If not, why not?

Book signing for True Norwegian Black Metal by Peter Beste, published by Vice Books
Friday June 6th
6-8 pm
Dashwood Books
33 Bond Street
between Bowery and Lafayette

In the last two decades, a bizarre and violent musical culture has emerged in Norway.  Its roots stem often from a heady blend of horror movies, heavy metal music, Satanism, Paganism, and adolescent angst.  In the early-mid 1990s, members of this extremist underground  committed murder, burned down medieval wooden churches, and  desecrated graveyards.  What started as juvenile frenzy came to symbolize the start of a war against Christianity, a return to the worship of ancient Norse gods, and the complete rejection of mainstream society.

Peter Beste has spent the last eight years working in the milieu of this insulated and secretive community - his access and insight has been absolutely without president. Together with Johan Kugelberg, the noted writer, editor, and collector of documentary photography they have brought the images into a hermeneutic narrative that makes for a compelling experience.