Infernal Hails My Satanic Bretheren,
Welcome to the second incarnation of “Storms from the Northern Wastelands”. My demonic eye falls upon one of the most prevalent, if not infamous, Black Metal bands to ever drag itself from out of the fiery pits of the underworld, MAYHEM! Having such an expansive history I shall be separating the article into two.
Formed in 1984 in Oslo by Oystein Aarseth, better known by his famous stage name “Euronymous”, Jorn Stubberud also known as Necrobutcher and Kjetil Manheim they are often credited with creating the modern form of black metal. Taking heavy influence from Thrash metal bands such as Slayer, Venom and Celtic Frost Mayhem is often credited with creating Black Metal as we know it today. They released their first and highly influential studio album in 1986, the infamous “Deathcrush”. By this time they had recruited a new singer Maniac (Sven Erik Kristiansen) who would later rejoin the band. This was the first major release by any of the Norwegian Black Metal bands and paved the way for what would become the 2nd Wave of Black Metal. In the wake of “Deathcrush” Mayhem would form what would become known as their classic lineup. Vocalist Dead (Per Yngve Ohlin) and the now legendary Hellhammer (Jan Axel Von Blomberg) joined the band. While recordings from this part of Mayhem’s history are few they are often considered to be the bands pinnacle by older fans. “Live in Leipzig” and the infamous “Dawn of the Black Hearts” live albums are the best known recordings from Dead’s stint in the band. On April 8th 1991, the first of many controversial events occurred among the band, the singer Dead committed suicide with a shotgun blast to the head. Guitarist Euronymous discovered the body and before calling the authorities took pictures of Dead’s corpse, usingone for the cover of “Dawn of The Black Hearts” and as legend has it, took pieces of his skull and mailed it to bands he felt “worthy”. This put a halt on the recording of Mayhem’s first true album and until new singer Atilla Csihar was recruited for recordings. As the album neared completion the studio bassist for the album, Varg Vikernes, allegedly murdered Euronymous over a dispute involving unpaid debts. His murder, and Vikernes subsequent conviction, left Mayhem with only one member, Hellhammer, the drummer. Despite this Mayhem’s first album “De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas”
Out of the most well known 2nd Wave bands like Burzum, Emperor, Enslaved, Darkthrone and of course Mayhem, Mayhem’s focus was mostly on brutality. While Emperor employed some orchestral backing and more melody, or Burzum’s attempt to create “magic”, Mayhem was all about the shock factor and anger that came with the black metal genre. While Deathcrush had a strong influence from Thrash Metal from the early ‘80’s, this influence declined until “De Mysteriies Dom Sathanas” was a completely different genre from thrash. One of the first true full album releases of Black Metal.
Welcome to the second incarnation of “Storms from the Northern Wastelands”. My demonic eye falls upon one of the most prevalent, if not infamous, Black Metal bands to ever drag itself from out of the fiery pits of the underworld, MAYHEM! Having such an expansive history I shall be separating the article into two.
Formed in 1984 in Oslo by Oystein Aarseth, better known by his famous stage name “Euronymous”, Jorn Stubberud also known as Necrobutcher and Kjetil Manheim they are often credited with creating the modern form of black metal. Taking heavy influence from Thrash metal bands such as Slayer, Venom and Celtic Frost Mayhem is often credited with creating Black Metal as we know it today. They released their first and highly influential studio album in 1986, the infamous “Deathcrush”. By this time they had recruited a new singer Maniac (Sven Erik Kristiansen) who would later rejoin the band. This was the first major release by any of the Norwegian Black Metal bands and paved the way for what would become the 2nd Wave of Black Metal. In the wake of “Deathcrush” Mayhem would form what would become known as their classic lineup. Vocalist Dead (Per Yngve Ohlin) and the now legendary Hellhammer (Jan Axel Von Blomberg) joined the band. While recordings from this part of Mayhem’s history are few they are often considered to be the bands pinnacle by older fans. “Live in Leipzig” and the infamous “Dawn of the Black Hearts” live albums are the best known recordings from Dead’s stint in the band. On April 8th 1991, the first of many controversial events occurred among the band, the singer Dead committed suicide with a shotgun blast to the head. Guitarist Euronymous discovered the body and before calling the authorities took pictures of Dead’s corpse, usingone for the cover of “Dawn of The Black Hearts” and as legend has it, took pieces of his skull and mailed it to bands he felt “worthy”. This put a halt on the recording of Mayhem’s first true album and until new singer Atilla Csihar was recruited for recordings. As the album neared completion the studio bassist for the album, Varg Vikernes, allegedly murdered Euronymous over a dispute involving unpaid debts. His murder, and Vikernes subsequent conviction, left Mayhem with only one member, Hellhammer, the drummer. Despite this Mayhem’s first album “De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas”
Out of the most well known 2nd Wave bands like Burzum, Emperor, Enslaved, Darkthrone and of course Mayhem, Mayhem’s focus was mostly on brutality. While Emperor employed some orchestral backing and more melody, or Burzum’s attempt to create “magic”, Mayhem was all about the shock factor and anger that came with the black metal genre. While Deathcrush had a strong influence from Thrash Metal from the early ‘80’s, this influence declined until “De Mysteriies Dom Sathanas” was a completely different genre from thrash. One of the first true full album releases of Black Metal.
The music on “De Mysteriies Dom Sathanas” is fast and furious, everything you would expect from a Mayhem release. They avoid the pitfall of being repetitive with just enough tempo changes and variation to make the album worth listening to. The production qualities were, at the time, some of the highest quality given to a black metal album, something they have met some criticism for. The production though gives the album a full sound and brings out every instrument, the guitars wail and screech, the bass hums along and the drumming is some of the most impressive work you will find on any CD. The guitars, by none other then the famed Euronymous, are impressive black metal fair, wickedly paced tremolo picking abounds, but is mixed in with some impressive doomy parts, case in point the “Freezing Moon” intro. The bass guitar has its moments but is often left out like in most black metal. They were recorded by Varg Vikernes, Euronymous’ murderer and were supposed to be rerecorded but were mixed further back rather then being rerecorded. Drums…well what we can say about the drums, it’s Hellhammer manning the skins. His prowess is well known in Black metal circles and he doesn’t disappoint. This album is a clinic for any aspiring drummer as Hellhammer pours in blast beats quicker and longer then any human should, with some complex beats and ferocious drum rolls. Now the vocals, probably the most controversial bit, as Atilla Csihar does NOT have your atypical Black metal vocals. It ranges from ear splitting shrieks to an almost Gollum-like guttural half singing. Most of the vocals consists of the deep guttural singing which at times verges on almost operatic levels. More then most black metal vocals though it conveys a sense of extreme hate, like he is spitting upon mankind. As a whole the album is Mayhem’s overall strongest effort to date as it is near impossible to pinpoint favorites other then the absolute classic “Freezing Moon”. The title describes the album perfectly, Frozen and bleak with hatred seeping from every pore.History of Mayhem continues next week, until then,
Lord Of Entropy
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