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Mayhem (band)
Encyclopedia
Mayhem is a Norwegian black metal
band formed in 1984 in Oslo, Norway and regarded as one of the pioneers of the influential Norwegian black metal scene. Mayhem's career has been highly controversial, primarily due to their violent stage performances, the suicide of early vocalist Per Yngve Ohlin in 1991 and the murder of guitarist Øystein Aarseth by former band member Varg Vikernes
, then of Burzum
, in 1993.
, Slayer
, Motörhead and Celtic Frost
, Mayhem was founded in 1984 by guitarist/vocalist Øystein Aarseth (aka Euronymous
), bass guitarist Jørn Stubberud (aka Necrobutcher
), and drummer Kjetil Manheim (aka Manheim
). The band name is taken from the Venom song, "Mayhem with Mercy". This lineup recorded and released the demo Pure Fucking Armageddon. After its release, Euronymous concentrated solely on guitar after recruiting first Eirik Nordheim (Messiah), then Sven Erik Kristiansen
(aka Maniac) as vocalists in 1986. With Maniac, Mayhem recorded the band's first EP, Deathcrush
in 1986 and 1987, and released it through Euronymous's newly formed label Posercorpse Music.
The initial 1,000 copy release of Deathcrush quickly sold out. It was later reissued in 1993 by the newly renamed Deathlike Silence Productions
as a joint venture with Euronymous's Oslo specialist record shop Helvete.
By mid-1988 both Manheim and Maniac had left the band.
) and local drummer Jan Axel Blomberg
(aka Hellhammer). According to Bård Eithun of the band Emperor
:
With Dead as vocalist, the band's concerts became notorious. Whilst performing, Dead would often cut himself with hunting knives and broken glass. Additionally, the band often had pig or goat heads impaled on stakes and planted at the front of their stage.
At some point in 1990, the members of Mayhem moved to "an old house in the forest" near Oslo
. They began writing songs for their next album, De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas
. On 8 April 1991, Dead committed suicide
in the house owned by the band. He was found by Euronymous with slit wrists and a shotgun
wound to the head. Dead's suicide note
notably read "Excuse all the blood, cheers." and included an apology for firing the weapon indoors. Instead of calling the police, Euronymous went to a nearby store and bought a disposable camera to photograph the corpse, after re-arranging some items. One of these photographs was later stolen and used as the cover of a bootleg live album entitled Dawn of the Black Hearts
.
Eventually, rumors surfaced that Euronymous made a stew
with pieces of Dead's brain, and made necklace
s with fragments of Dead's skull. Additionally, Euronymous claimed to have given these necklaces to musicians he deemed worthy.
According to Stian Johannsen
(aka Occultus), who briefly took position as vocalist after Dead's suicide:
was released as the band's tribute to Dead.
Later that year, the recording of Mayhem's upcoming album, De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas resumed. In Dead's and Necrobutcher's absences, Attila Csihar
of Tormentor
handled vocals, and Varg Vikernes
of Burzum
handled bass guitar. Due to adverse media and police attention, Euronymous was forced around this time to close his scene focal point record shop Helvete. Much of the album was recorded during the first half of 1993 at the Grieg Hall
in Bergen
. To coincide with the release of the album, Euronymous and Vikernes had conspired to blow up Nidaros Cathedral
, which appears on the album cover. Euronymous's murder in August 1993 put an end to this plan and delayed the album's release.
On 10 August 1993, Varg Vikernes murdered guitarist Euronymous. On that night, Vikernes and Snorre Ruch
travelled from Bergen
518 km to Euronymous’s apartment in Oslo
. Upon their arrival a confrontation began, which ended when Vikernes fatally stabbed Euronymous. His body was found outside the apartment with twenty-three cut wounds – two to the head, five to the neck, and sixteen to the back. Vikernes claims that Euronymous had plotted to torture
him to death and videotape the event – using a meeting about an unsigned contract
as a pretext. On the night of the murder, Vikernes claims he intended to hand Euronymous the signed contract and "tell him to fuck off", but that Euronymous attacked him first. Additionally, Vikernes defends that most of Euronymous’s cut wounds were caused by broken glass he had fallen on during the struggle. Regardless of the circumstances, Vikernes was arrested within days, and a few months later he was sentenced to 21 years in prison for both the murder and church arsons. With only Hellhammer remaining, Mayhem effectively ceased to exist.
