Bård Guldvik "Faust" Eithun (born 21 April 1974) is a Norwegian drummer known primarily for his work with

black metal Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw (lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an emp ...

band

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

. In 1993, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison for murder. He has been out of prison since 2003.

Education

Eithun studied at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

Career

Stigma Diabolicum (1990), Thorns (1990–1992)

Eithun started his career as a drummer at the age of 16 for the first Stigma Diabolicum demos, ''Lacus De Luna - Rehearsal'' and ''Live in Stjørdal'' in 1990 and in the

Thorns Thorn(s) or The Thorn(s) may refer to: Botany * Thorns, spines, and prickles, sharp structures on plants * ''Crataegus monogyna'', or common hawthorn, a plant species Comics and literature * Rose and Thorn, the two personalities of two DC Com ...

demo, ''The Thule Tapes'' in 1992.

Emperor (1992–1994, 2014)

Eithun is best known for his work with early black metal band Emperor, especially on the releases '' As the Shadows Rise'' and the groundbreaking ''

In the Nightside Eclipse ''In the Nightside Eclipse'' is the first studio album and fourth official release by Norwegian black metal band Emperor, released in 1994 through Candlelight Records. It was their only album to feature drummer Faust and one-time bassist Tchort. ...

''. In 2013 Faust returned to Emperor as drummer for the 20th-anniversary tour of ''

'' in the summer of 2014, where they also played the full setlist in

Wacken Open Air Wacken Open Air (, abbreviated as W:O:A) is a rock music festival, held annually since 1990 on the first weekend of August in the village of Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Almost all styles and subgenres of hard rock and metal are ...

Conviction and release

On 21 August 1992, while Eithun was visiting family in Lillehammer, he stabbed Magne Andreassen to death. According to Eithun, while walking home from a pub through the

Olympic park An Olympic Park is a sports campus for hosting the Olympic Games. Typically it contains the Olympic Stadium and the International Broadcast Centre. It may also contain the Olympic Village or some of the other sports venues, such as the aquatics ...

, a well-known gay cruising spot, Andreassen drunkenly approached him and solicited him for sex. Eithun agreed to go with him to the nearby woods and stabbed Andreassen 37 times. He kicked him in the head repeatedly as he lay on the ground. Eithun claimed that he felt no remorse at the time.

Ihsahn Vegard Sverre Tveitan (born 10 October 1975), better known by his stage name Ihsahn (), is a Norwegian multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and composer, best known for his work with black metal band Emperor. Tveitan is also a founding member of Th ...

, his bandmate in Emperor, said that Eithun "had been very fascinated by serial killers for a long time, and I guess he wanted to know what it's like to kill a person". The media has linked the murder to black metal and speculated that Eithun was motivated by Satanism,

fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

, or homophobia. In a 1993 interview, he stated: "I am not a Satanist, but I praise the evil".Interview with Euronymous, Faust, Metalion and others from ''Beat'', Issue 2 (1993)
In an interview for the book '' Lords of Chaos'', he explained that he had been "interested in Satanism but there are other things as well. Basically, I don't give a shit". In a 2008 interview, Eithun said: "I was never a Satanist or fascist in any way". In a 2012 interview he said: "I never had any racist or homophobic views". Gaahl, who is an openly gay member of the Norwegian black metal scene, said that Eithun was the first person to send him a message of support when he came out.

Jørn Inge Tunsberg Jørn Inge Tunsberg (born 4 December 1970 in Bergen, Norway) is a death/black metal musician. He lives in Bergen and plays guitar in the black metal band Hades Almighty and the industrial metal band Dominanz. Tunsberg played in the bands Old F ...

of the band

Hades Almighty Hades Almighty is a Norwegian black metal band from Bergen, Norway. They were formed in 1992, originally under the moniker Hades. They were forced to change their name to Hades Almighty in 1998, following complaints from an American band with a ...

said that the murder was "an impulse killing" and that "it had nothing to do with black metal". Police initially had no suspects, and Eithun remained free for about a year. However, he told Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth,

Varg Vikernes Louis Cachet (born Kristian Vikernes; 11 February 1973), better known as Varg Vikernes (), is a Norwegian writer and retired musician best known for his early black metal albums and later crimes. His first five records, issued under the name Burz ...

, and a few others what he had done. After Vikernes' murder of Aarseth in August 1993, Eithun was arrested and confessed to killing Andreassen. In 1994, he was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment, but was released due to good behavior in 2003 after serving nine years and four months.

