The problem with Faust

This months's Terrorizer (#166 - Jan 2008) contains, amongst other things, a lighthearted interview in their 'Barbarian Wrath' section with Blood Tsunami's Pete Evil and Bard Faust.  They both seem perfectly amiable people, but it got me  thinking: why will no one ever  talk with Faust about the fact that he is a murderer?

For those who don't recall, Faust was the drummer of Emperor, but was convicted in the early 90s of the murder of a homosexual stranger in Lillehammer's Olympic park.  He  was  released in the early noughties and has since worked with quite a few notable bands including Blood Tsunami, Aborym, Scum and Zyklon.  I've read quite a few interviews with Faust since he came back into circulation and I even read a couple from when he was in prison.  Some of them talk about his conditions in prison and how he kept himself busy (he did a degree in the history of religions apparently). In the last couple of years, his prison experience has pretty much ceased to be mentioned.

But I have never read anything about the murder itself.  The murder, whilst it has been lumped in with all the Norwegian metal madness of the early 90s, was quite different from the church burnings and Vikernes's murder of Euronymous. The account Faust gave at his trial was that he murdered the guy because he propositioned him.  So far as I know, this account has never been questioned and Faust hasn't publicly added to it.  Perhaps insiders in the metal scene know more - I've been out of the loop for a little while now since I stopped writing for Terrorizer. Or perhaps no one has ever talked in detail with Faust about it. 

This bothers me. The murder was a hate crime and in many ways worse than Vikernes's  offence (which seemed to stem from a personal grudge).  The silence in the metal world about this is unsettling. Are we condoning what Faust did? But more than that, I wonder whether there might be more to all this than meets the eye. Sometimes, these kinds of murders stem from a very ambivalent attitude on the part of the perpetrator; one that leads them to walk through cruising areas. I have no idea what Faust's sexuality is like, but surely someone needs to ask the question?

Of course, unlike Virkernes, Faust was a model prisoner, admitted his guilt and has been a model citizen (and metal scene member) since his release. Whatever his philosop0hical or political views are, he does not proclaim them in the public way that Vikernes does and to all intents and purposes seems to be a perfectly pleasant guy. Is this rehabilitation though? He served less than 10 years, during the last few of which he had regular periods of home leave. I am a very strong critic of viciously long prison sentences like you get in the US, but less than 10 years for this kind of crime seems to me to be very short.  Faust may well be a very different person to the one who committed the crime, but he is also an active member in a scene that glorifies violent imagery. How do his victim's family feel about him playing in a band called Blood Tsunami?

As I say, I am very liberal on crime and punishment, but I am also disturbed when violence and hate crimes  are simply swept under the carpet.  I am a very strong defender of the metal scene, but here there seems to be a denial going on that needs to be addressed.

[PS: If Faust made a contrite and full statement that I am unaware of, please let me know!]

Comments

[Invisible Oranges]

I've wondered about this a little, too. His interview on heavymetal.about.com seems to indicate, if not necessarily a rehabilitated person, at least a changed one. Lords of Chaos has an interview with Faust about the details of the killing. It was technically a hate crime, but the interview shows more psychological complexity behind it than that. I'm unsure of the timing of the interview, though.

As far as the band name, you've got to be kidding me. What about bands like Suffocation or Impaled or Slayer etc. etc. etc.? There's a strong argument to be made that metal sublimates negative energy towards artistic ends - and that the resulting objectification and commodification of signifiers (T-shirts, logos, etc.) not only has aesthetic merit, but is necessary in an increasingly anesthetized society.

As for the advocacy of violence, that is a separate issue, and I'll actually touch on that in Invisible Oranges in the next few weeks!

[Picard]

I had the same problem about Dissection, which leader went to jail for a murder. If I'm not wrong, he also killed a homosexual stranger and spent only 7 years in jail. 7 years.