In May 1994, De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas
was released and formally dedicated to Euronymous. Its release had been delayed due to complaints filed by Euronymous's parents, who had objected to the presence of bass guitar parts played by Vikernes. According to Vikernes himself, Hellhammer assured Aarseth's parents that he would re-record the bass tracks himself. Apparently Hellhammer did not do this, so the album features Vikernes' original bass tracks.
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By late 1995 Hellhammer had decided to reform the band with the help of new guitarist Rune Eriksen (aka Blasphemer) and two previous Mayhem members - Maniac and Necrobutcher. The first release of this new lineup was a 1997 EP titled Wolf's Lair Abyss
, and was followed by some live European shows. One of these took place in Milan
, Italy
, guest starring Attila Csihar, and was recorded for the Mediolanum Capta Est
live album of that year.
In this new phase, racist statements made by Hellhammer (who spoke out against race mixing and foreigners in Norway) and the use of Nazi imagery such as swastika flags in the rehearsal room, the Totenkopf
emblem and band merchandise featuring the symbol of the military branch of Nasjonal Samling led to controversy and accusations of neo-Nazism.
In 2000 the band's second full-length CD, Grand Declaration of War
, was released. Strongly influenced by progressive
and avant-garde metal, the album was concept-based, dealing with themes of war and post-apocalyptic destruction. Maniac largely abandoned the traditional black metal rasp for dramatic spoken-word monologue, with most of the songs sequencing seamlessly into one another. Reaction to the album was polarized. Some criticised the album for its avant-garde and electronic elements, which they perceived as pretentious, and for Maniac's vocals, which they perceived as inferior to Dead's and Attila's. Others saw it as a laudable attempt to recreate and redefine black metal, with critic Brian Russ of BNR Metal going so far as to call it "really the first cohesive work the band has ever done" and "a fitting culmination to their career thus far." In retrospect, the electronic elements of the album were often heavily overstated by its detractors, appearing notably in only a single track, "A Bloodsword and a Colder Sun." It should also be noted that from Wolf's Lair Abyss up to the present, Blasphemer has written all of the music for Mayhem's releases. Maniac wrote the lyrics from the reformation of the band until his departure in 2004.
In May 2003, Mayhem made headlines again when a Mayhem fan, Per Kristian Hagen, landed in the hospital with a fractured skull after being hit by a severed sheep's head that had been thrown into the audience from the stage. Assault charges were filed, but the band considered it to have been entirely accidental.
In 2004, Mayhem released Chimera
. It showed a return to their earlier raw and brutal style, but with considerably better production values than earlier releases. Chimera still maintained a progressive edge. In 2004, Maniac was forced out of the band, according to Necrobutcher, because of stage fright-induced alcoholism. Necrobutcher also stated that because of this, a violent encounter ensued between the singer and Blasphemer, during which the guitarist kicked Maniac down a flight of stairs and hit his head face first into a wall. Attila Csihar
was reinstated as his replacement.
(Latin for "Order to Chaos"), was released in April 2007. Ordo ad Chao contains a much rawer sound than the rest of the band's recent work; the drums are not equalized
and the mix is notably bass-heavy (black metal typically lacks bass). The album continues the band's experiments with unorthodox song structures, with "Illuminate Eliminate," at 9:40, being the band's second longest track to date (behind Grand Declaration of War’s "Completion in Science of Agony (Part I)" at 9:44). The album received strong reviews and was the band's highest-charting album to date, peaking at #12 on the Norwegian charts. In early 2008 Ordo Ad Chao won a Spellemannprisen
(the largest and oldest of Norway's music awards shows) for Best Metal Album of 2007.
