Norwegian heavy metal musician ‘not too pleased’ about being made a town councillor

Gylvie ‘Fenriz’ Nagell was swept to office after posting a picture of himself and his cat on social media

Gylvie ‘Fenriz’ Nagell of Norwegian metal band Darkthrone. He has become a town councillor 'involuntarily' (Dan A. Nachtnebel/Creative Commons)

An influential heavy metal musician in Norway has been made a town councillor, and he is not happy about the appointment.

Gylvie Nagell, also known by his stage name Fenriz, is best known for his work with black metal duo Darkthrone for which he is a multi-instrumentalist and lyricist.

But he has accidentally got himself a new gig after he was asked by Norway’s Liberal Party to run as an alternate representative for the town council in Kolbotn, a suburb of Oslo.

Mr Nagell apparently agreed, thinking nothing would come of it.

“I said yeah, thinking I would be like 18th on the list and I wouldn’t really have to do anything,” he told music site CLRVYNT in an interview to promote his band’s 17th album release.

But realising the prospect of becoming a politician could become reality, Mr Nagell attempted to sabotage his chances of election.

“My campaign was a picture of me holding my cat saying: ‘Please don’t vote for me’. But people just went nuts. After the election, the boss called me and told me I was a representative. I wasn’t too pleased, and I’m not too pleased about it,” he said.

“There’s not a lot of money in that, either, I can tell you,” he added.

“Basically, I have to step in when the usual people who go to the big meetings are sick or something. Then I have to go sit there and feel stupid among the straight people.”

Darkthrone formed in 1986, and their most critically acclaimed albums include Under a Funeral Moon and Transilvanian Hunger. The band is credited with laying the foundations of Norway’s black metal scene, and remain one of the genre’s most important influences.

Their 17th Album, Arctic Thunder is due for release on October 14 2016.

Mr Nagell is also a part time music journalist, and said he doesn’t enjoy doing that either.