Helvete

Info

A chronological timeline of Norway's early black metal scene in the 1990's.

The Black Circle
Oslo, Norway

Historie

During May of 1991, Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth opened Helvete, located in Oslo, Norway. Euronymous was "the central figure involved in the formation of the Norwegian black metal scene" which he "almost single-handedly founded". Those who gathered at Helvete have been referred to as "The Black Circle" or "Black Metal Inner Circle". The opening of Helvete led to the black metal style spreading among Norwegian bands.

Within just a few months of Helvete opening, many young musicians had become obsessed with Euronymous and his ideas, and soon a lot of Norwegian death metal bands transformed into black metal bands.

Amputation became Immortal, Thou Shalt Suffer turned into Emperor, and Darkthrone swapped their Swedish-inspired death metal for primitive black metal. Most notoriously, Old Funeral’s guitar player Kristian Vikernes had already left the band to form his own creation, Burzum.

The shop was shut down in January 1993.