In April 2008, Blasphemer decided to leave the band. "The main reason behind this conclusion lies in the fact that I simply don't see any future for me in the band anymore, at least not a future I'd like to participate in over the coming years," he wrote in a statement posted to the band's website on April 22. "I've been playing my part in the band now for more than 13 years already, having composed, produced and released several albums with great vision, dedication and craftsmanship, to arrive at this crossroad of opposites. Sooner or later, all things comes to an end, and in my case, this circle is complete." Blasphemer also said he will continue working with the Portuguese band Ava Inferi
.
Blasphemer played European festival dates with the band through the summer months of 2008, playing his last gig with the group in August. This marked the departure of the musician credited with the bulk of the musical composition of the band's three most recent studio albums.
The band toured through late 2008 and 2009 with this lineup, prior to announcing Summer 2009 dates with a French
metal musician calling himself Silmaeth on second guitar. Both Morfeus and Silmaeth are presently considered touring (as opposed to full-time) members. In November 2009, the band was arrested in Tilburg, Netherlands, after destroying a hotel room while on tour. In September 2010 Mayhem performed their first ever show in New Zealand
, as part of an Australian tour.
Norwegian guitarist Teloch replaced Silmaeth in February 2011.
with
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
band formed in 1984 in Oslo, Norway and regarded as one of the pioneers of the influential Norwegian black metal scene. Mayhem's career has been highly controversial, primarily due to their violent stage performances, the suicide of early vocalist Per Yngve Ohlin in 1991 and the murder of guitarist Øystein Aarseth by former band member Varg Vikernes
Varg Vikernes
Varg Vikernes is a Norwegian black metal musician, writer, philosopher, religious and political activist, arsonist and convicted murderer.Vikernes was born near Bergen, Norway. In 1991, he founded the one-man music project Burzum, which quickly became popular within the early Norwegian black metal...
, then of Burzum
Burzum
Burzum is a musical project by Varg Vikernes . It began during 1991 in Bergen, Norway and quickly became prominent within the early Norwegian black metal scene...
, in 1993.
Early years (1984-1988)
Inspired by groups such as VenomVenom (band)
Venom are an English heavy metal band that formed in 1979 in Newcastle upon Tyne. Coming to prominence towards the end of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, Venom's first two albums—Welcome to Hell and Black Metal —are considered a major influence on thrash metal and extreme metal in general...
, Slayer
Slayer
Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...
, Motörhead and Celtic Frost
Celtic Frost
Celtic Frost was a metal band from Zürich, Switzerland. They are known for their heavy influence on the extreme metal genres. The group was first active from 1984 to 1993, and re-formed in 2001. Following Tom Gabriel Fischer's departure in 2008, Celtic Frost decided to break up again...
, Mayhem was founded in 1984 by guitarist/vocalist Øystein Aarseth (aka Euronymous
Euronymous
Øystein Aarseth , who went by the pseudonym Euronymous, was a Norwegian guitarist and co-founder of the Norwegian black metal band Mayhem...
), bass guitarist Jørn Stubberud (aka Necrobutcher
Necrobutcher
Jørn Stubberud is a Norwegian musician. He is best known as the bassist in the black metal band Mayhem under the stage name Necrobutcher...
), and drummer Kjetil Manheim (aka Manheim
Kjetil Manheim
Kjetil Esten Haraldsson Manheim, , was the drummer for the Norwegian black metal band Mayhem. During this time, he went by the stage name Manheim.-Biography:...
). The band name is taken from the Venom song, "Mayhem with Mercy". This lineup recorded and released the demo Pure Fucking Armageddon. After its release, Euronymous concentrated solely on guitar after recruiting first Eirik Nordheim (Messiah), then Sven Erik Kristiansen
Sven Erik Kristiansen
Sven Erik Kristiansen is a Norwegian musician. He is best known as the former vocalist in the black metal band Mayhem under the stage name Maniac.-Personal life:...
