Counter-Currents
Hjarulv Henker
909 words
They say that you should never meet or get to know your heroes, but I completely disagree.
I have been very fortunate in my life to have gotten to know many of the heavy metal musicians who I grew up listening to. Whether I was working backstage at concerts or on tour with my favorite bands, I have seen many of my heroes at their best and worst. Discovering that your heroes and idols also flatulate and drink too much might ruin the music and childhood memories for many people, but for me, it only made the music and experiences with my heroes that much more exciting and authentic.
Unfortunately, as a result it is that much more devastating when one of my heroes passes away. This has been the case for me this month after the passing of Isidoros Galanis, better known in the underground metal community as guitarist Hjarulv Henker of Dreadful Relic, Wodulf, and Der Stürmer.
Hjarulv was born in Greece on December 3, 1974. He grew up listening to various underground metal bands of the 1980s. After being involved in tape-trading and publishing band-related zines in the 1990s, he began playing guitar for a black metal project of his own that would become infamously known around the world as Der Stürmer.
Behind the overt lyrics and abrasive sound, Hjarulv’s guitar riffs and melodies struck a chord with me the first time I heard them on a compilation album in the mid-2000s. Over a decade later, I would eventually see Der Stürmer in concert. It was then that I got to know Hjarulv personally.
Having learned a little of the Greek language in preparation for my travels in the country, I decided to approach the guys in Der Stürmer at one of their concerts and offer to buy them beers in Greek. Although I probably made plenty of grammar and pronunciation mistakes, they took me up on my offer and we had a few beers at the concert venue. Hjarulv eventually invited me backstage and we ended up sharing laughs and stories about all of our favorite musicians, bands, and concerts. Over the following year, I was lucky enough to spend time with Hjarulv in Italy, Finland, and Ukraine. No matter the location, Hjarulv always invited me to the after parties following each event, and he always made sure that I was having a good time. And I always had a great time with Hjarulv and his friends.
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For being such an infamous musician, Hjarulv was very friendly, humble, and relatable. He was also very funny and had a great sense of humor. He kept encouraging me to get back into music. Thus, my New Year’s resolution for 2022 is to spend less time on the Internet and more time on music. But it was adhering to this goal that unfortunately made me miss the tragic news that Hjarulv had passed away from heart failure on January 1, 2022.
The news of his death was both shocking and devastating for me. Despite being somewhat “blackpilled” by the ongoing lockdowns and travel restrictions, I had hopes of seeing all my friends, such as Hjarulv, at the next concert. And while I still look forward to attending concerts again in the future, I feel they will not be the same without Hjarulv there.
His recent passing has also made me contemplate the meaning of friendship, happiness, and my own priorities in life. I admit to becoming somewhat pessimistic about friendship as I have gotten older. I feel as though I have always done more for the people I considered “friends” than they ever did for me. As Tony Soprano explained, “Friends will eventually let you down.” Yet, for all the people who have let me down in life, there have been a handful of people like Hjarulv who stayed in touch with me and kept my spirits up. And perhaps it is better to have a few reliable people in your life than a lot of unreliable “friends.” From experience, I know that it is better to be alone than in bad company.
I have spent much of the previous year living alone, but I rarely feel lonely. Each evening, I sip whisky in front of the fireplace next to my dog and listen to heavy metal. I have spent the last few evenings listening to Hjarulv’s music, along with all of his favorite bands. Hjarulv’s music inspired me to make music in the past, and now his memory inspires me to continue writing and creating music. Thanks to him, I have rediscovered my purpose and an additional source of happiness in my life.
It is up to each person to find their own purpose and happiness in this life. When I think of Hjarulv, I think of a heroic musician who played the music he wanted to make without any compromises, regardless of all the social pressures he faced and endured. Although it was cut short, I feel that he lived a happy and purposeful life doing what he enjoyed most.
I wish Hjarulv was still alive and I know that he will be missed at future concerts. Nevertheless, his spirit lives on in the music he created and the memories of the times I got to spend with him. Until I see him in the next life, I will take his advice and continue to make music in his honor, and for “Those Who Lived and Died as Heroes.”
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3 comments
Beautiful eulogy. I am sorry to hear he passed away.
Hello Fullmoon! We’ve missed you and I can only imagine you’ve been enjoying your dog, enjoying your travels, your work, your HEAVY METAL, and video games.
Your story about your friend Hjarulv is every rocker’s dream. To go from fan to friend at such a high level of trust and involvement is quite the Cinderella story and speaks highly to both your and Hjarulv’s character. Yes, they say never meet your heroes and you’ve shown that it’s not always true.
