Inland Empire: NORWEGIAN BLACK METAL book

This article was put together by Deaderu.

“ In Japan they always ask for something more then European or American versions, I think it's a way for them to promote albums like "special" in their market, … , they always have something more that you can't find around here... good for them! “

Dhilorz of Ancient

Peter Beste is a photographer who lives in New York and his work has been exhibited in galleries in Bergen, Oslo, New York City, Austin, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta, London, Tokyo, Osaka. His photo has also appeared in magazines such as , American Photo Glow in the Dark (Austria), Bant ( Turkey), The Face (UK), Graphic (UK) , Vice, Spin, VH1, MTV, The Fader, , London Observer, Dazed and Confused, Graphic, XXL, Mass Appeal, Revolver, Fluid (Poland), and numerous European and South American publications.

Spending the last years developing the photodocumentation of Norwegian Black Metal his portraits capture the essence of Norway's biggest musical export, showing how Norway, one of the world’s most liberal cultures, has developed a unique “dark-culture” in the context of Norways strong mythological background.

His first photography book Norwegian Black Metal was published in Japan in 2005 in limited edition of 3000 copies. It was published to concide with exhibition at gallery Speak For from Tokyo and Osaka. Preface is written by Aaron Aites, director of “Until the light takes us”.

The English version of the preface is written on black paper and the Japanese version – on tracing paper with black letters.

The book is comprised of 36 pages of photographs of the following Frost, Infernus, Gaahl, Kvitrafn, Nocturno Culto, Fenriz, Deathanie, Nattefrost, Abbath, Maniac, King ov Hell, Hoest, Enslaved, Mayhem, Snorre Ruch, Samoth, Bard Faust Eithun, Ravn, Valfar.

Deluxe edition contains one photograph of the ones in the book, signed by Peter. In this case - Gaahl and Kvitrafn of Sigfader.

Beste says "In the last two decades a bizarre and violent musical subculture called black metal has emerged in Norway. It's roots stem from a heady blend of horror films, extreme heavy metal music, Satanism, pagan mythology, and adolescent angst. In the early-mid 1990's, members of this extremist underground committed murder, burned down medieval wooden churches, and desecrated graveyards. What started as a juvenile frenzy came to symbolize the start of a war against Christianity, a return to the worship of the ancient Norse gods, and the complete rejection of mainstream society.”

As a conclusion, Peter Beste published a great photo book for collectors on the Norwegian black metal scene.

ISBN4 – 434 – 06591 -2 　C 0072　
Presented by: Dis(ign)™Warks
Printed in Japan
Format: Deluxe Edition
Language: English/Japan
Dimensions: 360 x 270 x 35 mm
Weight: 1000 gram
Photographs copyright© 2005 by Peter Beste
Copyright© 2005 www.norwegianblackmetal.com

"Peter just had the kind of attitude that was immediately accepted, which is kind of weird. We had a shared interest in art, so I never thought too much about whether what he was doing actually represented the bigger picture. In a way he's like a journalist that made it even further into this subculture that anyone before. He paid a lot of attention to it and was the opposite of many more shallow journalists that have tried to do so in the past. I think we bonded on one particular occasion, with a shoot he did for Sigfader (this is when I went to his cabin for the weekend) where we went out to Espedal. We didn't spend that long talking or interacting, but he was very, very thorough and really understood us."

Gaahl of Gorgoroth

Some links to check out:

http://www.peterbeste.com/bm.html

http://www.norwegianblackmetal.com/

Gallery Speak For (Tokyo, Japan, May 2005) :

http://www.giag.lv/english/rep-PETER_BESTE-Norwegian_Black_Metal_photo_exhibit_at_Gallery_Speak_For.htm

http://www.sugargallery.org/htmls/archive/february_07.htm

http://www.sugargallery.org/pressReleases/February_2007.pdf

Interview on Stylus Magazine :
http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/interview/peter-beste.htm

London's true home of the avant-garde :

http://www.thehorsehospital.com/archives/000254.html

Black Arts :

http://www.blacklistpdx.com/blackarts/archive/The+Norwegian+Black+Metal+Photography+of+Peter+Beste

NRK Nett [VIDEO] :