(aka Maniac) as vocalists in 1986. With Maniac, Mayhem recorded the band's first EP, Deathcrush
Deathcrush
Deathcrush is an EP by the influential Norwegian band Mayhem. It was released in 1987 and was the first studio release by any band of the Norwegian black metal scene. "Chainsaw Gutsfuck" was voted Most Gruesome Lyrics Ever by Blender Magazine. Though influential to black metal, its lyrics and sound...
in 1986 and 1987, and released it through Euronymous's newly formed label Posercorpse Music.
The initial 1,000 copy release of Deathcrush quickly sold out. It was later reissued in 1993 by the newly renamed Deathlike Silence Productions
Deathlike Silence Productions
Deathlike Silence Productions was an Oslo, Norway based independent record label founded in the late 1980s that focused primarily on black metal. It was the first independent label to do so. The label was founded by Øystein Aarseth, also known as Euronymous, who operated the label until his murder...
as a joint venture with Euronymous's Oslo specialist record shop Helvete.
By mid-1988 both Manheim and Maniac had left the band.
With Dead (1988–1991)
After two brief replacements, Manheim and Maniac's positions were filled by Swedish vocalist Per Yngve Ohlin (aka DeadDead (musician)
Per Yngve Ohlin , better known by his stage name Dead, was a Swedish black metal vocalist best known for his work with Norwegian black metal band Mayhem...
) and local drummer Jan Axel Blomberg
Jan Axel Blomberg
Jan Axel "Hellhammer" Blomberg is a three time Spellemannprisen award-winning heavy metal drummer. He is most well known for his drumming with the band Mayhem, with which he began his career...
(aka Hellhammer). According to Bård Eithun of the band Emperor
Emperor (band)
Emperor was a Norwegian black metal band formed in 1991. They dissolved in 2001, but reunited in 2006 and again in 2007 for a few festival dates and brief US tours. The group was founded by Samoth and Ihsahn .-Biography:...
:
He (Dead) wasn't a guy you could know very well. I think even the other guys in Mayhem didn't know him very well. He was hard to get close to. I met him two weeks before he died. I'd met him maybe six to eight times, all in all. He had lots of weird ideas. I remember Aarseth was talking about him and said he did not have any humor. He did, but it was very obscure. Honestly, I don't think he was enjoying living in this world.
With Dead as vocalist, the band's concerts became notorious. Whilst performing, Dead would often cut himself with hunting knives and broken glass. Additionally, the band often had pig or goat heads impaled on stakes and planted at the front of their stage.
At some point in 1990, the members of Mayhem moved to "an old house in the forest" near Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
. They began writing songs for their next album, De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas
De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas
De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas is an album by Norwegian black metal band Mayhem. Songwriting began as early as 1987, but due to the suicide of vocalist Dead and murder of guitarist Euronymous , the album's release was delayed until May 1994...
. On 8 April 1991, Dead committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
in the house owned by the band. He was found by Euronymous with slit wrists and a shotgun
Shotgun
A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
wound to the head. Dead's suicide note
Suicide note
A suicide note or death note is a message that states the author has died by suicide, and left to be discovered and read in anticipation of suicide....
notably read "Excuse all the blood, cheers." and included an apology for firing the weapon indoors. Instead of calling the police, Euronymous went to a nearby store and bought a disposable camera to photograph the corpse, after re-arranging some items. One of these photographs was later stolen and used as the cover of a bootleg live album entitled Dawn of the Black Hearts
Dawn of the Black Hearts
Dawn of the Black Hearts is a bootleg live album by the Norwegian black metal band Mayhem. It is infamous for bearing a photograph of Mayhem's vocalist, Dead , after his suicide in April 1991. This photograph was allegedly taken by Mayhem's guitarist, Euronymous , upon discovering Dead's body...
.
Eventually, rumors surfaced that Euronymous made a stew
Stew
A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables , meat, especially tougher meats suitable for slow-cooking, such as beef. Poultry, sausages, and seafood are also used...
with pieces of Dead's brain, and made necklace
Necklace
A necklace is an article of jewellery which is worn around the neck. Necklaces are frequently formed from a metal jewellery chain. Others are woven or manufactured from cloth using string or twine....
s with fragments of Dead's skull. Additionally, Euronymous claimed to have given these necklaces to musicians he deemed worthy.
