"Twilight" Star Jackson Rathbone Signs On For Black Metal Flick

Twilight actor Jackson Rathbone is set to appear in the upcoming film Lords of Chaos, portraying Varg Vikernes, former frontman for Norwegian black metal outfit Burzum.

In Twilight, Rathbone plays Jasper Hale, a vampire with little to no self-control, so his next role should be something of a breeze. Vikernes remains behind bars in a Norwegian prison for the 1993 murder of Mayhem guitarist Oystein Aarseth (a.k.a. Euronymous) as well as the torching of three churches. According to Blabbermouth.net, the film, based on the Michael Moynihan and Didrik Soderlind's book of the same name, will be directed by Sion Sono and center around the black metal subculture of the early 1990s, which sparked a wave of grisly murders and church fires across Norway.

The flick starts production in Norway this September following three years of delays prompted by a lack of funding. Chances are the film will not be getting two thumbs up from Vikernes who, in 2004, took to the Burzum Web site to chide the book's authors.

Calling the book "a pool of mud," Vikernes claimed, "the vast majority of all the statements made in this book are either misinterpretations; taken out of context; misunderstandings; malicious lies made by enemies; a result of ignorance; extreme exaggerations; and/or third-hand information at best. This includes the statements attributed to me.

"This book serves only one single purpose and that is to create a myth around my name and to mystify me," he said. "If that was their objective, they have indeed succeeded with their work. The authors have managed to fill the heads of a generation of metal fans with lies. What could have been a righteous revolt has been made into some pathetic, embarrassing, brain-dead, impotent and traditional poser-culture."

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Song Stories

“Oh Sherrie”

Steve Perry | 1984

Steve Perry's girlfriend Sherrie Swafford was actually in the studio when Perry began writing this song--his lone Top Ten hit as a solo act--with two co-writers. The trio began at midnight one night with just "Oh, Sherrie!" and "hold on, hold on." Three hours later, they had a complete song. Swafford, however, had to wait until the next day to hear it. "Sherrie actually got tired and went to bed," Perry said. She also appeared in the video, but their relationship did not hold on for long.

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