| True Norwegian Black Metal | |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Peter Beste, Rob Semmer, Ivar Berglin, Mike Washlesky |
| Starring | Gaahl Peter Beste Ivar Berglin |
| Music by | Wardruna, Gorgoroth, Trelldom |
| Cinematography | Mike Washlesky |
| Editing by | Jake Burghart |
| Distributed by | VBS TV |
| Release date(s) | 2007 |
| Running time | 32 min. |
| Language | English |
True Norwegian Black Metal is a 2007 5-part documentary produced by VBS/Vice Magazine. The documentary mainly covers some aspects of the life of black metal vocalist Gaahl - renowned for his work with Gorgoroth and Trelldom. Principal photography took place in January 2007 over a ten day period in various parts of Norway including Bergen, Oslo, Espedal, and Dale. The documentary is hosted by Vice-Scandinavia correspondent Ivar Berglin who also served as translator.
The documentary has been criticised for having misreported numerous pieces of information, as well as introducing the popular misconception that Gaahl - having spent much of his childhood in the Espedal valley (also misreported to be a village) - continues to spend most of his time in seclusion when in actuality he mainly lives in a flat in Bergen, often socialising in bars.[1] For instance, it incorrectly claimed that Terrorizer Magazine referred to Gaahl as the 'most evil man alive', when the front cover in fact read 'is this the most evil man in metal?'
Gaahl himself described the story about his tenure at school and a schoolmate who allegedly committed suicide as being 'five different stories rolled into one fictional story', in that the memory of producer Rob Semmer was incorrectly mixing up several anecdotes. The documentary also refers to a small cabin on the peak of a nearby mountain claiming to be his grandparents' home, when in fact this was only a hunting cabin. This is attributed to a translation error.[2]