About names of bands, I am more disgusted with names such as Zyklon than with Blood Tsunami. The later sounds "cliché", the first sounds...

[Invisible Oranges]

Yes, the name Zyklon gives me heebie-jeebies as well (members of it used to be in a band called Zyklon-B!). But I read an interview with Samoth where he stated that Zyklon was not about racial or political viewpoints. The name meant "cyclone," written in a deliberately controversial way. I think that choosing such controversy is cheap - but there may be validity in Samoth's argument that the point of the name (and the band behind it) is to raise discussion/awareness, portray the state of the world, etc. Thus, bands like Agent Orange and Napalm Death aren't literally advocating their names. A movie that's violent doesn't necessarily glorify violence. With Zyklon, I'm not sure this is the case, but in general, metal band names might require more examination than what laypeople give them. This element of "transgression", as you put it, is what gives metal edge, energy, and relevance.

[Keith Kahn-Harris]

Of course I've written about how bands are usually more complex than their band names suggest. The desire to draw on transgressive imagery is not usually accompanied by a desire to actively transgress.

However, what I'm interested in here is how, for some non-metal observers anyway, the name and outward appearance of some metal bands may be deeply disturbing. In the case of Faust, I am thinking of his victim's family - the name Blood Tsunami (let alone Faust) is a kick in the teeth.

Now in most cases I don't believe in censorship and I'd defend to the hilt the right to be offensive. That said though, it's important to take on board that people who are offended by some aspects of metal may not be offended because of some deep-seated prudery or conservatism, but through a very human fear of violence.

[Alexgs138]

Not that I have anything significant to add to this, but the way Bard Faust is often just mentioned now as a good drummer definitely disturbs me, too.

So what if his reasoning behind the murder is that he was propositioned, that doesn't go an inch of a way to justifying brutal murder and I' more than a little alarmed that people might think it's a passable reason.

It's one of the main reasons I've stopped buying Terrorizer. I don't care how obscure a scene Scandinavian black metal is, I don't feel right associating with that sense of complacency the many interviews with his numerous bands breeds.

Someone please let me know if he expresses great remorse for the right reasons.

[Graeme]

"Thus, bands like Agent Orange and Napalm Death aren't literally advocating their names."

But think of what those names bring to mind: it's the Vietnam War first and foremost. Add to that songs about the ill effects of international capital on impoverished countries and you're aren't left with any doubts as to what their political leanings are. And of course the name doesn't work just on that level--I got into Napalm Death many years ago when I saw a copy of SCUM in a record store and thought that the band's name sounded totally brutal--but the point still stands. Bands like Slayer or Suffocation or Disembowelment or Blood Tsunami (what a ridiculous name) or whatever are abstract and don't refer to any particular historical reality.

Zyklon-B's name is disturbing not only because of what it refers to, but also because of the fascistic undercurrent in the BM scene. I don't mean to say that all BM bands are fascist, or even that Zyklon-B themselves are fascist, but they are part of a scene that is, to me, far too silent on this issue. I'll still listen to BM because it excites me, but you won't find me wearing black metal t-shirts.

I don't give a shit about Faust's "psychological complexity" either.

[Gladys]

They have forgiven him becase he makes good music. In spite of your contempt, people is usually very interested about his psychological complexity, because the reason peoles likes black metal is for sharing the hate and the fascination feeling for cruelty, wich are universal feelings. Many peole feels fascinated by killers or serial killers, but faust is a special one, because he lived that extreme violence but lived to repent. He's a good musician and he want to be considered as that. Hes not proud of the crime and he doesn't want people to constantly remember him the past. He wants to forget it and keep living, and because people like his music, they respect him and don't talk about that.

[Alexgs138]

"Hes not proud of the crime and he doesn't want people to constantly remember him the past. He wants to forget it and keep living"

Well, you'd kindda hope anyone that committed a brutal murder would want to forget their actions. But that doesn't excuse you. Sure, the guy's paid up his time in jail. But does that decade or so really forgive him a whole life that he took when he hasn't actually taken any steps to apologise to anybody?

