Øystein Aarseth

Euronymous
Dead (left) and Euronymous (right)
Background information
Birth name	Øystein Aarseth
Born	22 March 1968 Egersund, Norway
Died	10 August 1993(1993-08-10) (aged 25) Oslo, Norway
Genres	Black metal
Occupation(s)	Musician, producer
Instruments	Guitar
Years active	1984–1993
Labels	Deathlike Silence Productions
Associated acts	Mayhem, Burzum, L.E.G.O., Checker Patrol, Horn
Notable instruments
Gibson Les Paul

Øystein Aarseth (Norwegian: [ˈøʏstɛɪn ˈɔʂət]; 22 March 1968 – 10 August 1993), who went by the pseudonym Euronymous, was a Norwegian guitarist. Euronymous was a founder of and central figure in the early Norwegian black metal scene. He was a co-founder of the Norwegian black metal band Mayhem. He was also founder and owner of the extreme metal record label Deathlike Silence Productions and record shop Helvete.

In August 1993, he was killed. Fellow musician Varg Vikernes was arrested and charged with the murder. In May 1994, Vikernes was found guilty of murder as well as multiple church arsons, and sentenced to 21 years in prison. In March 2009, however, his parole was announced. He had then served 15 years of his 21-year sentence. On 22 May 2009, he confirmed that he had been released from prison on probation.

Aarseth formed Mayhem in 1984 along with bassist Jørn 'Necrobutcher' Stubberud and drummer Kjetil Manheim. At the time he was going by the stage name 'Destructor' but later changed his name to Euronymous, derived from the demon Eurynomos.

In summer 1986, Euronymous, Necrobutcher and Jon 'Metalion' Kristiansen visited the German thrash metal band Assassin and recorded the Metalion in the Park demo under the name Checker Patrol, Metalion contributing background vocals to the title song Metalion in the Park.

In 1988, Per "Dead" Ohlin became Mayhem's vocalist and Jan Axel 'Hellhammer' Blomberg became its drummer. By 1991, Dead, Euronymous and Hellhammer were living in a house in the woods near Kråkstad, which was used as a place for the band to rehearse. Mayhem bassist Necrobutcher said that, after living together for a while, Dead and Euronymous "got on each other's nerves a lot" and "weren't really friends at the end". Hellhammer recalls that Dead once went outside to sleep in the woods because Euronymous was playing synth music that Dead hated. Euronymous then went outside and began shooting into the air with a shotgun.Varg Vikernes claims that Dead once stabbed Euronymous with a knife.