True Norwegian Black Metal

by Peter Beste (Photographer), Johan Kugelberg (Editor)

In the last two decades, a bizarre and violent musical subculture called "Black Metal" has emerged in Norway. Its roots stem from a heady blend of horror movies, heavy metal music, Satanism, Paganism, and adolescent angst. In the early-mid 1990s, members of this extremist underground committed murder, burned down medieval wooden churches, and desecrated graveyards. What started as juvenile frenzy came to symbolize the start of a war against Christianity, a return to the worship of the ancient Norse gods, and the complete rejection of mainstream society.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Art, Photography, History, Art and Photography, Art Design

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[♥Milica♥ · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Pure black, frost, spikes, skin, war paint, corpse paint, the pure black metal. That's all it's all about. And for us, it's from a northern way. We're from Norway, and we represent black metal from Norway. And that's cold, woods, spikes and all that."

SO TRUE! Or should I say trve kvlt ? I HAD TO, I'M NOT SORRY.

This book is gorgeous. The photos of the bands, their fans, the Norwegian landscapes...so many of them I've never seen before. There's even a timeline!!! I love love love everything.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was looking for this for years, and it was out of print for years.. Finally got my hands on it. It did cost me a fortune but who cares?

Absolutely love it. This massive tome of a rare and common collection of photos of Norwegian Black Metal scene is truly remarkable. I've never seen some of the photos before I opened this book. I love how everything is put in an unspoken order; it's captivating. The silent, cold, grim and beautiful landscape inserted in between the blazing, spikey energy on stage and off stage could speak in volumes. All those little writeups in between makes so much sense once paired with the photos.

There were many things I could buy with the money I spent for this one book but will never be as valuable as the happiness brought by it.

There is black metal and then there is True Norwegian Black Metal..

If anyone who loves the scene, the book is back on print, grab it before it's gone again.

Book #65 of 2021..

[Katrin · Rating 5 out of 5]

i finally got my hands on this one. i loved it from start to finish. it´s mostly photography with some background info, mostly of metalion, who also provided some pages from his metal zine to the book, as well as international press of the murder and arson trials. but this is more or less the smaller part of the book, the biggest being peter´s photography. i love how he tried to capture it all. norwegian landscape, the iciness, the solitude, then also metal fans, the protagonists when on stage, backstage, at home or even with their families. it´s truly remarkable how this all blends together, black metal as an art form, as a philosophy, as well as the more pragmatic side of things. i liked this a lot and i think this is the face of black metal of today. astonishing pictures showing the reality of it, but also the mystic and dangerous side. very good work, i´m truly happy i finally got to see the whole book and not just some pics here and there. it must be seen as a whole and in context, to completely understand what beste wanted to show with it.

[Hester · Rating 5 out of 5]

If it weren't for the intriguing and sometimes confusing documentary "Before the Light Takes Us" I'd never have an interest in Norwegian Black Metal.

This collection of photos showcases some beautiful scenery only to be marred by a bunch of middle aged idiots wearing ridiculous "corpse paint" makeup lots of leather and spikes. They look like a bunch of gay leather daddies gone hardcore goth. I just want to shout at them to cut their hair, long greasy and stringy is not the look for older men. But that's just one part of the Black Metal aesthetic I don't understand and never will, that goes for the decapitated animal heads on stage. Bunch of sick freaks, PETA come get these fools. I don't know if Beste was trying to shock by having some of the artists standing in front of a church or not, but those photos are powerful images of how stupid and desperate for attention some people can be.

This book includes a small amount of the history of Black Metal with covers of the zine Slayer, an interview with my personal favorite Varg Vikernes and a letter that the late Euronymous wrote about former Mayhem singer Dead's suicide.

This is a good primer for novices and a great collectors item for the hardcore Black Metal fan.

[Osore Misanthrope · Rating 5 out of 5]

Фотографије су делом кринџ, а делом право мистично и морбидно величанство и стога материјализују есенцију жанра.
18+
Не бих да рекламирам једног фашисту и расисту и једног комунисту, актере централног скандала најужег блек метал круга. Новине су цитирале сведочанства која експлицитно описују убадање ножем. Ужас влада.

Умало да заборавим, књига има монументалних пола метра, што је дужина моје бутне кости. Златне пропорције.

[miss_mandrake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ich bin mit Sicherheit nicht der größte Black Metall Fan aller Zeiten, aber dennoch mag ich einige Bands der Szene.
Und nach dem Buch "Lords of Chaos" und der Doku "Until The Light Takes Us" musste ich dieses Buch einfach kaufen. Zwar ist es mit über 50€ nicht unbedingt ein Schnapper, jedoch lohnt sich meiner Meinung nach jeder einzelne Cent!