The victim's family are still out there somewhere. And you can be sure they're missing their son/brother/nephew/cousin while the lowlife responsible receives critical plaudits in a band called Blood Tsunami.

It stinks.

[Grima]

he was right in doing what he did anyway.

[Cédric Van der Hauwaert]

You guys have to start thinking in a critical matter. I am a gay man and I’ve long gotten over this Faust thing.

1. Why would people have to go on rehashing he was a murderer. He got out of prison, he’s an adult now. People do horrific things in their adolescence. He served his prison sentence.
2. Hate crime is bullshit. As a gay man, I don’t want a legal system that stigmatizes me as someone who is weaker and whose killer or attacker should therefore be punished more severely. This is the kind of sick reasoning that came with the May 68 liberalism that bands like Emperor or Zyklon try to fight. What message sends this out? That non-gay people are stronger then gays? I don’t want to live in a society where they constantly put me in the pity class. I don’t need their Christian/socialist care.
3. Cruising. It’s dangerous and all gay men should now this and not come whine afterwards. I think the danger is the turn-on for a lot of these dudes but if you play with knives…
4. The prison system doesn’t work. People, most of the time, get worse in prison. They should be punished of course. The American system is good in a way that people are often forced to labor. I think the problem in Norway is, is that it’s all too sugarcoated and welfare-systemy. Prison life there is probably too gentle.
5. Names like Zyklon. The only aim in my view for picking such bandnames is that you react in this O my gosh fashion. The Holocaust has been exploited for political ends.
6. Individualism! If you carefully read interviews with Ihsahn and Samoth, you will notice that they practice spiritual individualism in the first place and not racial or nationalistic dogma’s. They judge people as individuals and so should everyone else. Not “the gays”, the “Jews”, but individual people. I think a lot of this philosophy stems from eighties conservatism and is echoed in South Park. I think that people who still believe in all the sixties humanity is neat shit can’t grasp this.

[Melechesh]

Yes, Faust talked about the murder in Lords of Chaos, which is not a reliable source, except maybe the interviews. Furthermore, the author Moynihan is a rather questionable person.
According to the book, Faust rather wanted to kill somebody (he was fascinated with death, which is not unusual for a black metaller) than did it because of homophobia. In the about.com interview he said he was never a fascist, but is less negative than in older days, but in the The Lodge interview, he talks about race preservation when asked about nationalism.
Zyklon is not neccessarily a controversial way of writing, but the German version of the word. And it was Zyklon-B that was disassociated from nazism, and Zyklon from Zyklon-B, even though Samoth was in both bands.
You are of course right about forgiving because one is a good musician, same goes for Mayhem even though using nazi imagery and giving racist statements (Blomberg did this again after the ThyDoom interview).
And for the Dissection singer, he said he was not willing to talk about it and that he is sorry for what he did to the family of his victim. And he was not the murderer, but was involved.

[belphegor]

I am a gay man of 20 years and have loved all forms of metal since childhood. I really got into Emperor and was so disturbed about Faust's seemingly homophobic homicide I steered clear of their music despite it being the only black metal I listened to (Satyricon too, a great band, and the name isn't violent anyway.) After reading Cedric's post I have become less up in arms. I also like Dissection's music and had stopped listening to it. Thanks to Melechesh I feel better about it. I just more than anything else didn't want to support a band that would kill me just for being gay. Cruising in dangerous, and the past is the past. Regardless of if Faust's band is Blood Tsunami, I don't understand how that would be upsetting to the victim's family. I can take that as serious as I take Cannibal Corpse, who don't wish to be taken seriously. Bands with brutal names (Napalm Death, Suffocation, Death and the like) certainly don't condone what their names imply. Most of these names, like Zyklon, are there for shock value, reiterating Cedric's comment.