The name Von is sometimes falsely believed to be an acronym for
"Victory Orgasm Nazis". Varg Vikernes used those words to spell
the band's name during a phone interview because the interviewer
apparently didn't hear the name correctly. According to the
band, the name stands for "nothing but images of darkness and
blood". Ironically, in some Scandinavian languages, from where
the band's main musical influence originated, the word von means
hope. In addition to giving out copies of the Satanic Blood
demo, in one of his murder trial sessions Varg Vikernes wore a
Von t-shirt, directly promoting them. Von are often regarded as
the first American black metal band and have been covered by
prominent black metal bands such as Dark Funeral, Taake, Krieg,
Enthroned and Watain (who are also named after a Von song).