Peter Beste zeigt hier Momentaufnahmen einer sicherlich sehr kontroversen Musikszene. Die Fotos halten eine gute Balance zwischen Ironie, Ernst und Kunst, ohne jemanden lächerlich zu machen oder irgendwie was erhabenes mit Satan, Odin oder irgenwelchem anderen Mummenschanz darzustellen.

Ein authentische Sammlung an Bildern, die keine großen Worte brauchen um zu wirken!

[Owen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has a lot of great photos documenting the Norwegian black metal scene from a variety of view points beginning around 2000. Peter Beste also made the documentary by the same name (True Norwegian Black Metal) which focused primarily on Gaahl and Gorgoroth, so there are plenty of images from that as well. There's also some history of the early black metal scene concerning Euronymous and Varg Vikernes, but that's really better covered in Lords of Chaos. The book also includes a pretty well detailed time line beginning with the Christianization of Norway going to present day and there are some photos toward the back (some of them pretty well known) of the early days of Mayhem, Burzum, Helvete, etc. Really though, this is a book of photography and the text is provided to help contextualize the images.

[Gary Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

No matter your feelings about Black Metal (the music, the movement, the make-up, etc.), this collection has some photos that will leave you impressed, inspired, enraged, awe-struck, and perhaps breathless.

It gets a bit spotty once the color photos come into play, but all in all this is a brilliant book.

I'd gladly place this one on my coffeetable if I could afford it.



"Black is the night, metal we fight
Power amps set to explode
Energy screams, magic and dreams
Satan records the first note.
We chime the bell, chaos and hell
Metal for maniacs pure.
Fast melting steel, fortune on wheels
Brain hemorrhage is the cure
For BLACK METAL

Lay down your soul to the gods Rock `n' Roll"
-- Venom

[Javier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Contar todo lo fastuoso, grandioso, satánico, maravilloso, caótico, ridículo, exagerado, oscuro
y brutal que es el black metal noruego, se necesitan más imágenes que palabras.

Nadie captó esto de mejor manera, que el estadounidense Peter Beste.

Un must-have para todo fan del género. El formato es una maravilla.

[Hrodnand · Rating 5 out of 5]

“There is no sun without shadow, and it is essential to know the night.”
— Albert Camus

“One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.”
— Carl G. Jung

At its core, it's the soul’s cry against spiritual dilution, a fierce reclamation of depth, myth, the wild and inner truth. It’s a vessel of remembrance and a language for the untamed, echoing the darkness we refuse to silence. It doesn’t just purge, it preserves. It carves out space for beauty within the dark, for awe within grief, for depth and meaning in an age of shallowness. That is black metal for me and has been for the last two decades.

I first came across this book around 2009 but it was far too expensive for my student budget at the time. It was also out of print for many years but now I’ve finally been able to get my hands on it.

Nearly A3 in size and hardcover-bound this is an extraordinary piece of art. I had seen a few of the photos before but there are many remarkable shots here I hadn’t come across elsewhere. I especially loved the print quality and the inclusion of old press and mailing materials at the end.

[Lore · Rating 5 out of 5]

May the Old Norse Gods bless Peter Beste for this book.
Yes I know, Black Metal looks crazy. But if you take the time to look a little past the corpsepaint you will see these are just ordinary people trying to make awesome music.
I dare you, look through these portraits and try to find who's the elementary school teacher, who's the computer engineer, who's the absolute black metal legend that has been elected to his town council?
The most brilliant thing about Beste's photography is that, somehow, he managed to capture the brutality and power of Black Metal within the mundane life of Norway. And it looks amazing.
By the way, one of my favorite pictures on this book is the one with Kvitrafn (from Wardruna), in his full corpsepaint, while some old lady gives him some serious side eye from across the street. It always makes me smile. We, metal kids have been there, corpsepaint or not, getting looks and smirks from people on the street while wearing our band t-shirts. Is wildly common in all parts of the world, it seems.
Also, the most wonderful thing about this book, is the fact that Beste has managed to capture a couple of the most iconic pictures of Valfar (from Windir) before he passed away. My heart went full blast beat mode after seen that. Thank you Mr. Beste!
So, all in all, awesome book if you're a metal fan. But if you're not ... still, awesome portraits, full of interesting details and complex pictures to look at. 5 stars, absolutely recommended.

