American Nihilist Underground Society

The American Nihilist Underground Society, or A.N.U.S., is an online organization known for spreading its interpretation of the philosophy of nihilism, and for its related website, the Dark Legions Archive (DLA), containing extensive coverage on heavy metal music with emphasis on extreme metal. [cite web | title=King Diamond's 'Melissa' Recovered? | work=Blabbermouth.net | url=http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=57331 | accessdate=2007-01-07] cite web | title=Best Nihilist Web Site | work=Houston Press | url=http://www.houstonpress.com/bestof/award.php?award=198232 | accessdate=2007-01-07] The website also hosts the USENET-based Heavy Metal FAQ, [cite web | author=Davis, Erik | title=Only a Northern Song | work=Village Voice | url=http://www.villagevoice.com/music/0120,davis,24709,22.html | accessdate=2007-01-07] [cite web | title=Heavy Metal FAQ: Introduction to Metal Music and Culture | work=Anus.com | url=http://www.anus.com/metal/about/faq/ | accessdate=2007-01-07] and has a page titled "Altar of Unholy Blasphemy", which includes a close-up of a person's anus, with two hands opening it widely and showing an illustration of Jesus with a dollar sign on his forehead inside. [cite web | author=Magdziarz, David J. | title=Nightspots | work=Windy City Times | url=http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=1037 | accessdate=2007-01-07] The organization was started in the 1980s by several persons from River Oaks area of Houston, Texas. On the Internet, it existed as bulletin board system postings in 1989. [cite web | title=American Nihilist Underground Society (1989) | work=Textfiles.com | url=http://www.textfiles.com/magazines/ANUS/ | accessdate=2007-01-07] According to one of the organization's founders, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Prozak#About_WikiPedia Spinoza Ray Prozak] (who formerly hosted a radio program titled "Oration of Disorder" on KSPC 88.7, [cite web | title=California Death Metal Fan On 'Al Qaeda' Terror Tape Was 'Passionate' And 'Courteous' | work=Blabbermouth.net | url=http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=41770 | accessdate=2007-01-08] ), "A.N.U.S. organization exists to produce thought which will lead humanity to a better time". [cite web | author=Mitchell, Chris | title=American Nihilist Underground Society - Interview with Prozak | work=The Metal Crypt | url=http://www.metalcrypt.com/pages/interviewsframe.php?intid=143 | accessdate=2007-01-08]

American Nihilist Underground Society has been linked to several pranks, such as the "National Day of Slayer", which led to desecration of a Catholic church in New York. [cite web | title=Blasphemy on Slayer day | work=Yahoo! | url=http://uk.news.launch.yahoo.com/dyna/article.html?a=/060609/340/gdw9q.html&e=l_news_dm | accessdate=2007-01-07] [cite web | title=For The Record: Quick News On Beyonce, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Taylor Hicks, JC Chasez, Beth Orton, Slayer & More | work=MTV | url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1533901/20060608/knowles_beyonce.jhtml | accessdate=2007-01-07] American Nihilist Underground Society has been listed on "The Hate Directory" for its page "The Altar of Unholy Blasphemy. [cite web | author=Franklin, Raymond A | title=The Hate Directory | work= | url=http://www.bcpl.net/~rfrankli/hatedir.pdf | accessdate=2007-01-07] ANUS is also known for its activism in the metal and neoclassical music communities, running an MP3 server for legal MP3s called "The Neoclassical Music Hub."Houston Press" named Anus.com the "Best Nihilist Web Site" in 2006.

Origins

The American Nihilist Underground Society has existed since 1987 (according to [http://anus.com/zine/about/ their website] - [http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.anus.com Web Archive] lists them from Apr 03, 1997 onwards, although the website existed before that) with the intention of changing the philosophical attitudes of Western Culture towards nihilist ideas of thought. The site has been around at anus.com since early 1995; before that, it was a directory on the old paranoia.com, the net's first free speech host. Previous to that, it was represented by an FTP space for the undiscovered country ezine, one of the first ezines and arguably the first in literature. Even further back, in the 1987 and before territory, ANUS was a hacker organization that published [http://www.textfiles.com/magazines/ANUS/ text files] on various dial-up bulletin boards including [http://www.anus.com/etc/metal_ae/ The Metal AE] .

References

External links

* [http://www.anus.com Official website]
* [http://www.anus.com/tribes/ Offshoots of ANUS]