Customer Reviews

True Norwegian Black Metal

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

First off, what a deal Amazon has on this. Pretty much half off what a person would pay in the store.

Anyway, like the other reviews here, this book is no slouch. It's meant for the coffee table and if you don't have a coffee table then it garners an extra seat on the couch. When people visit they have to sit next to the large front cover of Nattefrost holding up his inverted crucifix. It's definitely a conversation starter.

I've been a fan of this sub-genre of metal for a while now. I'm not going to lie and say that I've liked it or even knew about the "second wave" when it was happening. I was happily listening to my death, thrash, and classic metal albums at the time. But, when I finally did discover it, I found a new form of extreme music that paralleled my tastes at the time (around 1996).

Pros: Peter Beste's True Norwegian Black Metal captures some of the most memorable photos of the scene throughout the years. My favorites are in here and it's nice to have them on hand and just sit and look at the various photos in detail. There is additional information and old reviews/interviews with the Norwegian black metal alumni near the back as well as a tribute to ex-Mayhem vocalist "Dead". I was expecting to see Dead's body (Dawn of the Black Hearts) but alas, it was nowhere to be found. I'm neither disappointed or elated.

Cons: There is an index with page numbers and names of individuals and/or bands, but a lot of good the page numbers do when the pages have no numbers printed on them! That's probably my only gripe.

Objectively, looking on the scene then and now, my opinion remains slightly mixed on the scene's ideals, chest thumping, and rebellion. On one hand, some of the pictures such as Kvitrafn of Wardruna standing in Bergen is one of the most sociological telling pictures of the 20th century. The look on the woman's face passing on the left side is priceless next to Kvitrafn's grim countenance. The lone pictures of single individuals amidst forested backgrounds, vast plains, or in front of large mountain ranges hints at an even more darker, and to a certain extent, the lonely place where these musicians dwell in their minds and hearts. Cut off from the world and insignificant when compared with the majesty of nature, they emit a feeling of solitude which only the strong-willed are able to withstand.

In other parts of the book though, we see the less majestic to the point of the absurd and just plain sad. Nattefrost seems evil and armored for battle in most of his photos. But in one (almost candid?) shot we see him lying in his bathtub, shirtless, grasping a bottle of booze, yet still trying to ham it up for the camera even though his persona has been whittled down to little than a drunken buffoon. Unfortunately I have to say that as much as I love Immortal, Abbath hams it up for the camera even more. I'd much rather see Abbath in a more grim mode ala Pure Holocaust than say...At the Heart of Winter (which is an awesome album, but the band photos...meh).

That's about it. I love this book. Frontwards and back. I'm looking forward to sharing it with my metal buds who I know will appreciate it as much as I do.

Keep those horns raised high.

I'm sure most black metal fans are familiar with Peter Beste's True Norwegian Black Metal. We've seen the selections that are online, and maybe you've been lucky enough to attend one of the shows. I haven't.

Just got the book today after preordering it. It's amazing. The book itself is quite large and impressive. The quality of the paper and binding is good in my opinion. There are many more photographs here than what you may have seen online, and as a whole they are really impressive from a aesthetic perspective. I like the choice of quotations to go along with the work. Also includes some older photos, letters and articles documenting the Mayhem story as well.

You owe it to yourself to buy this. It's definitely a nice thing to have in your collection for anyone interesting in Norwegian BM. $40 bucks well spent!

First of all this book is huge (4 pounds!). Second of all it's full of black metal! It's mostly photography (obviously) but there are also some articles and letters and such. There are a couple (unintentionally) hilarious photos in there, too. For example, there is a great image of this black metal guy trying to look all evil, but there's some old lady walking by giving a disgusted look. Besides making me chuckle, it really does sum up how the average Norwegian feels about the whole scene. But I digress. I suggest you dig up some Immortal (or CoF for you posers out there), pour thyself a chalice of virgin's blood, light some candles, and grimly frown whilst you read this book!

