An enthralling true-crime thriller with a morbid edge, Lords of Chaos recreates a dark chapter in the history of extreme heavy metal, while exploring the link between fanaticism and violence with brutal clarity.
Fanaticism comes in many forms and many phases. A main element is that of elitism, a snobbery towards any criticism or counter argument that can crush the ego of not only an ideology, but those who subscribe to it. The early 1990s saw various music scenes built on and fuelled by fanaticism turned murderously extremist in their actions. North America had the West coast vs East coast hip-hop wars that concluded in the deaths of several key figures. Yet years before this, on the other side of the world in Oslo, Norway, was an even more fanatical music scene that brought with it not only an innovative music style, yet death and destruction that matched its extreme edge. It was Norwegian Black Metal, and from its wake Norway and the multifaceted genre of heavy metal would never be the same.
Key to the creation of Norwegian Black Metal was Oystein Aarseth, aka Euronymous (Rory Culkin), whose band Mayhem forged the sound and visual style that many Black Metal artists would duplicate. After the suicide of Mayhem front man Per Ohlin, aka Dead (Jack Kilmer), Euronymous opened a record shop that would become a social-hub for the Black Metal community. There Euronymous would meet the young and impressionable Kristian Vikerness, aka Varg Vikerness (Emory Cohen), whose contributions to the scene in the form of his solo project Burzum would be matched with a violent string of crimes, including the burning down of Churches, and even murder.
A long time in the making, Lords of Chaos is an adaptation of the notorious non-fiction book of the same name. Directing is Jonas Akerlund (Spun) who has some skin in the game as he was a one-time drummer of influential Swedish Black Metal band Bathory. Akerlund brings an energy and a great visual eye to this rock biopic turned true-crime thriller. Shot in Oslo, Norway, the Swedish filmmaker successfully places an artistic spotlight on what is a notoriously anti-commercial and elitist form of music, exposing the outrageous and hate-filled actions from what was called the “Black Circle”. Although the music itself is left on the wayside (more performance footage would have went a long way), the select scenes of Black Metal glory especially in the form of Mayhem’s magnum opus “Freezing Moon” is stunning in its visual and audible power.
A fine assemblage of American actors (who thankfully don’t feign Nordic accents) do a great job bringing these notorious real-life characters to the screen. Rory Culkin brings a strong sense of empathy to an emotionally repressed and rather messed up character in Euronymous, whose strong mind for marketing and ultra-serious approach to all things saw him create a reputation he could not live up to. This was especially repugnant to Varg Vikerness, the Euronymous apostle turned hate criminal and murderer, whose extreme views led to a trail of ash and blood in his wake. As portrayed with chilling power by Emory Cohen, Vikerness epitomes how fanatical thought can be turned into violent action, and a gifted musician into a murderer by the age of 20.
Many of those portrayed in Lords of Chaos are not good people, a description they no doubt are gleeful in claiming. Their extreme actions, much like their extreme music, are of their blackened hearts and minds, the product of an elitism, hatred & fanaticism turned up to 666. Akerlund and screenwriter Dennis Magnusson (King of Devil’s Island) effectively present their talent, their madness, and their cruelty without judgement nor sympathy, resulting in a film that is relevant and engrossing.
