Ask anyone who is the best black metal drummer, and you'll get a categorical answer: Hellhammer, of Mayhem. Makes sense, he is the best, and essentially invented the Norwegian variant of the "ski blast" style of blast beats. He is both technical and, at the same time, extremely brutal in his playing - whether in studio, or live.
Recently, though, there has been a smear campaign run against Hellhammer (Jan Axel Blomberg), attributing bizarre (and questionable) quotes to him, during his time as the drummer of Mayhem between 1991 and 1994.
Many of such include stuff that borders on the illegal, such as the apology of pedophilia and terrorism. "We want to blow up Norway", "Satan f--ks children", "Let's eat Dead's brain" (speaking of vocalist Per Ohlin), and so on.
These quotes were widely published on sites like the "Metal Archives" - which I won't link to, as they are known to publish disinformation about metal artists and encourage the illegal practice of "swatting" on their forums - and they seem to have originated from entirely fictional dialogue made up for the horrible movie "Lords of Chaos".
Did Hellhammer (Mayhem) Really Claim "Satan ----- Children"?
No. That's a completely fabricated quote, with no basis in reality.
First of all, it should be noted that all of the "big four" of Norwegian black metal have publicly denounced the movie as being "fake" - as in, completed made up, and not based on any factual history. Famously, the "Lords of Chaos" film producer couldn't get any real black metal band to agree to let them use their music on the movie, so they had to use Metallica instead. If you want a more serious read on black metal's history, refer to the book "Real Satanic Black Metal"... while sensationalist, at least it doesn't make up quotes and attribute them to real, living people.
The movie goes out of its way to portray each artist in the most disturbed way possible. They make up quotes, engage in revisionism (claiming it was Hellhammer who wanted to eat Dead's brains), and other questionable activities.
The Actual Hellhammer Quotes vs Lords of Chaos Garbage
To set the record straight about Hellhammer, a man of few interviews, I've gathered some REAL quotes to compare with the idiocies published by "Lords of Chaos". This is the least I can do to try and rectify their horrible slander of a fine musician.
I. On Euronymous
In the movie: Hellhammer is portrayed as Euronymous' dumb (and psychopathic) sidekick. A stupid and criminal Chewbacca, to Euronymous' Han Solo.
In reality, Hellhammer is widely regarded as one of the smartest men in black metal. He was praised by equally talented musicians like Ihsahn, Fenriz, Attila, Satyr, and many others.
Though he worked with Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth for the final years of the Mayhem guitarist's life, Hellhammer did not romanticise his legacy. In one interview he candidly described him as "cracked in the head" (source "Euronymous was cracked in the head" according to Hellhammer), and a figure he respected for his role but regarded as driven by extreme personal visions.
Hellhammer: But the more I got to know [Euronymous], the more I understood that he was cracked in the head. I mean, eating other people's brains is very disturbed. After Dead blew off his head, Euronymous took a small piece of brain, put it in his food and ate it.
This put Euronymous not only at odds with Hellhammer (and the rest of the black metal scene), but first and foremost with Necrobutcher, the bassist, who left the band in disgust. His replacement was a man called Varg Vikernes (more on him later).
II. On Dead (Per Ohlin)
In the movie: Lords of Chaos claims Hellhammer arranged Dead's suicide, went inside his home to collect bit of his brains in an envelope, and encouraged Euronymous to cook it and tell everyone they ate it. None of this is true.
After Euronymous's death, Hellhammer maintained that both Euronymous and Dead's passing were "appropriate times for Mayhem".
Hellhammer: I do not miss Euronymous or Dead, nor the old times. I like to progress instead of looking back. But I do respect their legacies.
He also claimed the vocalist Dead's style was "inimitable", and that he had a "very dark personality" which influenced the entire black metal genre. He was never involved in arranging Dead's suicide photos, and was just as shocked as Necrobutcher when he heard the news.
III. On Varg Vikernes (Burzum)
In the movie: While not as butchered as Hellhammer, the "Varg Vikernes" character in Lords of Chaos is also a caricature that bears little resemblance with reality. In real life, Varg spoke positively of Hellhammer on many occasions.
Hellhammer made a deliberate choice, in 1994, not to exclude Vikernes from Mayhem's debut "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas" despite insistence from Euronymous' close circle. In his own words...
Hellhammer: I thought it was appropriate that the killer and victim were on the same record. I put word out that I was rerecording the bass parts, but I never did.
This choice was well received by metal fans, who praised both Euronymous' guitar work, and Varg's bass playing.
IV. On Necrobutcher
In the movie: It is implied Hellhammer tried to fight Necrobutcher over the "rights" to Mayhem. In reality, the two men never feuded. It was them, in fact, that reformed Mayhem after a long period of absence in the late 90s.
Hellhammer has occasionally aligned with Necrobutcher against sensational exploitation of Dead's death, criticising the grotesque usage of corpse photos on the infamous bootleg cover "Dawn of the Black Hearts" as "bootlegging taken to the extreme," noting that it was Euronymous's decision.
This was, according to Hellhammer, especially painful for Necrobutcher to see his friend exploited in that senseless way.
V. On the "modern" black metal scene
In the movie: The chronic "through line", or primary plot, of the Lords of Chaos movie (besides the sensationalised killing of Euronymous by Varg Vikernes), is the conflict between old school black metal and modern "trendies". This is the only part the movie gets rights, but again, the real Hellhammer has very little to do with the fictional character of the movie who promoted pedophilia, terrorism and other criminal activities. In fact, it was mainly Euronymous who was enraged by the "new wave" of black metal bands riding his coattail.
According to several interviews, I compiled, Hellhammer feels neither particularly fond nor particularly dismissive towards the "new wave" of black metal bands, noting that they "lack personality".
Hellhammer: I don't like new bands. Bands that come up today have no personalities... It's not many good records that have been put out after 1995, I think.
This is a much more nuanced view than, say, what Fenriz had to say about Gorgoroth in his last interview.
The "Lords of Chaos" producers really dropped the ball on this one. They had an opportunity to stick to reality by portraying members of Mayhem and the Norwegian Black Metal scene as they truly are. But instead, they devolved into delusional fantasies and making up criminal quotes that were later regurgitated thoughtlessly by the Metal Archives crowd, who apparently can't tell the difference between TV and reality.
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