Dead

Dead Photos (2)

In 1988, Per Yngve Ohlin, better known for his stage name Dead, joined Mayhem as vocalist. With Dead, the band's concerts became notorious, he went to great lengths to achieve the image and atmosphere he desired. He actually wanted to look like a corpse on stage. From the beginning of his career he was known to wear "corpse paint", which involved covering his face with black and white make-up. To complete his corpse-like image, Dead would bury his clothes before a concert and dig them up again to wear on the night of the event. Dead would often cut himself with hunting knives and broken glass during shows. In one tour he found a dead crow, which he collected and stored in a plastic bag. He often carried it around with him and would smell the bird before performing, in order to sing "with the stench of death in his nostrils."

In interviews, fellow musicians often described Dead as a strange and introverted person. Fellow band member Hellhammer described Dead as "a very strange personality [...] depressed, melancholic, and dark". Likewise, Mayhem guitarist Euronymous once stated: "I honestly think Dead is mentally insane".

On 8 April 1991, Ohlin was found dead, by Euronymous, of a shotgun wound to the head. He had also cut his wrists and left a suicide note, which included an apology for having shot a firearm indoors and which ended with: "excuse all the blood". There are rumours about the shotgun being given by Varg Vikernes, who knew that Dead used to practice with a shotgun in the forest close to the hut where the members of Mayhem lived. Euronymous took some pictures (one of them would appear as the cover of the infamous Dawn of the Black Hearts bootleg album) of the suicide scene. A legend was born, and it was said that Euronymous had cooked and eaten pieces of Dead's brain. It was also said that fragments of Dead's skull had been collected and made into necklaces that both Euronymous and Hellhammer wore as a tribute to Dead. Hellhammer was even rumoured to play the drums with Dead's bones live. Of course it is doubtful that the truth was as macabre as people would like to believe.

According to the Swedish press, the funeral took place at Österhaninge kyrka (Eastern Haninge Church) on Friday April 26 1991.

Hellhammer has claimed that Dead "was the first black metal musician to use corpse paint".

Roadrunner Records ranked Him #48 out of 50 of The Greatest Metal Frontmen of All Time.

Dead also makes a brief appearance in the Candlemass music video "Bewitched".

The letter written by Dead before his suicide, was presented in the book Slayer Magazine #20 "Blood Fire Death" in a special edition with several interviews, photos and one vinyl Ep of Morbid called Ancient Morbidity in 2010.

Marduk’s Morgan ‘Evil’ Steinmeyer Håkansson possesses a piece of Dead’s skull as well as lead fragments from the shot which killed Dead and a piece of his brain matter.