Per "Dead" Ohlin
Dead | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Per Yngve Ohlin |
| Also known as | Dead Pelle |
| Born | 16 January 1969[1] Stockholm, Sweden |
| Died | 8 April 1991 (aged 22) Kråkstad, Norway |
| Genres | Black metal, death metal |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1982–91 |
Per Yngve Ohlin (16 January 1969 – 8 April 1991[1]) was a Swedish black metal musician best known for performing with the band Mayhem under the stage name Dead.
He was given the name "Dead" after a near-death experience when his spleen ruptured after being beat up by bullies and was clinically dead for a while. He became fascinated with death and dying afterwards and received his name.[1]
He was also a founding member of the death metal band Morbid and performed with them on their December Moon demo.
He was described by Jan Axel "Hellhammer" Blomberg, the drummer for Mayhem, as being "a very strange personality ... depressed, melancholic, and dark" and guitarist Øystein 'Euronymous' Aarseth said "I honestly think Dead is mentally insane. Which other way can you describe a guy who does not eat, in order to get starving wounds? Or who has a T-shirt with funeral announcements on it?"
Death and aftermath
Dead's mental state began to take a turn for the worse due to his fascination with death and his social situation. Because of this, he would usually cut himself while performing on stage with either a broken bottle or a blade. Euronymous was fascinated with Dead's suicidal tendencies and would encourage Dead to kill himself often.[2] Varg Vikernes sent shotgun shells to Dead in 1991. On 8 April 1991, In the house he shared with Euronymous, he slit his throat and wrists with a knife and then shot himself in the forehead with a shotgun. His suicide note said that he was sorry for shooting himself indoors and he ended the note with "Excuse all the blood".[1] Euronymous returned home and had to climb through an open window because all the doors to the house were locked. He found Dead's body but before he called the police, he went to a nearby shop and bought a disposable camera which he used to photograph Dead's body after he moved around some of the items.[2] He also kept some pieces of Dead's shattered skull.[2] Hellhammer developed the pictures and Euronymous said that he would later destroy the pictures but he never did. He kept the pictures in an envelope at his record shop Helvete instead and sent one of the pictures to the owner of Warmaster Records which used the picture of Dead's body as the cover art for Mayhem's 1995 bootleg live album Dawn of the Black Hearts.[2] The other band members were disgusted at Euronymous' actions before and after Dead's death and Bassist Necrobutcher decided that he wasn't going to be friends with him anymore.[2]
He was ranked #48 out of 50 of The Greatest Metal Frontmen of All Time by Roadrunner Records.[3]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Stefan Rydehed (director) (2008). Pure Fucking Mayhem (movie). Index Verlag.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Martin Ledang (director), Pål Aasdal (director) (2007). Once Upon a Time in Norway (movie). Another World Entertainment.
- ↑ "The 50 Greatest Metal Front-men of All Time!". Roadrunner Records. Archived from the original on 5 March 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2013.