Church burnings

Musicians and fans of the Norwegian black metal scene took part in over 50 arsons of Christian churches in Norway from 1992 to 1996. Many of the buildings were hundreds of years old, and widely regarded as important historical landmarks. One of the first and most notable was Norway's Fantoft stave church, which police believed was burned by Varg Vikernes of the one-man band Burzum. However, Vikernes would not be charged until his arrest for the murder of Øystein Aarseth (widely known as Euronymous) in 1993 (see below). The cover of Burzum's EP Aske (Norwegian for ash) is a photograph of the Fantoft stave church after the arson. The musicians Samoth, Faust, and Jørn Inge Tunsberg were also convicted for church arsons.

 Today, opinions differ within the black metal community about the legitimacy of such actions. Guitarist Infernus and former vocalist Gaahl of the band Gorgoroth have praised the church burnings in interviews, with the latter saying "there should have been more of them, and there will be more of them". However, Necrobutcher and Kjetil Manheim of Mayhem have disapproved of the church burnings, with the latter claiming "It was just people trying to gain acceptance within a strict group (the black metal scene) ... they wanted some sort of approval and status".