Discography

* Stigma Diabolicum – various reh-tapes and live-tape from Stjørdalen, Norway 1990 *

– various reh-tapes 1990–1992 *

– ''Emperor'' – split CD with Enslaved 1992 (Candlelight) * Emperor – '' As the Shadows Rise'' 1994 (Nocturnal Art Prod) * Emperor – ''

'' 1994 (Candlelight) * Cadaver Inc. – a spoken passage on the ''Kill Tech'' song featured on '' Discipline'' 2001 (Earache) * Ulver – drums on ''The Future Sound of Music'' on ''

Perdition City ''Perdition City'' (subtitled ''Music to an Interior Film'') is the fifth studio album by Norwegian experimental electronica band Ulver, issued in March 2000, via Jester Records. The album was recorded and produced by Kristoffer Rygg and Tore ...

'' 2000 (Jester) *

Zyklon Zyklon was a Norwegian blackened death metal band formed in 1998 by Samoth and Trym of Emperor, along with members of Myrkskog. Their style has been described as modern death metal with black and industrial undertones. After more than a two- ...

– ''

World ov Worms ''World ov Worms'' is the debut album by the Norwegian black metal band Zyklon. It was released in 2001 by Candlelight Records. Track listing All lyrics by Bård "Faust" Eithun, with lyrical ideas (on "Terrordrome") and title concept (on "W ...

'' (2001, wrote all lyrics) *

Sigh Paralanguage, also known as vocalics, is a component of meta-communication that may modify meaning, give nuanced meaning, or convey emotion, by using techniques such as prosody, pitch, volume, intonation, etc. It is sometimes defined as relatin ...

– lyrics for ''Nietzschean Conspiracy'' – '' Imaginary Sonicscape'' (2001 album) * Zyklon – ''

Aeon The word aeon , also spelled eon (in American and Australian English), originally meant "life", "vital force" or "being", "generation" or "a period of time", though it tended to be translated as "age" in the sense of "ages", "forever", "timele ...

'' (2003, wrote all lyrics) *

Blood Tsunami Blood Tsunami is a Norwegian thrash metal band from Oslo, formed by Peter Michael Kolstad Vegem in 2004 and currently signed to Indie Recordings. Biography 2003–2004 Lead vocalist and lead guitarist Peter Michael Kolstad Vegem (a.k.a. Pete ...

– Demo (2005) * Scum – ''Protest Life'' (single-CD, 2005) * Scum – ''

Gospels for the Sick ''Gospels for the Sick'' is the debut album of the hardcore punk/black metal supergroup Scum. The album was released on 5 September 2005 through DogJob Records, Bitzcore and Candlelight Records. The album is noted for its fusion of black metal a ...

'' (2005) * Blood Tsunami – ''

Thrash Metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

'' (2007) * Zyklon – '' Disintegrate'' (2006, wrote all lyrics) * Aborym – '' Generator'' (2006) * Blood Tsunami– ''Castle of Skulls – demo'' (2009) * Blood Tsunami – ''Grand Feast for Vultures'' (2009) * Aborym – '' Psychogrotesque'' (2010) * Aborym – ''

Dirty Dirt is an unclean matter, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty. Common types of dirt include: * Debris: scattered pieces of waste or remains * Dust: a genera ...

'' (2013) * Blood Tsunami – '' For Faen!'' (2013) * Djevel – ''Blant svarte graner'' (2018) * Blood Tsunami – '' Grave Condition'' (2018) * Djevel – ''Ormer til armer, maane til hode'' (2019) * Djevel – ''Tanker som rir natten'' (2021) * Djevel – ''Naa skrider natten sort'' (2022)

In popular culture

Eithus was played by

Valter Skarsgård Valter Skarsgård (; born 25 October 1995) is a Swedish actor. Personal life Skarsgård is the youngest son of actor Stellan Skarsgård and My Skarsgård, a physician. He has seven siblings, five of whom are from his father's first marriage: Al ...

in the 2018 biographical-horror-thriller film '' Lords of Chaos''.

Bibliography

* ''

Orcustus Orcustus is a Norwegian black metal band formed in 2002. History Orcustus formed in Bergen, Norway, in early 2002 by Taipan, Dirge Rep, Infernus and Tormentor. Their moniker, meaning "the inner circle of Hell where Lucifer resides on his thr ...

'', underground

zine A zine ( ; short for '' magazine'' or '' fanzine'') is a small-circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images, usually reproduced via a copy machine. Zines are the product of either a single person or of a very s ...

published by Eithun in the early 1990s

References

Sources

External links

Faust interview at ''About.com''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Faust 1974 births Living people 20th-century Norwegian criminals Norwegian male criminals Norwegian black metal musicians Norwegian heavy metal drummers Male drummers Norwegian people convicted of murder People convicted of murder by Norway 21st-century Norwegian drummers 21st-century Norwegian male musicians Aborym members Emperor (band) members Dissection (band) members Violence against gay men Violence against men in Europe