[Tsuhonets · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Beautiful" may sound like an odd word to describe black metal and the aesthetic of it, but that's precisely what this book is and I think that is exactly what makes it so excellent. The photographs work on several levels - not only are they visually stunning, but there is so much that lies beneath the immediate surface. Whether you want to call it a mood, a mindset or another abstract concept... it is the soul, the essence of this art form captured through an atypical approach. Looking through the pages is an intense experience due to the way in which the imagery evokes thoughts and feelings related to black metal, some of which can be very complex and personal.

[Brandon Torres · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was an overall spectacular collection of photography that captures every aspect of Black Metal, starting from the very start of the dark Inner Circle. Hand written controversial letters from members of Mayhem discussing Dead's suicide to profile shots of the members of Gorgoroth and everything in between, this book gives the reader a well rounded history lesson for the most uneducated person on this topic to understand. Making this book even better, it has no photos or information regarding Cradle Of Filth whatsoever.

[Rain · Rating 3 out of 5]

i'm not american so dont know if american apparel sell this as a part of coffetable piece? its huge and heavy, can hold shitload of beers and plates on it if needed for a smaller crowd meeting.

on serious note, my version was 5th press, 3500 printed that time, if Dead were alive he would of killed himself 6 times now probably. yeah its a nice book with pretty pictures with grown up men wearing war paint, ready to battle against christianity in world 4th richest country, but its scene explotation so well i'm going to stop right now.

[Roberta Gomes · Rating 5 out of 5]

"What was heroic, larger than life and epic in Norwegian heritage was now taught as myth, or modified by the church to fit into Christian parameters. Former pagan holidays were now Christian. Anciet Folk tales were given Chrisriam morals. Old Norse folf songs now had Christian lyrics, effective. The definition of oppression and totalitarianism for the teenage Norwegiam metalhead, the Christian church became a symbolic target, wich did not prevent disenchanchised  youth from charging head first, like Don Quixote."

[Brett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been kind of into black metal for a little while, but lately I've gone whole hog into loving it. This book is really well done - featuring some excellent quotes (H.P. Lovecraft, Albert Camus), and features not just the elaborate misanthropy of the black metal look but plenty of evocative photos of Norwegian wilderness that is so integral to the music. Pretty much an essential coffee table book if you're into this sort of thing.

[Maggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The pictures are nuts. Crazy! I think the book does a really good job of showing the reader an unfortunate universal phenomenon: it's mainly just a bunch of confused teenagers getting sucked into a subculture that is not very life-affirming. And oh man --maybe it's because English is not their first language or maybe it's because the essays are poorly translated -- but geez, the writing is just ghastly.

[Gabriel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I served as production assistant on this book-- mainly scanning the archival materials at the back-- and also designed the poster of band logos included with the deluxe edition. So I'm biased when I say it's great. But it is.

[Dave Hofer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Badass photo book I picked up used at work.

I'm not the biggest black metal fan, but the imagery sure is pretty/unique/brutal/evil.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great picture book with a cool time line of twisted events and original articles and drawings in the back that document the black metal movement in Norway. Great deal on Amazon, also!

[Brady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning.

[Auriana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is one of my favourite possessions. Is it possible for something to be both beautiful and macabre? Every metal photographer's dream.

[J.J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a VERY large book so bear in mind shelving can be a bit of an issue. It unattractively sticks out a lot on my shelf dwarfing the rest of my larger books. Its size is quite comical really, I doubt i'll ever own a book bigger than this one.

The majority of this book consists of photographs taken by the author over a 7 year period where he travelled to Norway at various times to document the Black Metal scene. Only about half of the photos are of any decent quality. I particuarly like the concert photographs as they capture the vibe of the scene well but many of the photos are clearly just filler. Some of the photos are extremely blurry and out of focus that it's laughable they made it into a premium published photography book.

Along with the photographs; also featured is an introduction/foreword/essay (whatever you want to call it) by Metallion a name whom those familiar with the scene will know. Also included is a centrefold timeline of the black metal scene of which I noticed one error where it states "The Dawn of the Black Hearts" was released BEFORE Dead's suicide. So i'm not sure how accurate it is as there's a lot there to check.

After the end of the photographs there's a sort of bonus section around 23 pages in length (I say bonus as these final pages are printed on lower quality paper for whatever reason). This bonus section for the most part is actually better than the main book. It features scans taken from Metallion's Slayer Mag (Interviews with Dead, Varg, Faust, etc.), articles from Kerrang's famous coverage on the scene, flyers, and a few photographs taken by other photographers (Ironically better photos than most of the ones in the main book). The inclusion of this section allows me to award this book an extra star. I would have given this book 3 stars if it wasn't included.

