“Lords of Chaos” tells the horrifying story of Øystein ‘Euronymous’ Aarseth, the co-founder of the Norwegian black metal band Mayhem, who was involved in a spate of church burnings before he was stabbed to death in 1993 by rival musician Varg 'Count Grishnackh' Vikernes.
The film, based on the book "Lords of Chaos" will be directed by Sweden’s Jonas Åkerlund, himself a member of Swedish black metal band Bathory before becoming a music video director, directing the video for Madonna’s “Ray of Light” in 1998.
It will star Rory Culkin, the youngest of the McCulkin clan, and Caleb Landry Jones, who played in X-Men, Variety reported.
Jørn ’Necrobutcher’ Stubberud, Aarseth’s bandmate, said he would do everything to stop the film being made.
“The book "Lords of Chaos" is crap and that some stupid Swedes should make a film of it is not ok,” he told Rolling Stone. “I’ll do everything I can to stop this film.”
The film will track Aarseth as his 17-year-old infatuation with black metal becomes draws him into darker and darker territory.
When his bandmate Dead commits suicide, Aarseth calmly arranges the body in different poses, and takes pictures, allegedly making necklaces of parts of his skull.
After meeting Varg 'Count Grishnackh' Vikernes, from the band Burzum, he is drawn into a series of church burnings which shocked Norway.
"It sounds really silly, but I think there was a little bit of a contest between them to see who could be more evil,” Faust, a drummer with the band Emperor, told the Guardian in an interview. “It created a very difficult situation, especially for Euronymous, who wanted the glamour and the showbiz. With him, there was a lot of smoke but not so much fire".
Åkerlund aims to start shooting in Norway in the autumn.
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