Niklas Kvarforth, the frontman of the Swedish band Shining, has been convicted of assault and illegal threats.
Shining at a concert in Ireland in 2013. To the right of singer Niklas Kvarforth, former guitarist Euge Valovirta. All Over Press
A man and a woman got into a threatening situation in the hallway of a basement in Pakila, Helsinki. They were met by a topless Swedish metal singer, whose hands, stomach and chest were slashed to the point of blood. The man had a telescopic baton with him, which he used to beat on the walls while raping and threatening his victims. Finally, he punched the man in the arm.
That man is Niklas Kvarforth38, Swedish metal singer best known for founding the band Shining.
The incident that took place in January 2020 ended up in the Helsinki District Court, where Kvarforth was sentenced to 60 days of conditional imprisonment for illegal threats and assault. In addition, he has to pay his victims a total of almost 9,000 euros in court costs and compensation for suffering.
Kvarforth appealed his sentence to the Court of Appeal, which decided today, Monday, not to take the case into consideration, so the district court’s sentence remains in effect.
“Psychotic”
The victims told the court that Kvarforth was “psychotic” and that his eyes were standing in his head.
Kvarforth had hit the wall with a telescopic rubber band and said, according to the woman, that “we have things to sort out”. He forced his victims into a room in the basement from which there was no escape.
He threatened to beat the woman, when the man got between them. Kvarforth threatened both of them with abuse, molested the woman and hoped that she would be raped. With a telescopic pump, he beat the door and the washing machine. He also placed it on the man’s shoulder.
Kvarforth hit the man on the shoulder so that he staggered from the force of the blow. The hand was messed up afterwards.
The woman told the court that afterwards she was anxious, scared and depressed and suffered from burn out. The events have become his nightmares.
Cuts at gigs
Niklas Kvarforth performed at the Tuska festival in Helsinki in 2014. Joni Haavisto, All Over Press
Kvarforth told the court that the man who had become his victim had threatened to beat him up in the bar, which his acquaintances had heard. He accused the woman of ruining his business. Except for the beating, he admitted the acts, although the wording differed according to the people involved.
Kvarforth said the cuts were because he had just come from a tour. He has a habit of cutting himself at his band’s gigs.
Kvarforth has become known for his aggressive and suicidal behavior at his band’s concerts. He has threatened and reached out to his audience. In addition, he often cuts himself and appears heavily intoxicated.
Shining represents a subgenre of metal called depressive suicidal black metal (dsbm) and its songs deal extensively with self-destruction and hatred of people. The Swedish band, which is more than 20 years old, is relatively popular in metal circles and has toured all over the world. Part of the charm is Kvarforth’s unpredictable performance style.
Kvarforth has also played in other well-known extreme metal bands such as Skitliv and Bethlehem.
Finnish musicians have played in Shining’s ranks.