Black Metal 1995
Kay Hamling
But looking at the variously reproduced lists, what actually was been lost to black-metal arson? I have no claims of being comprehensive (except in the case of the canonical four 1992 arsons Vikernes was charged with), but these all the churches that were destroyed or severely damaged by arsons related to the black metal scene that I have located.
This is the most notorious, also the most significant, and only medieval building robbed from us by the black metal scene arsons. However, its story as a medieval church is unique, to the point where one might question its claim to having been medieval at all.
The church was originally in the remote mountain village of Fortun and was threatened with demolition due to redundancy in face of a new church with higher capacity and better suited to modern Lutheran worship had been built. In 1883 the building was saved by its removal, funded by Consul Fredrik G. Gade, over 100 miles away to be reconstructed on a new site in the coastal city of Bergen.
This church was built from 1864 as a new foundation inside the existing parish of Hland on the eastern side of Stavanger, and consecrated 20 September the next year. The building was extended and modernised in 1954. It looks pretty standard, but the original architect was Hans Ditlev Franciscus von Linstow, who was the architect of the Royal Palace in Oslo.
A new church was built at Skjold, by Nils A. Vikanes, in 1998. It actually looks more interesting than old one, and begins a rejuvenation of rather typical Lutheran boxes into more creative, modern spaces.
Interestingly, this is the only of the black-metal arson churches that was not predominantly of wood. It was a simple church that replaced a timber medieval one in 1795. This means that although the furnishings were lost, it could be reconstructed using the original masonry.
Along with Vikernes, Jrn Inge Tunsberg was convicted of the arson of this church and served two years in prison. Unlike Samoth, he absolutely regrets nothing. He still works as a musician, in the band Hades Almighty.
The other church destroyed by arson in 1994 was built in 1781. Again, its replacement had a traditional shape but with modern flourishes, and benefits greatly from the use of local materials. It was designed by Arne Thorsrud, and opened in 1997. The spire actually fell away from the building and has been partly retained in the build: the original weathervane is mounted on the new spire.
1995 was the last resurgence of the arsons. Sner was on the site of a medieval church, replaced in 16thc, expanded in 18thc, but totally demolished and replaced by the brothers Furuholmen in 1880 with, as you guessed it, a big white neo-Gothic timber-faced church. All the worthwhile fittings from the old church (which was a box with the 18thc additions to the ends, as these two early 19thc images agree on) had been moved to the Norsk Folkemuseum, Bygdy, Oslo.
This entry was initially published 13 January 2018 and was revised May 2022 with full image attributions and extra details partly because I went to go and see Mayhem live. Necrobutcher is a great bassist btw, it was quite a night!
Link: Listen on YouTube! Throes of DawnWith the Northern Wind(1994) [Demo]A very basic demo but it has some very impressive things it does with adding melody to a black metal sound, seems like it was influenced by Dawn and Rotting Christ for the style of riffs and more obvious melodies. I wish I had the full thing, seems like this band became prog-rock/metal at some point.
Link: Listen on YouTube! MorgulIn Gowns Flowing Wide(1995) [Demo]A band that is maybe better known for mediocre symphonic black metal albums played at a fast pace, these Norwegians put out an equally bland demo here in 1995. At thirty minutes there is a lot to soak in here and most of it is just your most basic second wave black metal with some keyboards tossed in when things get too repetitive. Emperor had done so much better already.
Rhino explores this prolific period from the godfathers of heavy metal in a new collection that brings four albums back into print after an extended absence. The ANNO DOMINI 1989-1995 4LP and 4CD sets contain newly remastered versions of HEADLESS CROSS (1989), TYR (1990), and CROSS PURPOSES (1994), plus a new version of FORBIDDEN (1995) that guitarist Tony Iommi remixed specially for the collection.
Calypso, formerly known as William Sparks is the creator of the Twisted Metal contest. He grants any wish the contest winner desires, no matter what they desire. Wishes that are otherwise physically impossible are within his power. Calypso often punishes the winner with their own wish in some form of dark irony. This attribute and his demonic-yet-charming demeanor means his character may have been inspired by the devil in folklore.
