You have seen the birth of Norwegian Black Metal, and surely you have had the opportunity to talk or know characters like Burzum, Euronymous and others. Can you tell us some anecdotes about respecting this experience?
S: Just to give you an impression of how the times has changed, I can say a few word about a gig with Emperor and Enslaved back in 1992. This was the Celebration of Darkness Night in Askim, featuring also Algol, Infinite Decay and Detest. Only 5 tickets were sold. Euronymous was there with a stand selling items from his Helvete shop and Frost (pre-Satyricon) talked about his “secret” band with Faust (pre-Emperor). It was one hell of an afterparty though, I have especially great memories from meeting Euronymous at his shop, where he also sold Obscure Epitaph. I was 17 the first time I met him, and as he was a few years older than me, I have no problem with saying that he became more or less a mentor or visionary for me. He told me about the first church fire that was about to happen and asked if I wanted to join. It was supposed to happen all around Norway at the same date, but in the end only the Count actually did it.
For what we read or through interviews of those who knew Euronymous, they portray him as a person with a very clear and precise idea of what Black Metal should have been. In your opinion, if he were still among us today, would he be the same person with the same uncompromising ideal?
S: No, not at all. Time has changed. People changed. The scene changed. Even he seemed to changed towards the end, closing his shop, experiencing the consequence of actions caused by words…
