Draupnir

Draupnir is a Norwegian heathen religious organization whose recognized status and religious practice are distinct from the Black Metal scene. The book stresses that no specific connection links Nordic religious practitioners such as Draupnir to Black Metal, even as the public association between them made it harder for the group to clarify its identity.

Identity and Recognition

Draupnir is identified as one of the heathen groups expressing growing interest in the indigenous religion of the Nordic forebears. The Norwegian government recognized it as a legitimate religious organization, setting it apart from informal cultural or musical affiliations.

Religious Practice

Draupnir and other Ásatrú organizations, including Bifrost, held regular gatherings at which participants offered blot, described in the book as symbolic sacrifice to the deities of old. This practice is presented as part of organized heathen religion, not as evidence of a relationship with Black Metal.

Public Misidentification

The book explicitly denies a specific connection between Nordic religious practitioners and the Black Metal scene. It describes public assumptions of such a link as a serious liability for the religious groups, making it more difficult for them to dispel negative impressions. Vikernes’s frequent public statements about his own heathen beliefs compounded that problem: when Draupnir’s frustration at having to distance itself from Black Metal and Satanism was raised with him, he recognized the burden but did not acknowledge that his own declarations helped create it.