Glasses with carefully chosen (that’ll be red) wine, some smooth cafe jazz on a real low volume, hands held. An eclectic selection of ripe cheese.
A burning church.
Good taste and common sense aside, this Fantoft stave church shaped candle is a winner. Especially so if you early on invested in one Mr. Vikernes’ Burzum outing “Aske” (EP, 1993): The first production run included a practical lighter as well as a picture of the still smoking remains of a certain church …
Aske translates “ashes”, if you were ever in doubt.
I just received my #104 of the 666 (didn’t see that one coming?) numbered copies that makes the 2nd edition of “Kirkebrann — True Norwegian Black Candle”. Hand made in Bergen, and all.
Now, church arson is no new tradition, but still got it’s fair share of news coverage back in 1993 when, as some still claim, one-man band entertainer and Beelzebub enthusiast Varg (fun trivia: changed his name from “Kristian”, a variation of “Christian”, after scoring high on the irony scale) Vikernes (this is down to statistics, mind you — he was never convicted for this particular barbecue-gone-wrong. On the other hand, a fatal stabbing, three other churches set on fire and the use of all upper case blackletter fonts got him making ambient demos for a long, long time. No, he probably had nothing to do with it etc.) and/or friends set fire to the richly carved and dragon adorned Fantoft stavkirke.
This particular church was originally a more plain looking stave church moved (and seriously pimped) to Fantoft, all the way from Fortun in Sogn, where it had escaped the black metal milieu of Bergen since 1150. Until 1993, that is.
Anyway. It was the absence of the tourist attractive Fantoft stave church that really made people angry. A great place to have a few beers on a late summer night, a nice park to hold hands on a date — or to marry her the next summer. Or all three at once: beer, babe and bells. The church was thus mostly used for wedding sermons and guided tours, posing little religious threat and potential symbolism to angry looking kids with pentagrams, make up, studs and silk screen printed t-shirts. Oh, and double bass drums.
So how to further provoke the people of Bergen, a city known for it’s unashamed love of it’s own past? Make money on candles shaped like their favourite postcard church. Of course.
Baby, you can light my candle …
I remember Snorre getting a Burzum album to one of his birthdays (and an inflatible sheep if I remember it correctly). Not sure if it was Aske (but 1993 sounds about right), but I do remember we listened to it and concluded it was not our cup of tea.
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Yup, that was the “not a sex aid” sheep incident, and it was Aske being played. The same party where i almost lost a future black metal profile out of a 2nd floor window … Time flies :)
You almost lost who out of the window?
Ronny, of Aeternus etc fame :)