According to Stian Johannsen
Stian Johannsen
Stian Johansen is a Norwegian musician known under the stage name Occultus and "Cultoculus". He was briefly a vocalist and a bassist for the black metal band Mayhem...
(aka Occultus), who briefly took position as vocalist after Dead's suicide:
He (Dead) didn't see himself as human; he saw himself as a creature from another world. He said he had many visions that his blood has frozen in his veins, that he was dead. That is the reason he took that name. He knew he would die.
De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas (1991–1994)
Dead's suicide affected Necrobutcher so much that he left Mayhem, thinning the band's ranks down to two. In 1993, Live in LeipzigLive in Leipzig
-Credits:*Dead - vocals*Euronymous - guitar*Necrobutcher - bass*Hellhammer - drums...
was released as the band's tribute to Dead.
Later that year, the recording of Mayhem's upcoming album, De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas resumed. In Dead's and Necrobutcher's absences, Attila Csihar
Attila Csihar
Attila Csihar , also sometimes known as Void, is a Hungarian black metal vocalist, best known for his vocal work on the album De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas by Mayhem. Author Ian Christe describes his vocals as "operatic."-Biography:...
of Tormentor
Tormentor
Tormentor is a black metal band formed in 1986 in Budapest, Hungary. Tormentor was one of the first black metal bands using synthesisers to create a more atmospheric sound. They recorded their first album, Anno Domini, in 1988, but were unable to release it until the end of communism. The album...
handled vocals, and Varg Vikernes
Varg Vikernes
Varg Vikernes is a Norwegian black metal musician, writer, philosopher, religious and political activist, arsonist and convicted murderer.Vikernes was born near Bergen, Norway. In 1991, he founded the one-man music project Burzum, which quickly became popular within the early Norwegian black metal...
of Burzum
Burzum
Burzum is a musical project by Varg Vikernes . It began during 1991 in Bergen, Norway and quickly became prominent within the early Norwegian black metal scene...
handled bass guitar. Due to adverse media and police attention, Euronymous was forced around this time to close his scene focal point record shop Helvete. Much of the album was recorded during the first half of 1993 at the Grieg Hall
Grieg Hall
The Grieg Hall is a 1,500 seat concert hall in Bergen, Norway. It has been the home of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra since the hall's completion in 1978. It hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in 1986, and is the host of the annual Norwegian Brass Band Championship competition, which occurs in...
in Bergen
Bergen
Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....
. To coincide with the release of the album, Euronymous and Vikernes had conspired to blow up Nidaros Cathedral
Nidaros Cathedral
Nidaros Cathedral is a Church of Norway cathedral located in the city of Trondheim in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. It was the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Nidaros from its establishment in 1152 until its abolition in 1537. Since the Reformation, it has been the cathedral of the...
, which appears on the album cover. Euronymous's murder in August 1993 put an end to this plan and delayed the album's release.
On 10 August 1993, Varg Vikernes murdered guitarist Euronymous. On that night, Vikernes and Snorre Ruch
Thorns (band)
Thorns is a Norwegian black metal band that formed in 1989 and was part of the early Norwegian black metal scene. They made two highly influential demos in the early 1990s, Grymyrk and Trøndertun, but have only released one full-length album....
travelled from Bergen
Bergen
Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....
518 km to Euronymous’s apartment in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
. Upon their arrival a confrontation began, which ended when Vikernes fatally stabbed Euronymous. His body was found outside the apartment with twenty-three cut wounds – two to the head, five to the neck, and sixteen to the back. Vikernes claims that Euronymous had plotted to torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
him to death and videotape the event – using a meeting about an unsigned contract
Contract
A contract is an agreement entered into by two parties or more with the intention of creating a legal obligation, which may have elements in writing. Contracts can be made orally. The remedy for breach of contract can be "damages" or compensation of money. In equity, the remedy can be specific...
as a pretext. On the night of the murder, Vikernes claims he intended to hand Euronymous the signed contract and "tell him to fuck off", but that Euronymous attacked him first. Additionally, Vikernes defends that most of Euronymous’s cut wounds were caused by broken glass he had fallen on during the struggle. Regardless of the circumstances, Vikernes was arrested within days, and a few months later he was sentenced to 21 years in prison for both the murder and church arsons. With only Hellhammer remaining, Mayhem effectively ceased to exist.
