Black Metal Inner Circle

The Black Metal Inner Circle was a group comprising of members of the first wave of Norwegian black metal . They were influential, both musically and socially on the emerging black metal scene of the early 1990s. The group later was the focus of controversy due to crimes committed an attributed to some of its members.
The group was formed around 1990 by Øystein Aarseth (Euronymous) of Mayhem, in the basement of his record store, Helvete (which translates as "Hell" in Norwegian). Notable members of the inner circle included Mayhem vocalist Per Yngve Ohlin (Dead), Varg Vikernes of Burzum, as well as Bård Faust Eithun and Samoth from Emperor.
The group's beliefs were a mixture of isolationism, Norse paganism/Norse Mythology and racial superiority, very much dominated by Aarseth's personal ideas. Although most of the group's members were anti-Christian, few held with the biblical belief of a final battle between God and Satan. The satanic philosophy of Anton LaVey was rejected in view of a vengeful satanism. In music publications, Aarseth was often criticical of metal scenes and bands outside Norway. He ran an independent record label, Deathlike Silence Records, which promoted some of the emerging black metal bands.
In 1991, Dead committed suicide and the group became even more intense in their beliefs. The historic Fantoft Stave church in Fantoft, Norway was destroyed by arsonists on June 6th, 1992, soon followed by attacks on several other Norwegian churches.
Ideological and business disputes arose between Øystein Aarseth Aarseth and Varg Vikernes. On August 10, 1993, Aarseth was murdered by Varg Vikernes at his home in Oslo following an argument. Vikernes was later arrested and convicted of the murder, along with three counts of arson. He was sentenced to 21 years in prison. The police discovered, among Vikernes' belongings, a list of crimes committed by other members of the group. Eithun received a 14 year sentence for murdering a man in 1992 and a church arson in the same year. Samoth received an 18 month prison sentence for arson in March of 1995.
The crimes and convictions of several Black Metal Circle members brought it to public notoriety in Norway. Overall theories of the group's ideologies and why the crimes were committed were published widely in the Scandinavian press and underground music publications of the time.