The complex trajectory of a central figure in the early Norwegian black metal scene

Countries & Cities · Published 15 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Bård Guldvik Eithun, known as Faust, rose to prominence as the drummer for Emperor during the early 1990s. His career was interrupted by a 1994 conviction for murder and arson, leading to a decade of imprisonment. Since his release, he has returned to music, performing with various extreme metal bands.

Born in 1974, Eithun became a key participant in the Norwegian black metal movement after moving to Oslo in 1992. He worked at the shop Helvete and joined the band Emperor that same year. His involvement in the scene took a dark turn in August 1992 when he killed Magne Andreassen in Lillehammer. Following this, he participated in the burning of the Holmenkollen Chapel alongside other scene members. After the 1993 murder of Øystein Aarseth by Varg Vikernes, Eithun was arrested and confessed to his own crime, resulting in a 14-year prison sentence handed down in 1994.

During his nine years and four months of incarceration, Eithun pursued academic interests, completing two university degrees in religious studies and the study of ideas, as well as a year of e-commerce training. He has since described his time in prison as a period that forced him to confront his own limits and remove himself from a destructive path. While media outlets frequently linked his actions to specific ideologies like Satanism or homophobia, Eithun has denied these labels in subsequent interviews. Notably, Gaahl, an openly gay musician within the same scene, has stated that Eithun was the first person to offer him support when he came out.

Following his release in 2003, Eithun resumed his musical career, contributing to numerous projects including Scum, Blood Tsunami, Aborym, and Djevel. He also returned to perform with Emperor for anniversary tours and festival appearances, including a 2026 performance at the Beyond the Gates festival. In 2022, his work with Djevel earned him a Norwegian Spellemann Award in the metal category. His life and the broader context of the 1990s black metal scene were later dramatized in the 2018 film Lords of Chaos, where he was portrayed by actor Valter Skarsgård.

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