A blaze in the northern… suburb?

The shop once known as Helvete has burned down.

Neseblod Records – formerly the Helevete record store (the one with the “Black Metal” basement that everyone takes a picture at) – in Oslo has been severely damaged by a fire. According to Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang (VG), a fire broke out in the basement and destroyed much of its contents.
“It is unclear what has happened,” said co-owner of Neseblod Records, Grethe Neseblod to VG. “I am standing outside now and cannot enter the room, which is very smoky. Therefore, I have no idea the extent of the damage.”
Police are currently investigating the fire. Helvete – originally owned by Euronymous – was shut down in early 1993 after drawing negative attention by local police and media thanks to the activities of the Black Metal Inner Circle, and was eventually reopened as Neseblod Records. The record story is widely considered to be a black metal museum, and this fire is nothing short of tragic for the world of metal.
“Much of what we have is only on display and not for sale,” added co-owner Kenneth Neseblod to VG. “It’s a museum-like venue at the same time as a record store. We have records, cassettes and tape trading letters that were previously used to write to each other in the metal community.”

In all seriousness, this is actually quite terrible on multiple levels, particularly when you see what a mess the place is now…

…but I can’t help but appreciate the undeniably bleak irony of the situation, given that “the activities of the Black Metal Inner Circle” alluded to in the article famously included setting churches on fire.