Calypso, whose real name may have been William Sparks (referenced in Small Brawl), was born in 1956-1957 (the exact year is not confirmed). He had a younger sister until he was 12 years old, when he stole his parent's car to run over a copperhead (he had a fascination with roadkill at the time), but accidentally ran over his sister's head. When his parents discovered this, they made him clean his sister's blood off the driveway.
William stared at his sister's doll, and after quite some time, he began to associate it with his sister. Two years after they buried her, they were still grieved and argued every time they went to put flowers on her grave. Ridden with guilt, William decided to try and join his sister by blinding his father while he was driving. The accident killed his mother and father. William was disappointed that he was not among the body count, vowing to his sister that next time, he would do it right.
He then decided to hitchhike until one truck stopped and offered Calypso a ride. The trucker, named Al, gave William a job fixing cars in a demolition derby. One day, Al was drunk and shot William in the arm ranting about him listening to calypso music. The next day, Al apologized and gave William his own car and gave him his old helmet, and christened him as Calypso.
For 20 years, Calypso participated in the Demolition Derby, hoping he would die, but only managed to keep killing both the drivers and the audience. Eventually, Calypso went to Vegas and got married to a woman named Joanie. They had a daughter named Krista. Eventually, Calypso got tired of his wife and often cheated on her. One day, however, his wife was in the audience and a tire flew off and killed her. Calypso and Krista then lived their lives out of suitcases and motel rooms.
One night, Calypso went to a bar and left Krista in the back seat to sleep. When he left the bar, he saw his wife and she told him that she was in Hell and that he should be too. Calypso agreed, and she told him all he had to do was close his eyes and let go of the wheel. Just before they crashed, Krista woke up as Calypso had forgotten all about her and both of them died.
Calypso went to Hell and was chased down by a demon named Minion, but eventually lost him. Satan, who saw the whole thing, was impressed: he gave Calypso a drink, which turned him into the man we know him as today, and told Calypso to be the host of a demolition derby that would have more souls to come to Hell. The winner, however, would get one wish, no matter the price, size or even reality. Calypso ran the tournament for 10 years, during which much suspicion was raised about him and his tournament, mainly because the wishes always seemed to backfire at the winners, usually killing them. Because of this, many law enforcement agencies, such as Interpol and the FBI, started to investigate the tournament and attempting to arrest Calypso, but to no avail. The only way anyone could ever get near Calypso was by winning the Twisted Metal tournament.
Calypso would grant any wish the winner desired, no matter what it is, even distorting reality to grant it. However, he would usually make so that the wish would backfire at the winner, causing harm not only to him or her, but as many people as possible, usually killing them. This was his method of gathering souls for Hell. However, Calypso must grant the winner's request, even if he doesn't want to (a fact that has been used against him on a few occasions, see below).
Calypso makes his first appearance in Twisted Metal (1995), played by a live actor (Charles Lance Simco) with long, somewhat frizzy red hair, a badly burned face, and wearing a sleek tuxedo. His voice was distorted and less human compared to the later games. It is noted that he sits on a throne of scrapped cars.
Calypso returns to Twisted Metal 2, this time in comic-book form. His appearance changes slightly, this time having more sleek hair, a mildly burnt face, and appearing more charming than in the original, as well as having a normal human voice. This incarnation is the beginning of Calypso's sadistic sense of humor, often twisting the victor's wish into a nightmare they never asked for. He is also seen piloting a Zeppelin (blimp) for transportation.
Calypso returns in TMIII looking similar to his TM2 rendition, although his face is no longer burned at all but still retains all the qualities listed in the previous games. Every wish granted in this particular tournament managed to backfire in the face of the victor. Calypso also returns in his blimp.
CalypsoInformationVehicleCalypsoDemeanorEvilAge??GenderMaleEye ColorRedHair ColorBlackBornDallas, TexasVoice Actor(s)Mel McMurrinWishTo reclaim leadership of the Twisted Metal contest.Bio Dialogue :TM4CalypsoBio.ogg
Different than all other games, Calypso is actually a contestant in Twisted Metal 4, due to Needles Kane taking the ring from him and usurping control of the Twisted Metal tournament, and was once again voiced by Mel McMurrin. It is shown in the intro that Calypso once drove a trackless Circus Train, while other drivers drove old-fashioned automobiles similar to the Ford Model-T, and that his competition started out as a town-to-town caravan event.
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