Animal Militia

Animal Militia was a radical anti-vivisectionist organization that threatened Deicide before the band’s U.K. appearances. Its appearance in the account complicates early speculation about a concert bombing in Stockholm: although the explosion was first linked to Scandinavian Black Metal circles, the later threats pointed toward a different possible source and a dispute over the band’s statements about animal sacrifice.

Identification and Context

The book identifies Animal Militia as an organization opposed to animal experimentation. Its conflict with Deicide centered on the band’s frontman, Glen Benton, who had advocated the torture and sacrifice of animals in Satanic rituals and said that he regularly took part in such activities. The account presents these statements as the context for the threats directed at Benton, not as proof that the group carried out any particular attack.

Threats and the Stockholm Explosion

In early December 1992, Deicide played in Oslo and then at the Fryshuset club in Stockholm. Before the Stockholm performance, an explosion beside the venue’s fire exit damaged a wall and injured several people, though none seriously. Initial speculation focused on the Swedish Black Circle: the attack might have targeted Deicide as rival Satanists, or Gorefest, the opening band, because of its anti-racist and politically correct stance.

The book then describes death threats made against Deicide ahead of its U.K. shows by an organization identifying itself as Animal Militia. A message attributed to the group’s Manchester cell referred to the Stockholm explosion as a warning of what was to come and singled out Benton. That connection gave investigators and observers a possible lead distinct from the initial Black Circle theory.

Attribution and Significance

The account does not establish Animal Militia’s responsibility for the Stockholm bombing. It argues that the threats, together with the fact that bombings were not the usual method of Scandinavian Black Metal participants, made the group’s allies the likely suspects. This remains a reasoned attribution, not a settled identification of the bomber or bombers.

The episode also distinguishes two kinds of conflict that could be confused by the setting: the Scandinavian scene’s internal rivalries and an anti-vivisectionist campaign directed at Benton over his claims about animal sacrifice. Animal Militia enters the narrative through that second conflict, while the Stockholm explosion remains unresolved.