Norwegian 'black metal' band Mayhem have broken their silence on their life of sex, gore and Satan worship and slammed a new film telling how their hate-filled lyrics inspired fans to burn churches. 'Lord of Chaos' charts devil loving Mayhem's dark descent into an orgy of destruction, violence murder and suicide in one of the blackest periods of pop history in the wild Eighties. But bassist Varg Vikernes says the blockbuster, released next month, isn't a true reflection of their depravity because filmmakers didn't ask the band what really went on. Norwegian 'black metal' band Mayhem have opened up on their life of sex, gore and Satan worship and slammed a film telling how their hate-filled lyrics inspired fans to burn churches 'Lord of Chaos' charts devil loving Mayhem's dark descent into an orgy of destruction, violence murder and suicide in one of the blackest periods of pop history in the wild Eighties In a decade of chaos, guitarist Øystein Aarseth, nicknamed Euronymous (left) who founded the group, was murdered by a bandmate and lead singer Per Yngve Ohlin, nicknamed 'Dead' (right) blasted himself in the forehead with a shotgun The band's blasphemous, anti-Christianity lyrics encouraged fans to burn down churches across the country. The band's bassist Varg Vikernes was accused of burning down the Holmenkollen church (pictured) in Oslo, Norway 'The film is wrong,' he raged on a video he posted on Youtube. 'It's described as a true story and this brought a smile to my face. It is not a true reflection of what happened.' Mayhem's story began in 1984 in Oslo when young guitarist Øystein Aarseth, nicknamed Euronymous, refused to sign up to 'bubble gum pop' and started a black metal band with three school pals. Members came and left as their lives went into freefall with drug and alcohol abuse as the band took on many incarnations over the years. Kjetil Manheim (pictured) Mayhem's founding drummer for four years from 1984, said he has no regrets over the band's wild behaviour What followed was a rollercoaster ride into chaos, led by lead singer Per Yngve Ohlin, nicknamed 'Dead' blasting himself in the forehead with bassist Vikernes' shotgun. Ohlin was infamous for burying his clothes then digging them up before going on stage. He would cut himself with knives and broken glass in front of crowds before his suicide in 1991. When Aarseth found his body in a house they shared in the countryside in Krakstad, the guitarist, to the fury of his bandmates, took photos of it and printed them on an album cover. 'Per's killed himself, but don't worry, I took pictures,' was how he told one of the band. After Ohlin's body was removed from the house Aarseth collected fragments of his skull and made them into necklaces. Off stage the band built up a cult following of black metal fanatics who hung on to their blasphemous lyrics and burned down churches across the country. On stage, pig carcasses were hung on stakes and devoured, coating fans with blood while crosses were destroyed with pointed attacks on Christianity. At the height of their notoriety, a gay man was killed in a homophobic attack and Vikernes identified as a prime suspect. In the fallout of Vikernes' arrest Aarseth made death threats against his hellraising bandmate. Vikernes responded by driving 500km across Norway to stab to death Aarseth outside his Oslo apartment on August 10 1993. Mayhem was founded by Aarseth (left) and three friends. He found singer Ohlin (right) when he committed suicide in a house they shared in 1991. Aarseth took photos of his body and printed them on the band's album cover. He took pieces of his skull and made necklaces from them Ohlin (pictured) was known for burying his clothes then digging them up before going on stage. He would cut himself with knives and broken glass in front of crowds before his suicide Ohlin (pictured left as a schoolboy) shot himself in the forehead with a shotgun belonging to the band's bassist in just one of a catalogue of tragedies to hit the band Aarseth enraged his bandmates by taking photos of Ohlin's body including one of the bloody t-shirt he was wearing and using them as 'inspiration' for an album. He broke the news of Ohlin's death to one band member by saying: 'Per's killed himself, but don't worry, I took pictures.' Ohlin took his life in 1991 at a home shared by the band (pictured) in Krakstad, Norway Recalling those chaotic years, Kjetil Manheim, Mayhem's founding drummer for four years from 1984, told MailOnline: 'I have no regrets about anything. The murder of [Aarseth] was horrible, but it never came about from the darkness within the band. That was esoteric. 'But what [Aarseth] did with the pictures of Dead's body for the album cover was disgusting. I do miss him [Aarseth] a lot and think about him from time-to-time as he was a good friend. 