Kiama Downs: Norwegian metal band The Kovenant guitarist Jamie “Astennu” Stinson fined for breaching AVO

A guitarist for a well-known Norwegian heavy metal band has pleaded guilty to breaching an AVO, with a magistrate telling him to be a better role model because he was getting “close” to jail.

Heavy metal guitarist Jamie Greg Stinson, also known as Astennu, has pleaded guilty to breaching an AVO. The 47-year-old, from Hamlyn Terrace, plays with Norwegian band The Kovenant. Picture: supplied

An ageing heavy metal rocker has been convicted and slapped with a $1500 fine after pleading guilty to breaching an apprehended violence order (AVO).

Jamie Greg Stinson, who goes by the stage name “Astennu” and plays in the Norwegian industrial metal band The Kovenant, faced Wyong Local Court on Tuesday after receiving a text message from police to hand himself in.

The court heard the 47-year-old had returned from tour when he travelled to Kiama Downs to see his four-year-old son and banged on the door of his ex-partner’s house on May 13 in contravention of an AVO preventing him from having any contact with her.

Stinson’s solicitor, leading Central Coast criminal lawyer Samar Singh-Panwar, told the court his client was a professional musician with the band.

He said Stinson, who lives at Hamlyn Terrace, had just returned home to Australia when he went to visit his son, who the court heard was not listed on the AVO.

A younger Astennu in concert.. Picture: supplied/Instgram

Mr Singh-Panwar said the “objective seriousness” of the breach was at the lower end of the scale but Stinson “certainly understands” that he couldn’t turn up unannounced and demand to see his child.

He said Stinson was heading back on tour to Poland on May 29 and then on to France.

Stinson, 47, of Hamlyn Terrace, plays with Norwegian band The Kovenant.

Pictures: supplied

The court heard the AVO was finalised in May last year when Stinson was sentenced to a three-year community correction order (CCO) for assaulting his ex-partner while heavily under the influence of alcohol.

Deputy Chief Magistrate Sharon Freund said Stinson was “getting close” to jail.

“We talk a lot about domestic violence in the press and our sons look up to us and the men in their lives to be good role models,” she told him.

“You need to get your house in order.”

Mr Singh-Panwar tendered Stinson’s Wikipedia entry which states he first emerged on the heavy metal scene in the mid 1990s as a guitarist and songwriter for the band Lord Kaos before heading to Norway in 1996.

Dubbing himself Astennu, a name derived from a creature in Egyptian mythology, Stinson has had solo projects, worked as a sound engineer and played in various heavy metal bands, with the mainstay being The Kovenant, which is based in Hamar, Norway.

He was convicted and fined for breaching the AVO but Ms Freund took no action on the previous CCO, which remains in place for another two years.