Bård Guldvik "Faust" Eithun (born 21 April 1974) is a Norwegian musician, best known as the drummer of

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with tr ...

band

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

. A prominent member of the

early Norwegian black metal scene The early Norwegian black metal scene of the 1990s is credited with shaping the modern black metal genre and producing some of the most acclaimed and influential artists in extreme metal. The scene had a distinct ethos, and its core members ref ...

, Eithun was sentenced to 14 years in prison for murder and church arson in 1994. He was released in 2003 and has since continued performing as a drummer for Emperor, Djevel,

Blood Tsunami Blood Tsunami is a Norwegian thrash metal band from Oslo, formed by Peter Michael Kolstad Vegem in 2004 and currently signed to Indie Recordings. Biography 2003–2004 Lead vocalist and lead guitarist Peter Michael Kolstad Vegem (a.k.a. Pete ...

Aborym Aborym are an Italian industrial black metal band from Taranto, Apulia, formed in 1993. The band have described their music as "alien-black-hard/industrial", whilst Allmusic described them as playing "a truly original brand of futuristic black ...

and Scum. Eithun won the Norwegian Spellemann Award in the Metal category with Djevel in 2022.

Biography

Early years

Eithun was born on 21 April 1974 in

Hedmark Hedmark () was a Counties of Norway, county in Norway from 1 January 1919 to 31 December 2019, bordering Trøndelag to the north, Oppland to the west, Akershus to the south, and Sweden to the east. The county administration is in Hamar. Hedmar ...

. At age sixteen, he moved to

Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the munici ...

and became the drummer of Thorns, then-known as Stigma Diabolicum. Eithun published the underground

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleas ...

''Orcustus'' in the early 1990s. In 1992, he moved to

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

and started working in Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth's shop Helvete, having been pen-pals with the

Mayhem Mayhem most commonly refers to: * Mayhem (crime), a type of crime Mayhem may also refer to: People * Monica Mayhem (born 1978), Australian pornographic actress * Jason "Mayhem" Miller, American mixed martial arts fighter * Mayhem Miller (dr ...

guitarist since 1987. Eithun joined

as a drummer that same year and became a part of the inner circle of the

Conviction and release

On 21 August 1992, while visiting his family in Lillehammer, Eithun stabbed Magne Andreassen, a gay man, to death after being sexually propositioned by him. According to Eithun, while walking home from a pub through the

Olympic park An Olympic Park is a sports campus for hosting the Olympic Games. Typically it contains the Olympic Stadium and the International Broadcast Centre. It may also contain the Olympic Village or some of the other sports venues, such as the aquatics ...

, Andreassen drunkenly approached him and solicited him for sex. Eithun agreed to go with him to the nearby woods and stabbed Andreassen 37 times while also repeatedly stomping on the victim's head. Upon returning to Oslo the following day, he told Aarseth,

Varg Vikernes Louis Cachet (born Kristian Vikernes; 11 February 1973), better known as Varg Vikernes (), is a Norwegian musician and author best known for his early black metal albums and later for his crimes. His first five records, released under the name Bu ...

, and a few other members of the black metal scene what he had done. Eithun, Aarseth and Vikernes later burned down

Holmenkollen Chapel Holmenkollen Chapel (''Holmenkollen kapell'') is located in the neighborhood of Holmenkollen in the Vestre Aker borough of Oslo, Norway. The original chapel from 1903 was destroyed by arson in 1992. The new chapel was completed in 1996. Holmenk ...

together. After Vikernes' murder of Aarseth in August 1993, Eithun was arrested and confessed to killing Andreassen on impulse. In early 1994, Emperor released their debut album, ''

In the Nightside Eclipse ''In the Nightside Eclipse'' is the debut studio album by Norwegian black metal band Emperor, released in 1994 through Candlelight Records. It was their only album to feature drummer Faust and one-time bassist Tchort. Considered a landmark in the ...

