Into Infinite Obscurity

The following was something I wrote in September for the OP:

Jon Nödtveidt: Into Infinite Obscurity

After a tiring eight-hour flight, I began to feel re-energized as I could distinguish the approaching runway from miles above. I had survived the trip, and was on my way to meeting my favorite vocalist of all time. A friend of mine had set up an interview with Jon Nödtveidt, the front man of the melodic black/death metal band ‘Dissection’, and I was along for the ride.
Dissection emerged from Sweden in the early ‘90’s, and released an album that would soon become an instant classic in the eyes of many metal fans. ‘The Somberlain’ had a title track whose epic harmonies would ring within you, and somber folk interludes that would have you envisioning snow on even the hottest of days. Two years later, the next album ‘Storm of the Light’s Bane’ was released, and again it met raving reviews. It was around this time, however, that Jon was convicted of being an accessory to murder, and that he was sentenced to jail.
With fans waiting patiently, Jon was released in early 2004, and it was December of that year when I flew to London to meet him. It never crossed my mind that I might be meeting a killer, but only that I would finally be face to face with a man whose music, (not necessarily his ideals), I had admired for years.
I sat next to Jon during the interview, who came across as a well-spoken and very intelligent man. He was extremely focused, and spoke passionately about his music and beliefs. We were witnessing the ‘rebirth of Dissection’, and nothing was going to stand in this man’s way to finishing his new album and rebuilding the bands legacy. (I remained silent during most of the interview, and only replied with a blush after he complemented me.)
The concert that followed was an extreme assault of the songs that have reigned many a metal lover’s stereo for the past ten years. The incredible strength of the music was audible proof that Jon had emerged from his jail cell a greater musician than ever, and the future looked glorious for the newly rekindled band. Jon stood onstage after the show was over, and I had a chance to thank him for the pre-gig meeting and for the awesome performance the band had exuded. I left that venue a very satisfied girl.
A little over a month ago, while surfing the web, I happened upon the Dissection website. The heading on the main page read ‘Official Statement about Jon’s Death’, and I discovered that Jon shot himself, his body discovered on August 16th, 2006. Initially shocked, I began to recall that Jon had mentioned killing himself before, and realized it was something that he had been planning for a long time. Speculation immediately swirled around the suicide, with rumours of ‘Satanic’ bibles, and theories involving his possible motives. Some laughed, suggesting it was a result of the reviews from his third, and final, album, ‘Reinkaos’. (The last album released by ‘Dissection’ was widely anticipated, but when hopes are held that high, there are bound to those who will be disappointed.) Whatever it was, whether it was his intense belief in his religion of anti-cosmos based Satanism or simply that his raging river of creativity had run dry, was not important.
Jon Nödtveidt was a man with a very ‘evil’ reputation. But why would a man with such supposedly deep misanthropic views choose to sit down for an interview, and then sign autographs and shake hands with fans after his concert? Can someone truly be ‘evil’ if they inspire joy in others? It will be Jon’s music, and not his lifestyle, that will continue to inspire other musicians and myself for many years to come…well, his first two albums, anyways.