The Home of Black Metal

“Demonic laughter your cremation,
Your lungs gasp for air but are filled with blood,
A sudden crack as I crushed your skull”

– Deathcrush, Mayhem (1987)

On holiday in Oslo, I visited the epicentre of Black Metal, the site of Helvete Records (now called NeseBlood Records).

The legendary records shop, originally owned by Euronymous and opened in 1991 for a few short years in Schweigaards Gate, was one of the key focal points in the development of the sound, look and ideology of the Black Metal scene and the bringing together of the movement’s key people.

The shop is a treasure-trove of black/thrash/death metal – I could have spent a few months wages in there just buying Vinyl, CDs and demo/rehearsal tapes (I did get a copy of the Damage Inc. fanzine anthology signed by Maniac). Once inside you can go down into the barren, dark basement past the piles of second hand LPs and black band shirts, through a door adorned with a Venom Flag into a series of cellar rooms that lead to the back into the chamber with the legendary ‘black metal’ scrawl on the wall. Well worth visiting to see and feel some true Black Metal history.