''. Later that year, Eithun was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment and subsequently left Emperor, with the imprisonment to happen at Ullersmo. He testified against Vikernes in the latter's murder and arson trial that same year. Although media had linked Eithun's murder to black metal and speculated that he was motivated by

Satanism Satanism refers to a group of religious, ideological, or philosophical beliefs based on Satan—particularly his worship or veneration. Because of the ties to the historical Abrahamic religious figure, Satanism—as well as other religious ...

fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...

, or

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...

, he has later denied being a satanist and having racist, fascist or homophobic views in several interviews.Interview with Euronymous, Faust, Metalion and others from ''Beat'', Issue 2 (1993)
Singer

Gaahl Kristian Eivind Espedal (born 7 August 1975), better known by his stage name Gaahl, is a Norwegian vocalist. He is best known as the former frontman of Norwegian black metal band Gorgoroth. He is also the founder and lead vocalist of Trelldom an ...

, an openly gay member of the Norwegian black metal scene, stated that Eithun was the first person to send him a message of support when he came out. While incarcerated, Eithun completed two bachelor degrees at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

in the history of religions and the

history of ideas Intellectual history (also the history of ideas) is the study of the history of human thought and of intellectuals, people who conceptualize, discuss, write about, and concern themselves with ideas. The investigative premise of intellectual hist ...

, in addition to studying a year of

E-business Electronic business (also known as online business or e-business) is any kind of business or commercial activity that includes sharing information across the internet. Commerce constitutes the exchange of products and services between businesses, ...

at a private school in

. Though not an official member, Eithun became the main lyricist of blackened death metal band

Zyklon Zyklon was a Norwegian blackened death metal band formed in 1998 by Samoth and Trym of Emperor, along with members of Myrkskog. Their style has been described as modern death metal with black and industrial undertones. After more than a two ...

in 2001, and also contributed lyrics to albums released by

Sigh Paralanguage, also known as vocalics, is a component of meta-communication that may modify meaning, give nuanced meaning, or convey emotion, by using suprasegmental techniques such as prosody, pitch, volume, intonation, etc. It is sometimes de ...

and Wurdulak. He joined the hardcore punk/black metal supergroup Scum with members of Emperor,

Turbonegro Turbonegro (Turboneger in Norway) is a Norwegian rock band, active from 1989 to 1998 and from 2002 to the present. The band combines glam rock, punk rock, and hard rock into a self-described "deathpunk" musical style. History Early years (19 ...

and Mindgrinder the following year. In 2003, Eithun was released from prison due to good behavior after serving nine years and four months. Of his incarceration, Eithun said: "It has taught me a lot about myself, my limits, my psyche and my will. I think it as a positive thing that I was removed from the black metal scene because I was heading towards a very destructive path." In later interviews, Eithun has expressed remorse for his actions in the 1990s and called them senseless.

Later career

Following his release, Eithun was interviewed for the black metal documentary ''

Until the Light Takes Us ''Until the Light Takes Us'' is a 2008 American documentary film about early Norwegian black metal, directed by Aaron Aites and Audrey Ewell. The film premiered at the AFI Film Festival in 2008, a year before it was released in theaters. Featu ...

'', later released in 2008. Eithun was announced as Swedish extreme metal band

Dissection Dissection (from Latin ' "to cut to pieces"; also called anatomization) is the dismembering of the body of a deceased animal or plant to study its anatomical structure. Autopsy is used in pathology and forensic medicine to determine the cause of ...

's new drummer in 2003, but departed the band that same year due to ideological differences. Scum released their first album, '' Gospels for the Sick'', in 2005. Eithun joined thrash metal

and industrial black metal band

that same year. He released his first album with Aborym as a member the following year, having previously contributed lyrics to the band. Blood Tsunami released their debut album, ''Thrash Metal'', in 2007. Eithun joined punk/metal band Mongo Ninja in 2009 and released three albums with the band before their disbandment in 2012. In 2013, Eithun returned to Emperor as drummer for the 20th anniversary tour of ''In the Nightside Eclipse'' in the summer of 2014, which included a performance at

Wacken Open Air Wacken Open Air (, abbreviated as W:O:A) is a Heavy metal music, heavy metal music festival, held annually since 1990 on the first weekend of August in the village of Wacken, Schleswig-Holstein, Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Almost all ...