If Your a fan of the whole Norwegian Black Metal scene then this IS THE BOOK FOR YOU!!! Weighing in at over 4 POUNDS!! This book delivers a Black Metal punch like no other one before it or since it's release. Peter Beste's photos bring out the true nature of the Black Metal scene in an arsenal of both color (that literally explodes off the page!) and the black and white photos that are both haunting and cold. The images in the book really capture the atmosphere that is so present in the Black Metal scenes music style. There are both Band photos and individual Band Member photos that are exclusive only to this book (The Nattefrost photos for example). The MAYHEM material at the back of the book is worth the cost alone. I can't recommend this book to you enough it's really a terrific piece and I am really glad Peter Beste put such a monster of a book out for us Black Metal fans. Some of the Bands featured in the book include: Nattefrost/Carpathian Forest, Mayhem, Dimmu Borgir, 1349, Gorgoroth, Immortal, and MANY MORE!!If You have been considering picking this up please don't hesitate! You will NOT be dissapointed!!!! HAIL NORWAY!!!!!!
P.S.Make sure to leave plenty of room for this book it is absolutely HUGE!!!!

I found this book to contain fascinating images of the black metal scene in Norway, a rich country that oddly, has more than its fair share of disenchanted and rebellious youth. As the author points out in the intro, if you were to rely solely on welfare in Norway, you'd still get around US$35,000 a year - not too shabby for doing nothing and being unemployed. And yet the country has a burgeoning death/black metal(it's the same to me) scene, full of unhappy, angst-riddled people who have completely rejected mainstream society and religion. Hard to understand but fascinating nonetheless.

My only gripe is that the photos are described at the end of the book numerically but the numbers don't appear on each page, thus making it difficult to figure out what or who is in the individual photos. But overall, a worthwhile buy for anyone interested in this genre of music.

I've heard about Peter Beste and this book from a long time ago, I was always curious about it but I have never decided to purchase it until I found a really great offer here in Amazon.
First of all, the book is really huge, with pages and hardcover made of materials of the greatest quality.
The book itself contains a high load of photographs from lots of characters from the norwegian black metal scene, here you can find live photos of typical corpse painted bands or individuals, but you can also see Samoth (Emperor and Zyklon member) playing with his doughter, Nattefrost (Carpathian Forest) smoking heroine in his kitchen(!), Fenriz (Darkthrone) headbanging in his room, members from Immortal walking in the woods or Ghaal (Gorgoroth) standing in front of his cabin atop of the mountain.
The photos are all of them nicely done, looks like Mr. Beste knows something about photography! Seriously, Peter Beste have done here a great job, he's a very skilled guy.
Apart from photographs, the book also contains an introduction written by Metalion, founder of Slayer Magazine; a three page norwegian black metal timeline that goes from the christianization of Norway in 995 A.D. to the denial of parole to Varg Vikernes in 2006, very detailed; some scanned fanzine interviews to people like Euronymus, Dead or Emperor; and some old photos from the church burnings or the infamous kerrang interview to Varg.
If you are into black metal and into bands like Carpathian Forest, Emperor, Taake, Enslaved, Windir or 1349, get yourself a copy, it is worth the money!

I have been fascinated with Norwegian Black Metal music for a while, especially with the intensity of it. The images in this book convey this intensity quite well. Most people might think that it's all just Halloween gone mad but if you know anything about the background of the music and the people involved you will find that this book captures the whole phenomenon in all of it's facets. You will not be disappointed.

What a deal on Amazon only [...] bucks shipped... This is the Massive Hard Back Edition that has stunning pictures in Color and in Black and White. There is all kinds of blasphemy inside like Upside Down Crosses,Church Burning,and some dude busting Hot Rails in his kitchen!!! If this sort of thing appeals to you do yourself a favor and purchase it...

Book full of excellent pictures giving view not only on persons of Norwegian BM scene but also on Norwegian country. Some necessary notes about the scene and history included, just enough so even the non-fans can enjoy with a little deeper view into the topic without getting scared of what some of the photos show. Book not only for BM fans, but also for the fans of photography. Hardcover with large formats makes it even more impressive. For me, one of the best pictures is the one on the cover. Love it!

Awesome book. Photos are great, print quality id high. Written content is apropriately sparse. The fold-out timeline from 995 A.D. to present is nice.