Fenriz from Darkthrone elected to local office, even though he asked people not to vote
As far as black-metal musicians-turned politicians go, you could do worse than Darkthrone drummer/singer/guitarist/mastermind Gylve “Fenriz” Nagell. Unlike some other Norwegian black metal icons we could name—*ahemVARGVIKERNESahem*—Fenriz has managed to avoid falling for the ugly racist and xenophobic rhetoric that has given the subgenre a bad name in recent years. Indeed, as he demonstrated in the documentary Until The Light Takes Us, Fenriz has little to no interest in politics, preferring to alienate people with his art instead. However, as Metal Injection reports, neither of those personality traits were enough to keep Fenriz from being voted into local office in his tiny Norwegian hometown.
Backup local office, if you want to put a fine point on it. Fenriz was approached to appear on a list of concerned citizens ready to take over in case something horrific (i.e., totally metal) happens to a member of the town council in Kolbotn, Norway. He agreed, figuring that his chances of actually having to serve would be pretty slim. And being a black metal musician, felt compelled to use the platform to make a nihilist statement, posting this picture with the caption “Don’t vote for me—I have to watch my friend, Tom!” on the Liberal Party of Norway’s Facebook page:
Well, the plan backfied, and now Fenriz is a backup town councilman. He’s not very happy about it either, telling CLRVYANT in an interview, “After the election, the boss called me and told me I was a representative. I wasn’t too pleased, and I’m not too pleased about it. It’s boring.” He explains further, “Basically, I have to step in when the usual people who go to the big meetings are sick or something. Then I have to go sit there and feel stupid among the straight people.”
Shouldn’t have posed for a picture with such a cute kitty cat, then.