, both by Julius Evola and both published by Inner Traditions - Bear & Company. In 2005 Moynihan edited and published a collection of essays by British writer John Michell's The Oldie entitled Confessions of a Radical Traditionalist.(less)

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The Secret King: The Myth and Reality of Nazi Occultism

The Coming American Renaissance: How to Benefit from America's Economic Resurgence

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