As far as value for money, this book usually retails at £60 (as of 2020 and the book was first published in 2008 so the price is likely not set to decrease dramatically any time soon). It was temporarily on offer at amazon for £40, I would have never purchased this book or any book for that matter for any price higher than that. I reluctantly paid the £40 as I wanted this book for a while and decided this was the cheapest I was ever going to get it for the forseeable future. I do not think this book is worth £60 at all and £40 is still pushing it, I think £30 maximum would have been a fair price for the quality you get. I imagine most of the pricing is to do with its ridiculous size of 15 inches.

In comparison: Necrobutcher's "The Death Archives" photobook was a far superior documentation of the Norwegian black metal scene (Though it only focuses on one band, there are a few shots of others). It featured photos from the actual heyday of black metal in the late 80's and early 90's as opposed to the 2000s, you also got stories behind the photos, and the photos captured the vibe of Norwegian Black Metal much better, and considering the price difference I can only see Beste's book as an absolute rip-off at full RRP. This is not an essential buy and is strictly for enthusiasts of Black metal only. If you are planning on getting it I strongly reccommend waiting for it to be on offer so you feel less ripped off. If you're looking for your first Black Metal photography book then get "The Death Archives" instead of this one.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an incredible book. At this point a lot of the pictures have become quite famous, so if you're into the genre you will probably have seen them many times before, but there's something about having them presented in this format that makes them a thousand times more impactful.

The size of the book helps with that - I was not prepared for how massive it would be: at nearly A3 this is definitely a book for your coffee table, not a shelf.

The makeup and general aesthetic of BM can seem extremely evil to some, and really silly to others. This book embraces both aspects at the same time, and there is a wry humour to the setup in many of the photos. Though this is a musical subculture based around darkness and evil, it is also heavily theatrical in nature, and the images here certainly reflect that.

Another huge draw for me was that in addition to the main part of the book showcasing Peter Beste's photography, there is also an appendix containing many old pictures from the early 90s scene in Norway, and various ephemera, including full page reproductions of interviews from Slayer mag (underground extreme music zine), and Kerrang, as well as flyers for Helvete, gig posters, and artwork by Per "Dead" Ohlin.

This book can be somewhat difficult to find, and won't be cheap if you do (I was quite lucky in that regard, it was pricey but nowhere near as much as it could have been) but I would urge anyone with any interest in Black Metal to obtain a copy if you can. The online free pdf versions do not do it justice at all.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

True Norwegian Black Metal takes us on a visual journey through the extreme metal scene across the bleak Scandinavian soundscape. Archival photos and more recent photos shot by Houston's own Peter Beste grace the sleek pages of this photo book. You can almost feel the film grain, blood, and corpse paint as your fingers turn each. This should be more at a 4.5 as it has a good amount of context in the captions and writing, but could have used a little more context. I almost wish this encompassed more Scandinavian bands from Sweden, Denmark, or Iceland, rather than restricting to Norwegian black metal. That being said, it's a great visual companion to Lords of Chaos.

[Víctor Aguilar · Rating 5 out of 5]

𝐼𝑛 𝑔𝑖𝑟𝑢𝑚 𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑐𝑡𝑒 𝑒𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑟 𝑖𝑔𝑛𝑖

The best possible graphic report on black metal aesthetics and whatnot... It's truly an immersive pleasure diving into its pages while listening to any of the masterpieces that came from the norwegian scene. Definetly a must have for any devoted black metal maniac.

[Yoruk Ilhan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Masterpiece coffee table kind of a book with intimate photos. Peter Best spent a great deal of time with these people to gain their trust. The outcome is probably better then best.

[Ryan Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A (mostly) picture book!

[Grandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

有趣的黑金属影集，最后的信件非常有趣（dead哥好中二哈哈哈）

[Laurens · Rating 4 out of 5]

True Norwegian Black Metal is an art book about the weirdly intense but fascinating subculture of black metal, mostly of the period of the 90's last century. While I am a metalhead -and fervent lover of all sorts of music genres- I don't consider myself a true black metal fan. Not musically, spiritually, nor philosophically. Yet I have always been interested in this extreme culture. It's just so different from mainstream culture and "normal" appropriate behaviour. It's all about the ego, individualism, darkness, "evil", anti-Christianity, the occult, symbolized by black clothes, corpse-paint, spikes, cold, satanic imagery, blood, weapons, etc. For some important ideas and sources of inspiration. Until now I have not understood my fascination for these, in my eyes, silly ideas and behaviours. Whether you are a fan of black metal or not, these photographs by Peter Beste will give you a variety of feelings, ranging from disgust to awe.