The album is infamous for bearing a controversial photograph of Mayhem's singer, Dead (Per Yngve Ohlin), after his suicide in April 1991.[2] The photograph was taken by Mayhem's guitarist, Euronymous (Øystein Aarseth), when he discovered the body.[4] Dead slashed the veins in his arms and neck before leaving behind a song lyric titled "Life Eternal", along with a suicide note. He then took Euronymous' shotgun and shot himself in the forehead. There were rumors Euronymous had killed Dead himself, but this is false as he was in Oslo visiting the band's original drummer Kjetil Manheim when Dead killed himself.
Euronymous took bits of Dead's skull and made them into necklaces for members of the Black Metal scene, including the band's drummer Hellhammer. In disgust with Euronymous' actions, the bass player Necrobutcher left the band and was replaced by Burzum's Varg Vikernes who murdered Euronymous two years later in a knife fight.
Als ik een dichter was dan was ik dichter bij je.