Per Yngve "Dead" Ohlin and Cortard's syndrome
"The voice of a truly tortured soul."
Cotard's syndrome, also known as walking corpse syndrome, is a rare and severe mental disorder in which individuals believe they are dead, do not exist, are decaying, or have lost their internal organs or blood. Named after the French neurologist Jules Cotard who first described it in 1880, this condition is a type of nihilistic delusion.
The disorder often involves severe and pervasive depression, hallucinations, and other delusions. Due to their belief that they are dead or decaying, individuals often neglect personal hygiene and health, potentially leading to starvation. The exact causes of Cotard’s syndrome are not well understood, but it is associated with schizophrenia and other neurological disorders, including brain injuries and tumors.
The most famous person believed to have experienced Cotard’s syndrome was Per Yngve Ohlin, also known as "Dead." Born in Sweden, Dead (1969-1991) was the original singer of the notorious Norwegian black metal band Mayhem.
Norwegian black metal was an extreme underground musical movement characterized by death worship, and anti-Christian themes, and is infamously associated with church arsons and murders in the 1990s in Norway. Euronymous, the guitarist for Mayhem, was murdered by Varg Vikernes of the band Burzum, who was imprisoned for the crime along with church burnings.
Even among the peculiar personalities in the black metal scene, Dead was seen as the embodiment of the movement's ideals due to his eccentric and unparalleled beliefs and behaviors. After being severely beaten by bullies as a child, he was clinically dead for a short period. This experience profoundly affected his mental state. Dead was fascinated by death and believed he was not truly alive, which influenced his behavior, lyrics, and stage persona. He was one of the first black metal musicians to use corpse paint.
Band member Stian Johannsen said, "He [Dead] didn't see himself as human; he saw himself as a creature from another world. He said he had many visions that his blood had frozen in his veins, that he was dead. That is the reason he took that name. He knew he would die."
Euronymous once said, "I honestly think Dead is mentally insane. Which other way can you describe a guy who does not eat in order to get starving wounds? Or who has a T-shirt with funeral announcements on it?"
During one tour with Mayhem, Dead found a dead crow and kept it in a plastic bag. He would smell the bird before going on stage to sing "with the stench of death in his nostrils." He also collected dead geese, kept them under his bed, and buried his clothes to give him a decayed look. He often self-harmed on stage and was extremely introverted and unhappy, even among his friends, preferring to spend time alone. He eventually committed suicide at the age of 22.
Below is a Mayhem song, Freezing Moon, with Dead’s instantly recognizable voice.
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I was once hospitalized in a psych ward because I thought I was dead. None of the psychiatrists knew what to make of it. The cause wasn't any of the things listed in this article, however. It was a combination of a religeous awakening and an abrupt cessation in taking psych meds. Once in the hospital and back on psych meds, I came back into what others think of as "reality". I have found meaning in the episode because in fact something in me had died - my old way of looking at myself as somehow defective as a human being because I had psychiatric problems. I was acting out this truth physically unstead of merely psychologically. I had emerged from the religious awakening as someone who could see myself positively. It changed my life - made me more empathetic. The only thing I regret about this episode is that it was hard on my family. Thanks for the article.