Asked in the ’70s about Black Sabbath supposedly being Satanists, Ozzy Osbourne famously replied: “The only black magic we ever got into was a box of chocolates.” Ozzy & co. mightn’t have been the real diabolist deal but as Moynihan and Søderlind document in their newly updated tome, a lot of the people who’ve followed their musical cue are. A prime case in instance is Varg Vikernes, the singer with Norwegian corpse paint merchants Burzum whose career hiccuped somewhat when he killed his Mayhem counterpart Euronymous (not his real name).
“He died from one stab to the head…through his skull,” enthuses Vikernes who also played a prominent role in the burning of nearly 100 churches. “I actually had to knock the knife out.”
Add in half-a-dozen more murders, two suicides and a spot of late night cemetery desecration and you’re talking about the most chilling read since the authorised Chris de Burgh biography.