Helvete

I’m not sharing this with the people on Instagram. Number one, it’s too long; number two, fuck Em.

What can I say about this place? Is it everything a metalhead could hope for? Absolutely. But it’s more than that.

Helvete is was birthed by Øystein Aarseth, aka Euronymous from the infamous band Mayhem. When I walked in, it was very much reminiscent to any vintage record shop in Nashville. Cassettes, vinyls, patches, lapels, CDs, flags, clothes…you name it, it had it. The ambience was cool as fuck, and there were a few metalheads from the UK we had the chance to speak to.

I perused the vinyls in search of rarities. Truthfully, it was a bit overwhelming for me because…well, anything in that shop is technically a rarity. The beauty of the record store is the simple fact that it’s pure history. However…I was in pursuit of something more. I was in pursuit of darkness.

The basement of Helvete was a place that was infamously dubbed as the most evil place in Norway. If you are not familiar with the basement, well, it was the stomping grounds of Kjetil, Euronymous, and Dead. Satanic rituals, blood rites—hell, even demos and albums being recorded was something the place had seen…but it carried a presence that even I had to respect.

The wall itself was something that upon touching, I knew instantly the history of that place was something blacker than night. It was cold, dank, and quintessentially your typical black metal-Esque aesthetic, but the sheer power of stepping into that room made me realize that this was everything more than a fucking tourist pic. This was history; this was by all rights one of the most evil places that existed. I could certainly feel a heavy feeling in the room, and if Jim were not with me—I may not be so quick to go in alone.

I could feel the room cold, but not an ambient chill; this was something that carried a whisper and a word that wanted to be heard. As I knelt to the ground—I immediately felt powerful. I quickly realized why at one point, Euronymous thought he was the black metal authority. Helvete’s basement makes you feel powerful. And maybe that’s why Mayhem was so powerful back in the day. Or, maybe Satan did, in fact, Grant power to the conjurer. I suppose the only person who could tell me would be Kjetil, but even someone as curious as I knows when to leave well enough alone.

The history of that place was everything and more That I expected it to be, and frankly, I did want to cut my thumb and wipe my blood on the wall, giving a piece of myself to the darkness inside it.

This is one of the greatest highlights of my life, and I had to capture it for you all here on Patreon. Enjoy, my friends, and thank you for being a part of it.