Norway's Black Metal Guitarist 'Euronymous' Winning Poll For Low-Cost Airline Immortality

Murdered Black Metal Artist 'Favourite' To Appear On Airline's Tail Fin

From the thick white corpse-paint to the grisly church burnings that typified its darkest days, Norwegian black metal music has always seemed to play something of a supporting role to its melodramatic musicians.

So the news that the late Øystein Aarseth, the former guitarist for black metal second-wave originators Mayhem, is in the running to gain immortality as the tail fin design for low-cost airline Norwegian, is about par for the gothic course.

Also known as Euronymous, Aarseth was murdered in 1993 by another black metal musician, Varg Vikerness, a far-right extremist who spent 16 years in prison for the crime as well as for burning historic churches.

Euronymous gained extra notoriety after it was alleged he found the body of Mayhem frontman Per 'Dead' Ohlin after he killed himself in 1991 - but instead of immediately reporting it to police, went to buy a camera to take photographs of the scene (which were later used as the cover for a Mayhem bootleg album).

Such a character might seem hard to forget.

But metal fans have jumped on a chance to make sure nobody does, after low-cost airline Norweigen announced a vote find four heroes to put on its the tail fins of its Boeing 737 aircraft, as part of its 10th anniversary celebrations.

There are four competitions taking place across Norway and Aarseth is currently in the lead in Oslo, where his name was nominated by a committee of fans.

According to the Guardian, Aareth is currently beating a soldier who died in 2010 and the anti-establishment Lutheran revivalist Hans Nielsen Hauge. He has until 28 March to close out the victory.

Svein Egil Hatlevik, who nominated Euronymous, said the guitarist was a natural choice.

He told Norweigen media: “I think Aarseth is undoubtedly a very influential person, and he continues to be so 20 years after his death. He is an obvious candidate."

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