“My campaign was a picture of me holding my cat saying, ‘Please don’t vote for me.’”

Norwegian extreme music legend Fenriz is getting ready to release Arctic Thunder, the new album from his foundational black metal band Darkthrone, but he’s hit an unexpected speed bump. After agreeing to join a “backup list” of potential candidates for the local neighborhood council in Kolbotn, a suburb of Oslo, he was unexpectedly elected.

“They called and asked if I wanted to be on the list [of backup representatives],” he explained. “I said yeah, thinking I would be like 18th on the list and I wouldn’t really have to do anything. They just need a list to be able to … well, it’s hard to talk local politics in another language.”

Never underestimate the power of a cute cat, though. Fenriz jokingly shared a photo of himself holding his cat (whose name roughly translates to Peanut Butter) specifically asking people to not vote for him. Now he will be required to serve as Councilman Gylve Fenris Nagell for four years before stepping down is an option.

“Basically, I have to step in when the usual people who go to the big meetings are sick or something. Then I have to go sit there and feel stupid among the straight people,” he told CLRVYNT. “I’m a pillar of my community.”

Take a look at the photo below and listen to Darkthrone’s volcanic ‘Tundra Leech’ before Arctic Thunder’s October 14 release.