Those journeys culminate this week with the release of True Norwegian Black Metal, a large-format coffee-table book of Beste’s photos, released by Vice Books. Houston-born Peter Beste, though, has taken it seriously for the last six years, making several trips to Norway to document the black-metal scene from the point of view of both photojournalist and fan. They take themselves so seriously that my nature prevents me from doing the same. And while the current crop of musicians has thankfully toned it down, many still engage in Satanism, self-mutilation, and the examination of incredibly dark subject matter. In the early ’90s, the group nabbed its fair share of headlines with grisly tales of violence, church burnings, suicide, and murder. Little wonder, then, that it was the anti-Christian cultural misfits of that country that fully realized the potential of black metal-the most sinister subculture of an already grim genre. Norway offers seasonal stretches of little to no sunlight stark, rocky landscapes and a religious bent that until a few years ago immediately delivered its newly born citizens into the church.
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