In May 1994, De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas
De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas
De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas is an album by Norwegian black metal band Mayhem. Songwriting began as early as 1987, but due to the suicide of vocalist Dead and murder of guitarist Euronymous , the album's release was delayed until May 1994...
was released and formally dedicated to Euronymous. Its release had been delayed due to complaints filed by Euronymous's parents, who had objected to the presence of bass guitar parts played by Vikernes. According to Vikernes himself, Hellhammer assured Aarseth's parents that he would re-record the bass tracks himself. Apparently Hellhammer did not do this, so the album features Vikernes' original bass tracks.
With Maniac and Blasphemer (1995–2004)
Wolf's Lair Abyss
-Credits:*Maniac - Vocals*Blasphemer - Guitar*Necrobutcher - Bass*Hellhammer - Drums-Trivia:...
, and was followed by some live European shows. One of these took place in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, guest starring Attila Csihar, and was recorded for the Mediolanum Capta Est
Mediolanum Capta Est
Mediolanum Capta Est is a live album by the Norwegian black metal band Mayhem. The title of the album means, in Latin, Milano is taken...
live album of that year.
In this new phase, racist statements made by Hellhammer (who spoke out against race mixing and foreigners in Norway) and the use of Nazi imagery such as swastika flags in the rehearsal room, the Totenkopf
3rd SS Division Totenkopf
The SS Division Totenkopf , also known as 3. SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Totenkopf and 3. SS-Panzer-Division Totenkopf, was one of the 38 divisions fielded by the Waffen-SS during World War II. Prior to achieving division status, the formation was known as Kampfgruppe Eicke...
emblem and band merchandise featuring the symbol of the military branch of Nasjonal Samling led to controversy and accusations of neo-Nazism.
In 2000 the band's second full-length CD, Grand Declaration of War
Grand Declaration of War
Grand Declaration of War is the second full-length studio album by Norwegian black metal band Mayhem, released through Necropolis Records, on 16 May 2000.-Track listing:...
, was released. Strongly influenced by progressive
Progressive metal
Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...
and avant-garde metal, the album was concept-based, dealing with themes of war and post-apocalyptic destruction. Maniac largely abandoned the traditional black metal rasp for dramatic spoken-word monologue, with most of the songs sequencing seamlessly into one another. Reaction to the album was polarized. Some criticised the album for its avant-garde and electronic elements, which they perceived as pretentious, and for Maniac's vocals, which they perceived as inferior to Dead's and Attila's. Others saw it as a laudable attempt to recreate and redefine black metal, with critic Brian Russ of BNR Metal going so far as to call it "really the first cohesive work the band has ever done" and "a fitting culmination to their career thus far." In retrospect, the electronic elements of the album were often heavily overstated by its detractors, appearing notably in only a single track, "A Bloodsword and a Colder Sun." It should also be noted that from Wolf's Lair Abyss up to the present, Blasphemer has written all of the music for Mayhem's releases. Maniac wrote the lyrics from the reformation of the band until his departure in 2004.
In May 2003, Mayhem made headlines again when a Mayhem fan, Per Kristian Hagen, landed in the hospital with a fractured skull after being hit by a severed sheep's head that had been thrown into the audience from the stage. Assault charges were filed, but the band considered it to have been entirely accidental.
In 2004, Mayhem released Chimera
Chimera (Mayhem album)
Chimera is the third full length album by the Norwegian black metal band Mayhem. It is the fourth and last main Mayhem release to feature vocalist Sven Erik Kristiansen . TurboNatas of fellow Norwegian band Red Harvest provided the album artwork...
