A Chinese Canadian Metalhead's Experience in Norway

When my interest in the subgenre first began to take root, I never expected to one day visit the birthplace of the notorious Norwegian black metal scene. And yet here I am, 3 months into an exchange semester at the Norwegian School of Economics in Bergen, having gained far more of value from my late-night trips to metal bars in the city center than I have in dozens of lectures that blended together in one tedious mix.

What follows here is an attempt to gather my thoughts on the metal scene here in Bergen, with particular emphasis on my experience as a metalhead and how it contrasts with my experience as an exchange student in a relatively homogeneous society.

The Fantoft Stavkirke - allegedly burned down by Varg Virkernes and subsequently rebuilt.

When engaging in a discussion about metal, I have always advocated for the idea that the music is inextricably linked to the subculture and the sense of family around it. This feeling of camaraderie with people whom I often had little else in common with was frankly not something I expected to find to the same extent when I decided to come to Norway.

I am quite glad to say that I was wrong.

As an exchange student, I have made lots of friends over the last 3 months. By and large, these friendships fell into place in the manner one would expect; international and exchange students living together in the same housing complex, taking the same classes, attending the same events and parties, drinking the same expensive-but-shit beer, and so on. It would be depressing to mention the number of Norwegian friends I have made among the host university students (hint: I need only one hand to count 'em). And to a large extent, I think this has been the same experience for my cohorts. It has proven difficult to facilitate meaningful interaction between Norwegian students and exchange students. By which I mean the kind of interaction that allows one party to greet the other the next morning without one of them returning it with a quizzical expression - "do I know you?" There are obviously exceptions, but my relationships with Norwegian students have largely amounted to two things: having to work on an assignment together, and them mistaking me for Steve Aoki. Thankfully, the two don't tend to coincide. None of this, of course, is the fault of the school, the country or the people. It's a pattern that I have observed at home in Canada as well. It was as if the exchange students and host school students simply withdrew into their own alternate but bordering realities once the welcome week was over.

By contrast, the friendships I have forged with local Norwegians at metal shows or just hanging out at the local bars have been both fruitful and engaging. The very first concert I attended here was Beyond the Gates: Bjørgvin Black Mass, Bergen's own annual celebration of underground metal. I went with a fellow exchange student, a French girl, and there we had the chance to chat with various metalheads from all over the continent and all walks of life, locals included. One of the most amusing memories for me was every time there was an intermission between the bands, when the teeming black mass (pun intended) of humanity swarmed out over the docks around the venue like a tumour, earning nervous glances from Friday afternoon restaurant-goers. It was here at this event that I began to feel that "home" could be anywhere for me, as long as there was a metal community. This was also the event at which I met Gaahl from Gorgoroth, a legend in the Norwegian black metal scene. The Norwegian metalheads assured me that it was no big deal, that Gaahl lived in Bergen and that he had come to see and support Mayhem, another big name in black metal. Or at least, they tried to assure me. I was still pleasantly shocked about meeting Gaahl several days later.

Revenge - blackened death metal from Canada. Thoroughly enjoyed their set, but amusing how I saw them for the first time on this side of the world.

The next show was a markedly different, but also pleasant experience. I went alone to see ARVAS and Among Gods, local bands, at Inside Rock Cafe. Two Norwegian girls who had come to support their drummer friend in Among Gods started chatting to me and introduced me to some of the other concertgoers and we had a fun night just drinking and enjoying the music. Sad to say, I can put names to their faces better than to many of the Norwegian students I have seen around here for 3 months.

ARVAS

After that was Vinterbris, Once Awake, and Fleshmeadow at Det Akademiske Kvarter, another lone-wolf experience that turned out to be my ticket into a different world than the one I had experienced up to then. When Once Awake gave the audience a ripping rendition of a Sepultura medley, I couldn't resist going up for a fist-bump and a congratulatory remark. This led to a brief conversation in which I introduced myself to Frode Hennoe, frontman of Once Awake. It was another fun concert night, but the significance of it would only become clear later.

Once Awake. Chinese guy with the glasses and long hair in the crowd, that's yours truly.

The Storm Over Bergen show happened on a Thursday, at the legendary Garage bar. The bands in attendance that night were Tessia, Psykopath, Shattered Society, and Istarn, none of whom I knew. Going in, there was nothing remarkable about the experience other than the fact that I was once again attending with my unlikely partner in crime from France. We had tentatively planned for 3 consecutive nights of concerts starting with Storm Over Bergen. After Psykopath blew us away, between Shattered Society and Istarn's set, I recognized Frode from Once Awake in the crowd next to me. To my surprise, he remembered me as well. Upon hearing that I was studying marketing at NHH, he asked me to help promote his band abroad. After the show, he took my friend and I backstage to meet the bands.

Istarn

It was mind-boggling how we could be worshiping these musical deities on the stage one minute, and drinking with them on the couch in the next. Suddenly your gods become your friends. You hear them give their opinions about politics, bitch about beer prices, the weather, and all sorts of mundane things you yourself would use to start a conversation. We had so much fun that my friend left her umbrella in the backstage area and we missed the last bus back to our student residence. Walking back while tipsy and awe-struck at what we had just experienced proved to be a surprisingly pleasant trip.

The next night, Friday the 13th, was when SIBIIR and the famous Enslaved were playing at Garage. Enslaved proved to be everything their reputation said they would be. My friend had the genius idea of using her lost umbrella as an excuse to go backstage again. Sure enough, we managed to have a nice long chat with Arve Isdal, Enslaved's guitarist, before we felt we had overstayed our welcome and left.

The legendary Enslaved

The third consecutive concert never happened, because my body had had enough and both my French friend and I agreed that there was simply no way to top our experiences the preceding two nights.

And one of the more strange coincidences in my life, though only tangentially related to my overall point about metal, happened again at Garage, at a Halloween party. This time I went with my metalhead friend again, but also a Chinese girl who was merely curious about Halloween parties in Norway and had nothing to do with metal. At the bar, we met a Norwegian and his Chinese wife who came from my home city in China: Shenyang. We found out that he had been more or less the typical Norwegian metalhead back in the day, and hanging out at Garage was somewhat of a trip down memory lane. An altogether odd but stimulating conversation ensued in which I attempted to practice my French, Mandarin and Norwegian. The couple were planning to open an Asian restaurant here in Bergen, and wanted our input. So up we got up and went to their apartment where we were treated to some great lamian noodles. We ended up blasting music so loud in the middle of the night, we disturbed the disgruntled neighbours - nobody had noticed the window was open.

These experiences were all valuable and memorable for me in their own ways, and they are by far the highlights of my short stint in Norway. The unifying thread was the presence of other metalheads. Now more than ever, I appreciate the role of this beautiful, cacophonous library of sounds from the dark side, and how it can bring me closer to people in ways that otherwise would be unimaginable.

So my thoughts on the Bergen metal scene?

The reputation is well deserved, but one truly has to be here and get up close and personal - like I was at every show - to understand just what makes this community so close-knit and strong. The enduring popularity of the music and its adherents is a strong affirmation of Ronnie James Dio's declaration - "metal will never die" - that will echo throughout eternity.

Perhaps the most metal monument ever.