I have read in some places that Jon was a member of the so-called "Inner Circle" and was associated with Euronymous, also that he was involved in a Swedish Helvete shop briefly. But I haven't found any real evidence of this. I've only found one interview where Euronymous even mentions Dissection and it is in the same breath as Merciless and Marduk, just naming a few good bands from Sweden. Otherwise, there is nothing. His ties with Marduk and Abruptum are well known, but nothing on Dissection that I can find. On the other side, Jon is asked why he dedicated "The Somberlain" to Euronymous and his answer doesn't sound any more special than the hundred other bands that dedicated albums to Euronymous around the same time.

Does anyone have anything to offer on this to prove or disprove Jon being part of the scene there or being anything more than a fan of Mayhem? I've been told this Blod Eld Dod book has an interview which talks about it, but I don't have the book and couldn't read it anyway since it's in Swedish. If someone with this wouldn't mind scanning the interview or sharing excerpts regarding this, would be nice. This question bugs me for some years now.

The inner circle was an informal generalization of a group of friends/associates in the early Norwegian black metal scene, Helvete means "Hell" thus is a pretty good name for an extreme metal record shop, and Euronymouse was generally regarded as a leader/innovator in black metal, not to mention that he was murdered the same month they recorded that album.

It's likely they were in touch, as Mayhem were friends with Darkthrone at the time, who corresponded with At The Gates (i.e. their logo), and ATG were close with Dissection, sharing a rehearsal space with them a bit later from 1994-1996 or so (maybe as early as 93?). I'd guess the rest are just rumors as every notable connection has been babbled about for years.

Right. "Likely" that they were in touch is no surprise, being involved in the same music scene at the time and Dissection's hometown being rather close to Oslo. But I'm hoping for actual evidence; i.e. interviews, pics, etc. and less so people's general opinions about whether or not it was possible. Of course it was possible but I'm trying to see if anyone has any good info to share on this topic.

I don't think so cause I NEVER heard about this.

According to Varg, just a few swedes went to Helvete from time to time, might be Jon one of them?

That's why I'm asking. It was something commonly stated on several Dissection pages, back in the late '90s and early '00s. This is why I've always wondered. Someone on another forum claims that details of this are mentioned in the Blod Eld Dod book, which is why I ask if anyone has a copy of this and can confirm what it says. A shame the thing is in Swedish only.

Ah, so you must be a former Inner Circle member! Hail!

It's likely that Jon had some connection with Euronymous beyond being a pen pal. He was a close ally of IT, who in turn was a close friend of Euronymous, and travelled to Helvete some times. They played together in Opthalamia as well. There were plans to re-open the Helvete store in Sweden with IT and Jon being major players, but this never materialized to my knowledge. This can be found in old interviews with IT.

These early second wave bands were often times in contact with each other, and it stretched far beyond the boundaries of Norway and Sweden, as Euronymous was in contact with Rotting Christ and Sigh, and Darkthrone were in contact with Necromantia and Varathron. Must have been a really awesome time to be in the scene.

"In December 1991 Jon and Ole also did a special live appearance together with Euronymous of Mayhem performing "The Freezing Moon" on-stage together at a Black Metal event/meet in Askim, Norway (arranged by amongst others Euronymous and the earlier mentioned infamous organization the Black Circle)."

SOURCE (former official site): http://web.archive.org/web/200310050659 ... graphy.htm


So I'd say they knew each other quite well as it also says Jon spent alot of time in Oslo too.

LOL! No, but I used to read about this, you know?




Never heard about it. Thanks!

Thanks. This is one of the things I'd read long ago. But, still, questions rise about who wrote the bio and from where did they get their info? I'm still hoping someone can share something from an actual interview with Euronymous or Jon, or someone associated with them, to shed more light on this.

I remember Metalion's book mentioning Jon opening up a branch of Helvete in Sweden, I'll see if I can find it.

EDIT:
Found it. No scan, but I'll quote the relevant section. Page 220 in The Slayer Mag Diaries for anyone who wants to check it.
"Incidentally, although everyone knows about the Helvete shop in Oslo, there were actually two shops called Helvete. The second Helvete was a little less famous. It was run in Sweden, somewhere near Gothenburg, by a group of people including Jon Noedtveidt from Dissection. Euronymous gave them his approval. It didn't last too long, but they had some good stuff, and they published a mail order catalog."

I don't think there is much more in this book about how well Euro and Jon knew each other, other than Jon making some threatening statements towards Varg for the murder.

That would be awesome. I keep being redirected to Blod Eld Dod, but I can't read Swedish so I never bothered to buy a book just for pictures.

If someone has this and wants to be helpful with a scan of any relevant pages or typing up any direct quotes about the topic of Jon and Euronymous, I would be really interested and I'm sure many others would like to know.

Check my edit above.
The Slayer Mag Diaries also talks quite a bit about how close Metalion was to Euro and how close Metalion was to Jon (taking trips together, exclusive interviews, etc) so it stands to reason that Euro and Jon were themselves at least decently well acquainted, I would think. Unfortunately the two best people to answer that aren't around to ask.

Very cool. Curious now about these "threatening statements". Varg must never have heard them as he mentions Dissection with some positive tone in an article on his site at some point in recent years.

Yes, seems likely and very possible the association between these two. Just trying to get to "primary sources" I guess. Since they're both a little too dead to answer questions, it's best to keep looking for previous interviews.

I've heard Per "Dead" Ohlin did make some of the early cover arts of Dissections demos. Also, the city of both Strömstad and Gothenburg doesnt lie to far from Oslo

I have the book and I can skim through it to see if I can find anything.

The underground hasn't changed much from those days. The mailings, interviews, local zines, tradings and collaborations are still going on.

Necrolord was credited for the artwork on the Dissection demos that had artwork. This thread is over a year old and it seems there's nothing to add.