Varg Vikernes or Kristian Vikernes, is a Norwegian neo-nazi black metal musician. In 1991, he founded the one-man music project Burzum, which quickly became popular within the early Norwegian black metal scene. In 1992, he joined the band Mayhem and adopted the stage name Count Grishnackh. In 1994, Vikernes was convicted of the murder of his Mayhem bandmate Øystein Aarseth, known by his stage name Euronymous. Vikernes was further convicted of four counts of arson involving the burnings of historic churches, and was sentenced to 21 years in prison. Having served almost 16 years of his sentence, Vikernes was released on parole in early 2009.