Dead As Dead Can Be... (A Tribute To Dead) [13+]

Per Yngve Ohlin (January 16, 1969 -- April 8, 1991), better known by his stage name Dead (because of a fascination of death), was a Swedish black metal vocalist best known for his work with Norwegian black metal group Mayhem. He also acted as a lead singer of the Swedish death metal band Morbid on one demo tape entitled December Moon.

A quiet, introverted person, Dead was perhaps best known for his stage antics. He was known to bury his clothes weeks before a concert and to then dig them up again on the night of the event. This way he would have, as he put it, the "essence of death"; wearing dirty, rotten, worm infested clothing. During one tour with Mayhem he found a dead raven, which he collected and stored in a plastic bag. He would often smell the bird before performing, saying he needed to "smell death".

On several occasions Dead cut himself onstage with broken glass and hunting knives while singing. During one show in Sarpsborg, Norway in 1990, he cut himself with a broken bottle so badly that he had to be taken to a hospital due to a loss of blood. It is rumored that Dead would starve himself for weeks before touring to give himself stomach ulcers, saying it gave him better vocals.

On April 8, 1991, fellow Mayhem band member, Øystein 'Euronymous' Aarseth, found Dead dead, with slit wrists, and a shotgun wound to the head. It has been rumored that the suicide note that was found with his corpse simply read "Excuse all the blood." (Hellhammer later elaborated that the note was a bit more detailed, including apologies for having to use the shotgun inside the house, but the knife was just too dull to finish the job.) Euronymous then quickly drove to Oslo and bought a disposable camera so that he could take pictures of the grisly scene (after re-arranging some of the items), which were later used (without permission) for a bootleg album entitled Dawn of the Black Hearts, containing recordings from the previously mentioned Sarpsborg, Norway gig from 1990, as well as four live songs Mayhem performed with their old vocalist Maniac in 1986. Aarseth was also said to have eaten parts of Dead's brain, and to have made necklaces out of fragments of his skull, although Aarseth himself dismissed the former of these claims in an interview. It is also rumored that pieces of his skull were mailed out to bands that Aarseth saw as "worthy", such as the Swiss band Samael. According to Mayhem drummer Hellhammer, Morgan S. Håkansson of Marduk still has some pieces of Dead's skull. Tony Särkkä of Abruptum also claims to have small pieces.

This is my tribute to one of the most influential black metal vocalists today, and certainly one of the most "interesting characters"... Dead.

NOTE: Most of the pictures are credited to song in the video is called "Chainsaw Gutsfuck", by the band Mayhem. It is taken off of the live album "Live in Leipzig". Recorded in Leipzig, Germany on November 26, 1990. Featuring Dead on vocals, Euronymous on guitar, Necrobutcher on bass, and Hellhammer on drums. Enjoy!

Lyrics read as follows:

Bleed down to the fucking core
You're going down for fucking more
Screw your slimy guts
Driving me fucking nuts!

Chainsaw in my bleeding hands
As I start to cut you in two
Your guts are steaming out
And I just love the sight!

Maggots crawling in her cunt
I just love to lick that shit
Bury you in a slimy grave
You will rot forever there!