. It showed a return to their earlier raw and brutal style, but with considerably better production values than earlier releases. Chimera still maintained a progressive edge. In 2004, Maniac was forced out of the band, according to Necrobutcher, because of stage fright-induced alcoholism. Necrobutcher also stated that because of this, a violent encounter ensued between the singer and Blasphemer, during which the guitarist kicked Maniac down a flight of stairs and hit his head face first into a wall. Attila Csihar
Attila Csihar
Attila Csihar , also sometimes known as Void, is a Hungarian black metal vocalist, best known for his vocal work on the album De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas by Mayhem. Author Ian Christe describes his vocals as "operatic."-Biography:...
was reinstated as his replacement.
Ordo Ad Chao (2004–2008)
The band's fourth full-length album, titled Ordo ad ChaoOrdo Ad Chao
Ordo Ad Chao is the fourth full-length album by the Norwegian black metal band Mayhem. "Ordo ad chao" is incorrect Latin . It is meant to be translated as "order to chaos" - a reversal of the Latin expression "ordo ab chao" often cited as the motto used in Freemasonry...
(Latin for "Order to Chaos"), was released in April 2007. Ordo ad Chao contains a much rawer sound than the rest of the band's recent work; the drums are not equalized
Equalization
Equalization, is the process of adjusting the balance between frequency components within an electronic signal. The most well known use of equalization is in sound recording and reproduction but there are many other applications in electronics and telecommunications. The circuit or equipment used...
and the mix is notably bass-heavy (black metal typically lacks bass). The album continues the band's experiments with unorthodox song structures, with "Illuminate Eliminate," at 9:40, being the band's second longest track to date (behind Grand Declaration of War’s "Completion in Science of Agony (Part I)" at 9:44). The album received strong reviews and was the band's highest-charting album to date, peaking at #12 on the Norwegian charts. In early 2008 Ordo Ad Chao won a Spellemannprisen
Spellemannprisen
Spellemannprisen is an award presented to Norwegian musicians for their contributions.-Operation:The award was established on the initiative of International Federation of the Phonographic Industry , an organization that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide...
(the largest and oldest of Norway's music awards shows) for Best Metal Album of 2007.
In April 2008, Blasphemer decided to leave the band. "The main reason behind this conclusion lies in the fact that I simply don't see any future for me in the band anymore, at least not a future I'd like to participate in over the coming years," he wrote in a statement posted to the band's website on April 22. "I've been playing my part in the band now for more than 13 years already, having composed, produced and released several albums with great vision, dedication and craftsmanship, to arrive at this crossroad of opposites. Sooner or later, all things comes to an end, and in my case, this circle is complete." Blasphemer also said he will continue working with the Portuguese band Ava Inferi
Ava Inferi
Ava Inferi is a musical group created in Almada, Portugal, by guitarist and songwriter Rune Eriksen .The debut album, Burdens, was released in January 2006....
.
Blasphemer played European festival dates with the band through the summer months of 2008, playing his last gig with the group in August. This marked the departure of the musician credited with the bulk of the musical composition of the band's three most recent studio albums.
After Blasphemer's departure (2008–present)
Statements of touring plans for late 2008/early 2009 were announced on the band's web page a few weeks after their final dates with Blasphemer, prior to any word on new members. In October 2008, it was announced that a musician named Morfeus (Dimension F3H/Limbonic Art) had "joined forces" with Mayhem as guitarist for their upcoming South America Fucking Armageddon tour, replacing Blasphemer.The band toured through late 2008 and 2009 with this lineup, prior to announcing Summer 2009 dates with a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
metal musician calling himself Silmaeth on second guitar. Both Morfeus and Silmaeth are presently considered touring (as opposed to full-time) members. In November 2009, the band was arrested in Tilburg, Netherlands, after destroying a hotel room while on tour. In September 2010 Mayhem performed their first ever show in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, as part of an Australian tour.
Norwegian guitarist Teloch replaced Silmaeth in February 2011.