Your happy story resonated with me as I too, got to meet one of my rock/metal heroes, and it couldn’t have been nicer. Mark Tremonti was the guitar player with Creed. With around 53 albums sold worldwide, Tremonti knew success. When Creed broke up in 2004, rather than sit on his many accomplishments, Tremonti immersed himself in studying and improving his guitar technique. In addition, like a good stock portfolio, Tremonti diversified himself by forming a new hard rock band, Alter Bridge, and then due to his love of metal, he formed a 4-man band called Tremonti. Another talent Tremonti has is that after Carlos Santana, he was the second artist invited by Paul Reed Smith to create a signature PRS Tremonti guitar, a huge honor and testament to Mark’s talent and influence. When Creed surprisingly reformed in 2009, part of their touring plan was to play one, or the other, or in some cities, both of their first two albums. When Creed came through our town, PRS guitars scheduled him to do a meet and greet at a local guitar store. I went, figuring we’d all be herded in and out of the store getting a 10 second hello, a signature, maybe a few stuttered words from me to Mark telling him how profound his playing means to me. Boy, was I wrong. First of all, Mark and bandmate Eric Friedman, came humbly through the front door of the guitar store. No fanfare, no bodyguards, no demands that all stop and bend the knee. No, here he came and since I was close to the door I got to be the one to greet him. For the next two hours Mark talked, joked, laughed, signed everything that was put in front of him, and did a recorded interview wirh a randomly-chosen fan. He was so approachable, so down to earth,.and so normal. He posed for pictures, spoke to people who were shopping the store that day yet had no idea who he was. It didn’t matter, he talked shop. I’m fortunate to have some of his signature guitars and to have him sign the instruction sheets and hang tags was just nice. While his signature should increase the guitars’ value, to me it’s more of a memory, a connection back to that day where I met my hero and he more than lived up to his fame, both as a guitar hero and as a human being.
Another example is a close pal I grew up with back in the Chicago area. He was a massive Beatles Fan for years. Yet, when The Knack came into prominence, he started a Knack fan club. This was roughly 2 decades before the internet and all that was available for mass communication was the phone, the mail, and a fax. No matter, my pal advertised his The Knack fan newsletter in several music magazines and started to build up a fan club. It grew so well that at one point, The Knack drummer, Bruce Gary, contacted my friend and asked who are you and what’s up with this club? My friend became close friends with every member of The Knack. They became such good friends that when my friend developed and later died from prostate cancer, The Knack’s lead singer, Mr. My Sharona, Doug Fieger, came and sang at his funeral. I got to spend 20 minutes alone with Doug before the service and I’ll always remember the words Doug had for our friend. During the funeral, Doug was to sing the Beatles song, “In My Life.” Doug told me before the service, “I’ve played all over the world. This is the most nervous I’ve ever been.” My friend met his heroes and they didn’t disappoint.
Another family friend my parents had back in Chicago was the Jim and Nancy McMahon family. Of course this was when Jim was quarterbacking the Chicago Bears. Just about everyone reading this knows of Jim’s on-the-field- larger-than-life persona. But at our house for Chritmas dinner, or at Jim’s house with his family, he was a husband, a father, and another down to earth good human being. One Christmas while he was out of town with the Bears, I got to go to his house at the request of Nancy McMahon so I could hook up a new Nintendo game system he got for his kids for Christmas. Another hero who inspired.
I’m glad to hear you had such a close relationship to Hjarulv, that you were able to go backstage and help and see and feel the work that goes into a band, to see the passion. It’s not a cakewalk.
I’m intrigued about your statements about writing/creating your music. The bands you’ve mentioned in your other articles are metal forces and if your music reflects their tunes, then we are in for a welcome album. When you finish any music please let us know where we can enjoy it. As a very amateur home recording guy, I’d love to read about the equipment used to record, from instruments on through to recording interfaces, software, strings, picks, ambient temperature and humidity… you know, the minutiae.
Happy New Year and thank you for writing. I look forward to more of your inspirational work… and music
Your eulogy was good. I can relate to it. I met John Kevill from Warbringer he is a really cool guy. He took his time to talk to me after they got done with their set opening for Overkill and Kreator. My Hero during my teens was Dave Mustaine. Megadeth was on tour with Slayer and Anthrax in 2010. My cousin won a contest to meet the bands at a private event before the show. She said Scott Ian, Kerry King and Tom Araya were really nice down to earth guys. She got to meet Dave Mustaine to and said that he wasn’t a very nice person. I always thought better he was a dick to you than me.
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