'But I am not sorry for anything and I don't thing Mayhem should be held responsible for any of the violence that followed.' Now 50, Manheim, who has his grey hair short brushed in side parting these days and has swapped his black leather Eighties' costumes for a smart blazer and trousers, explained that the band's philosophy of promoting anti-religious rhetoric was not intended to persuade people to commit crime. The band was further rocked when its founder Aarseth was stabbed to death by bassist Varg Vikernes during a knife fight outside his Oslo apartment on August 10 1993 Vikernes (pictured at his 1993 trial), now 46, was jailed for 21 years for murder and convicted of burning down two churches. He has since been released and is living somewhere in France At the height of their notoriety, a gay man was killed in a homophobic attack and Vikernes (left) was identified as a prime suspect. In the fallout of Vikernes' arrest Aarseth made death threats against his hell-raising bandmate who responded by killing him at his Olso flat (right) So enraged was Vikernes by responded by Aarseth's death threats that he drove 500km across Norway from his home to confront him outside his apartment where he knifed him to death As founder of the iconic 'black metal' band, Aarseth's grave (pictured) in Oslo has become something of a shrine to fans who still follow the band even today 35 years on 'We did rage against the Christian Church, but do I feel responsible? No. We didn't say that people should go out and burn churches. 'You can't take responsibility for what people have done and when they did it based on what we did or said.' He added: 'We started as a band like any other band; kids who wanted to be rock stars. 'But we wanted to go to every extreme and see how far we could go and still like what we did, making it noisier and aggressive against authoritarianism.' Manheim said the band reacted against Norway itself because the country was too conservative - banning Monty Python's Life of Brian and preventing songs with swear words being played on television. But their main target, he said, was religion. 'Mayhem came out against the Church and the state. It was the intent to attack the religions because they are behind the dogmatic way of thinking behind what societies are built on. 'I respect people's right to be Hindus, Muslims or anything that is an individual choice. I don't argue with that. That's ok. 'But when things get organised I argue with it because it is some sort of harassment. It takes away my right to live my life as I choose. 'Doing concerts with pigs on stakes was for the Muslims and Jews and the crosses were for the Christians. We took on all three.' He said Mayhem 'absolutely' glorified death and violence and arsonists were spurred on by their music. 'I have read the Bible and if it is correct, I am a Satanist. And I don't have a problem with that all. I have a dark nature. 'Graphically showing violence and death was an artistic expression. It was not that we wanted people to go out with chainsaws and gut fuck people even though that was one of the lyrics. Lords of Chaos, which is due for release on March 29, following the Norwegian black metal scene from the early 1990s (pictured is a scene from the film). During that time, there were numerous arson attacks on Christian churches by the black metal scene The sex, drugs, gore and Satanic worship of Mayhem in the Eighties has been turned into a film released in the UK later this month. The band say they were not spoken to by the filmmakers who don't know the true scale of their debauchery Bassist Vikernes rarely gives interviews but, having been sent the script of the film, has broken cover on YouTube to slam the film and accused the people behind it of 'character murder' 'It was more of an expression to show off the gore of how extreme things can be to the people who show off this so-called love to their religions around the world. 'I would do the same today. I still feel the same. I am not scared about taking artistic risks because people threaten violence or get angry. 'I have no regrets. But there has been tragedy. For the world it is a story. But the story of Mayhem has grown out of our control.' Manheim said Rolling Stone magazine's review of the film by Swedish director Jonas Åkerlund, which gave it one-and-a-half stars 'made me laugh.' He added: 'I wasn't consulted and I definitely won't be going to see this film. I have no interest.' Vikernes, now 46, was jailed for 21 years for murder and convicted of burning down two churches. He was released in 2009 and has gone into hiding, living in France under the alias Louis Cachet. The killer rarely gives interviews but, having been sent the script of the film, has broken cover on YouTube to slam the film and accused the people behind it of 'character murder'. 'If they actually did some research into this story and the black metal scene, they must have just ignored everything they found and made up a story instead, he said. 'Because everything in this film is just plain wrong. It is a film by idiots.' Vikernes still wallows in the savagery of his knife attack and in his latest video demonstrated the stabbing motion he used to murder his band mate. He complained that the film shows him withdrawing the knife from his bandmate's skull quickly. But, reminiscing over the bloodcurdling act, he says: 'I had to jerk the knife out because it was stuck in his freaking forehead.' The film has opened in the US and hits British screens on March 29. All rights reserved for this news site dailymail and under his responsibility