Varg Vikernes Wiki, Biography, Age, Spouse, Height, Net Worth, Fast Facts

A native of Bergen, Vikernes began playing guitar at the age of 14 and formed his first band, Kalashnikov (later known as Uruk-Hai), by 1989. Around the same time, he would go on to join the band Old Funeral, in which he briefly played guitar from 1989 until his departure in 1991. He recorded multiple tracks with the band, which were featured on the Devoured Carcass EP, as well as various compilation albums released years later. After founding Burzum, he became part of the early Norwegian black metal scene. In 1992, Vikernes, along with other members of the scene, was suspected of burning down four Christian churches in Norway. Vikernes denied committing the arsons, though he supported them. In 1992–1993, he also recorded bass for Mayhem’s debut album De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas.

In August 1993, Vikernes fatally stabbed Mayhem guitarist Euronymous during an altercation at the latter’s apartment, and was arrested shortly after. In May 1994, Vikernes was convicted of first-degree murder, church arson and possession of explosives. Vikernes said the killing was self-defense and unsuccessfully argued for the charge to be reduced to voluntary manslaughter. He was sentenced to 21 years in prison, the maximum penalty under Norwegian law. During his incarceration, Vikernes launched the Norwegian Heathen Front, had two books published, and released two ambient albums as Burzum. In 2009, he was released on parole, after which he moved to France with his wife and children, where he has continued to write and make music. He was also an active video blogger on his YouTube channel ThuleanPerspective, before the channel was deleted.

Described by Sam Dunn as “the most notorious metal musician of all time”, Vikernes remains controversial for his crimes as well as his political and religious views. He promoted views which combined Odinism and Esoteric Nazism, and openly embraced Nazism during the mid-late 1990s. He has since disavowed the ideology and its associated movements, although critics continue to label his views as far-right. Vikernes calls his beliefs “Odalism” and advocates a “pre-industrial European pagan society”, opposing Christianity, Islam, Judaism, capitalism, socialism and materialism.

Biography

Background and childhood

In the interviews printed in the 1998 book Lords of Chaos, Vikernes discusses his background and childhood. Lords of Chaos also includes an interview with his mother, Helene Bore (the book and a newspaper depicted there refer to her with the given name Lene, whereas Vikernes’ own website uses the name Helene). In a 2004 interview, Vikernes said his mother was “working in a large oil company”. His father is an electronics engineer, and his older brother is a civil engineer.

In the Lords of Chaos interview, Vikernes recalls that when he was 6 years old, the family moved for about a year to Baghdad, Iraq, because Vikernes’ “father was working for Saddam Hussein” developing a computer program.^[18] Since there were no places available in the English school in Baghdad, the young Vikernes went to an Iraqi elementary school during this time. According to his interview, Vikernes here became “aware of racial matters”. Corporal punishment was very common in the school, and on one occasion, Vikernes had a “quarrel” with a teacher and called him “a monkey”. But as Vikernes perceived it the teachers “didn’t dare to hit me because I was white”. Vikernes’ mother also recalls that “the other children in his class would get slapped by their teachers; he would not”. She mentions that this created problems, but generally she “has no good explanation” of how Varg developed his views.

Personal life

Vikernes has a son who was born in 2007 to his current wife, Marie Cachet. They were married the same year. In a 2008 interview, he said he and his wife were expecting a second child (Vikernes’ third). After his release, he and his family settled on a small farm in Bø, Telemark. They later moved to Salon-la-Tour, Corrèze department, in France. As of 2017^[update], he said that he had six children and planned to have more. In March 2021, he announced on Twitter that his wife had given birth to their seventh child, a daughter.

Vikernes is a teetotaler and has never consumed alcohol or other recreational drugs. He also avoids the unnecessary use of pharmaceutical drugs. After his release from prison, he changed his legal name to Louis Cachet to avoid difficulties with the public, but still goes by Varg Vikernes in daily life.

Vikernes claims he is a distant relative of Vidkun Quisling by his great-great-grandmother’s side.

Lords of Chaos

The 1998 book Lords of Chaos (Feral House) covers the early Norwegian black metal scene. Michael Moynihan, one of the book’s authors, was sympathetic with Vikernes and his extremist politics. Moynihan disputed that he is a Nazi or white supremacist. In the 2018 film adaptation, which Varg heavily criticized, he was played by Emory Cohen.