Skull fragment necklaces: the most despicable band merch of all time
When people describe metal bands as infamous, it usually alludes to a hard-partying lifestyle, bitten bats and a dubious relationship with Satan. When people discuss the reputation of black metal bands, however, things somehow get even darker. Corpses are ubiquitous, not just evident in the black-and-white face paint but also in the literal body count. Norweigan band Mayhem alone had a suicide and a murder. Animal heads were impaled on stage, and lyrics were written in blood. It was all a bit grisly.
Despite the theatrical element of the Mayhem shows, which often involved vocalist Pelle Yngve Ohlin (who went by “Dead”) sniffing dead crows and burying his clothes underground to really nail that distinct reek of death, the worst things fans could be accused of was pretending to enjoy it. Posers were the enemy, and when Dead committed suicide – bandmate Euronymous claimed it was because he was so horrified by the amount of them in the scene.
Dead took his own life in 1991, which Euronymous announced to bassist “Necrobutcher” by saying: “Dead has done something really cool! He killed himself”. It’s been said that Euronymous was the one who discovered the body and took photos of his corpse before calling the police. When Necrobutcher lost it on the phone after hearing his chilling reaction to the suicide, he only said: “Relax, I have photos of everything.”
The pictures were used on the cover of the 1995 live album Dawn of the Black Hearts. Dead’s suicide was used as commercial fodder for Mayhem’s image, primarily by Euronymous, who delighted in rumours that he’d made a stew with chunks of his brain and jewellery out of his shattered skull. Only the latter turned out to be true.
Necrobutcher was so appalled by Euronymous’ gleeful response to the suicide that he planned to kill him but was ultimately beaten to it by Varg Vikernes. Before his death, he had been crowning musicians with necklaces made from Dead’s bone fragments as a token of their worth.
But one piece wound up on a true crime collectables site in 2018, accompanied by a letter Euronymous typed just days after Dead’s suicide, recounting it in horrendous detail. As it was described on the Serial Killers Ink site: “Letter content begins by discussing business but then exclusively centres on Dead’s suicide in graphic detail. Euronymous included a piece of Dead’s skull with the letter – this is notated in the letter itself by Aarseth as well as in a separate included certificate of authenticity from Vamosi. The skull fragment is taped to the letter.”
The dedicated black metal fan who bought it for $3,500 also got a cheerful sign-off from Euronymous. “OK! That should be all,” he concludes. “I’m enclosing a little piece from Dead’s cranium in case you’d like to have it. Hear from you soon!”
