Black metal band Mayhem has a history; one that Hollywood plans on bringing to the big screen. According to Variety, Jonas Acklund, former member of black metal band Bathory, is set to direct the film Lords of Chaos, based on the 1998 book of the same name. The book tells the story of Mayhem’s guitarist Euronymous, who was stabbed to death by the band’s bassist Varg Vikernes in 1993.
Øystein “Euronymous” Aarseth co-founded Mayhem when he was a teenager, becoming known for their music but also for their outrageous acts which included arson and violence. Along with Euronymous, Mayhem also lost its lead singer, Pers “Dead” Ohlin, who committed suicide in 1991.
So far, the only cast announcements are that Rory Culkin (Scream 4) and Caleb Landry Jones (X-Men First Class) have been attached to the lead roles with more announcements to come. Akerlund made his name by directing music videos for names like Metallica, Ozzy Osbourne, Smashing Pumpkins, Rammstein, Hollywood Undead, and Paul McCartney.
A few days ago, Rolling Stone reached out to current Mayhem bassist Jørn “Necrobutcher” Stubberud for comment who expressed he was less than pleased with the film:
“This book, Lords of Chaos, is f–king crap and that some stupid Swedes are gonna make a movie out of it is not OK. I will do everything I can to stop this film… Tell the Swedes and Hollywood people to go f–k themselves.”
The bassist also revealed to Rolling Stone that a Norwegian company called Motion Blur has the rights to the story and that he’s been spending time collaborating on a script for the film.
