Musicians Who Died Before Their Time

Per Ohlin

Photo Credit

Straight out of a death metal horror movie, the death of Per was not as gruesome as the aftermath. Per “Death” Ohlin was one of the founding members of Norwegian black metal band, Mayhem. The band was known for their outlandish performances, including impaling the heads of pigs and goats on stage. The men had gone to a cabin in the woods to work on a new album, when Per and another member, known as Euronymous (who was later murder by another member, Vikernes), got into scuffles regularly. One day Euronymous enters the cabin to find Per’s wrists slashed and a bullet in his brain, with a suicide note that read: “Excuse all the blood, cheers”. Euronymous got a camera and took pictures of his fellow band member’s corpse, to be later used on one of Mayhem’s album covers. There were also confirmed reports of him using parts of Per’s skull to make necklaces that he distributed to “worthy” musicians.