Late Mayhem Vocalist Per ‘Dead’ Ohlin’s Skull Fragment + Euronymous Letter Up for Sale
Falling somewhere between Halloween and Christmas comes the gift that ... well, comes off pretty morbid. According to Metal Sucks, Serial Killers Ink, a true crime collectibles and memorabilia company, are selling a two-page typed letter from Mayhem founder Euronymous to rock manager and label rep Tamas Vamosi that includes a fragment of late singer Per "Dead" Ohlin's skull.
Ohlin had committed suicide, while his bandmate Euronymous took photos of the corpse and collected pieces of the skull before calling in the death to the local authorities. One photo later graced the cover of the Dawn of the Blackhearts bootleg live album.
Vamosi was the manager of the group Tormentor and also worked with Deathlike Silence, Euronymous' record label. In the letter which is reported to have been written five days after Ohlin's death, Euronymous reached out to Vamosi about the Swiss band Samael, but professes his love for Tormentor over the other act. Aside from other music business, Euronymous closes the letter in a matter of fact fashion, stating, "Ok, that should be it! I'm enclosing a little piece from Dead's cranium in case you'd like to have it. Hear from you soon."
There had been rumors for years of Euronymous collecting the fragments and sending them to other musicians. Back in 2012, Marduk's Morgan 'Evil' Steinmeyer Håkansson told us that not only does he possess a piece of Dead's skull, but also has lead fragments from the shot as well as a piece of the singer's brain matter.
"I got it way back, right after he died. Back in those days they [Mayhem] were living in a house and didn't have the best financial aspects, so they didn't even have a telephone. So I remember I was celebrating New Year's in 1991 with Dead back home in Sweden. Then he got back, he wrote one letter [to me], then someone told me he's killed himself," he stated.
Morgan continued, "So I wrote a letter [to Mayhem] and then I got the reply back from the guitar player [Euronymous] -- "Well he just shot himself and here's a piece of his skull." It was a shotgun, you know? So [he also sent me] two pieces of the lead and a piece of the wet brain. I've still got it. I keep it well protected."
As for the Euronymous letter to Vamosi with the skull fragment, the item is currently going for $3,500 and those interested can inquire here.
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