. He departed Aborym in 2014 after releasing three studio albums with the band. In 2017, Eithun was announced as the new drummer for black metal band Djevel. On 23 May 2021, Eithun appeared as a guest at Emperor's show at Notodden Theatre marking the 30th anniversary of their formation. In 2022, Djevel won the Norwegian Spellemann Award in the Metal category for the album ''Tanker som rir natten,'' released the previous year.

Discography

With Emperor

Studio albums * ''

'' (1994) EPs * ''

Wrath of the Tyrant ''Wrath of the Tyrant'' is the first demo album by Norwegian black metal band Emperor. It was recorded in May 1992 and self-released by the band shortly after. Releases ''Wrath of the Tyrant'' was originally distributed by the band as a demo sh ...

'' (1992) * ''

'' (1993) * ''As the Shadows Rise'' (1994) Compilation albums * ''Emperial Vinyl Presentation'' (2001) * '' Scattered Ashes: A Decade of Emperial Wrath'' (2003) * ''Emperor: The Complete Works'' (2017)

With Scum

Studio albums * '' Gospels for the Sick'' (2005)

With Blood Tsunami

Studio albums * ''Thrash Metal'' (2007) * ''Grand Feast for Vultures'' (2009) * '' For Faen!'' (2013) * ''Grave Condition'' (2018) EPs * ''Castle of Skulls'' (2009)

With Aborym

Studio albums * '' Generator'' (2006) * ''

Psychogrotesque ''Psychogrotesque'' is the fifth studio album by the Italian industrial black metal band Aborym. The album was recorded, mixed and mastered at Fear No One Studios by Emiliano Natali, with the sound consulting of Marc Urselli (founder of The M.E.M ...

'' (2010) * ''

Dirty Dirt is any matter considered unclean, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty. Common types of dirt include: * Debris: scattered pieces of waste or remains * Du ...

'' (2013)

With Mongo Ninja

Studio albums * ''...And the Wrist Is History'' (2009) * ''No Cunt for Old Men'' (2010) * ''Nocturnal Neanderthals'' (2011)

With Studfaust

EPs * ''Half Human, Half Dynamite / 1980's Ladies'' (2012) * ''Where the Underdogs Bark'' (2014)

With Djevel

Studio albums * ''Blant svarte graner'' (2018) * ''Ormer til armer, maane til hode'' (2019) * ''Tanker som rir natten'' (2021) * ''Naa skrider natten sort'' (2022) * ''Natt til ende'' (2024)

Lyrical, vocal and instrumental credits

In popular culture

Eithun was portrayed by

Valter Skarsgård Valter Skarsgård (; born 25 October 1995) is a Swedish actor, a member of the Skarsgård acting family that includes his father, Stellan, and brothers Alexander, Gustaf, and Bill. Early life and education Valter Skarsgård was born on 25 Oc ...

in the 2018 biographical horror-thriller film '' Lords of Chaos''.

Bibliography

* ''

Orcustus Orcustus was a Norwegian black metal band formed in 2002 by Taipan, Infernus and Tormentor of Gorgoroth, and Dirge Rep of Enslaved and Gehenna. The band released their only studio album in 2009 and split-up in 2019, with Taipan and Dirge Rep ...

'', underground

zine A zine ( ; short for ''magazine'' or ''fanzine'') is, as noted on Merriam-Webster’s official website, a magazine that is a “noncommercial often homemade or online publication usually devoted to specialized and often unconventional subject ...

published by Eithun in the early 1990s.

References

Sources

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Faust 1974 births Living people 20th-century Norwegian criminals Norwegian male criminals Norwegian black metal musicians Norwegian heavy metal drummers Norwegian male drummers Norwegian people convicted of murder People convicted of murder by Norway 21st-century Norwegian drummers 21st-century Norwegian male musicians Aborym members Emperor (band) members Dissection (band) members Violence against gay men Violence against men in Europe Violence against LGBTQ people in Europe