There are certainly many documentaries to be found on the internet and elsewhere if one wanted to really dive deep into the realm of black metal and its haunting legacy. Black metal was even given the Hollywood treatment in director Jonas Åkerlund's 2018 film Lords of Chaos, which chronicled the church burnings and the bands associated with early black metal in Norway to a strangely amazing effect. But, let's face it: nobody cares much about anything unless it's hanging on a museum wall. Which is exactly what will be going down in Norway next year, as the National Library in the nation's capital of Oslo will be exhibiting a black metal curation unlike anything that's ever been seen before.
The news was announced via an Instagram post from Inferno Festival Norway, which read: "In April 2023, the National Library in Oslo, opens a new exhibition investigating the dark and chaotic feelings of Norwegian black metal. Drawing from the library’s rich collection, the exhibition references ancient Norwegian cultural history and shows black metal as a music form with a distinct artistic expression The exhibition conveys how Norwegian black metal has had an impact far beyond Norwegian borders with a vast number of international followers. The National Library of Norway invites fans and other lovers of music and cultural history to dig deep and explore Norwegian black metal as a music genre and a cultural phenomenon. There will be guided tours every day of the festival week."
There's no full rundown yet of what the exhibit will fully feature, but given the locale, I'm sure we can expect an authentically sobering display of the early Norwegian black metal scene in all its tragic glory. You can visit the Nation Library of Norway at their website here. (Note: it is written in Norwegian, so you will need to translate the page).