Members
| Role | Year | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984–1986 | 1986–1988 | 1988–1991 | 1992–1994 | 1994–1995 | 1995–2004 | 2004–2008 | 2008–present | |
| Vocals | Euronymous | Maniac | Dead | Attila Csihar | Maniac | Attila Csihar | ||
| Guitar | Euronymous | Blasphemer | Morfeus | |||||
| Bass | Necrobutcher | Grishnackh | Necrobutcher | |||||
| Drums | Manheim | Hellhammer | Hellhammer | |||||
- Note: Mayhem was inactive during 1994.
Current
- Necrobutcher – bass (1984–1991, 1995–present)
- HellhammerJan Axel BlombergJan Axel "Hellhammer" Blomberg is a three time Spellemannprisen award-winning heavy metal drummer. He is most well known for his drumming with the band Mayhem, with which he began his career...
– drums, percussion (1988–1993, 1995–present) - Attila CsiharAttila CsiharAttila Csihar , also sometimes known as Void, is a Hungarian black metal vocalist, best known for his vocal work on the album De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas by Mayhem. Author Ian Christe describes his vocals as "operatic."-Biography:...
– lead vocals (1992–1993, 2004–present)
with
- Morfeus – guitars (2008–present)
- Teloch – guitars (2011–present)
Former
- Euronymous (deceased) – guitars (1984–1993), lead vocals (1984–1986)
- ManheimKjetil ManheimKjetil Esten Haraldsson Manheim, , was the drummer for the Norwegian black metal band Mayhem. During this time, he went by the stage name Manheim.-Biography:...
– drums, percussion (1984–1988) - Messiah – lead vocals (session) (1986)
- ManiacSven Erik KristiansenSven Erik Kristiansen is a Norwegian musician. He is best known as the former vocalist in the black metal band Mayhem under the stage name Maniac.-Personal life:...
– lead vocals (1986–1988, 1995–2004) - Torben Grue – drums, percussion (1988)
- Kittil Kittilsen – lead vocals (1988)
- Dead (deceased) – lead vocals (1988–1991)
- OccultusStian JohannsenStian Johansen is a Norwegian musician known under the stage name Occultus and "Cultoculus". He was briefly a vocalist and a bassist for the black metal band Mayhem...
– lead vocals, bass (1991) - Count GrishnackhVarg VikernesVarg Vikernes is a Norwegian black metal musician, writer, philosopher, religious and political activist, arsonist and convicted murderer.Vikernes was born near Bergen, Norway. In 1991, he founded the one-man music project Burzum, which quickly became popular within the early Norwegian black metal...
– bass (1992–1993) - BlackthornThorns (band)Thorns is a Norwegian black metal band that formed in 1989 and was part of the early Norwegian black metal scene. They made two highly influential demos in the early 1990s, Grymyrk and Trøndertun, but have only released one full-length album....
– guitars (1992–1993) - Alexander NordgarenFleuretyFleurety is a Norwegian avant-garde metal band. The band was formed in 1991 by Svein Egil Hatlevik and Alexander Nordgaren.-History:The band released their first demo Black Snow in 1993. After that came the 7" EP A Darker Shade of Evil in 1994, released via the English label Aesthetic Death Records...
– guitars (1997–1998) - Blasphemer – guitars, bass (1995–2008)
- Silmaeth – guitars (2009–2011)
Discography
- DeathcrushDeathcrushDeathcrush is an EP by the influential Norwegian band Mayhem. It was released in 1987 and was the first studio release by any band of the Norwegian black metal scene. "Chainsaw Gutsfuck" was voted Most Gruesome Lyrics Ever by Blender Magazine. Though influential to black metal, its lyrics and sound...
(1987) - De Mysteriis Dom SathanasDe Mysteriis Dom SathanasDe Mysteriis Dom Sathanas is an album by Norwegian black metal band Mayhem. Songwriting began as early as 1987, but due to the suicide of vocalist Dead and murder of guitarist Euronymous , the album's release was delayed until May 1994...
(1994) - Wolf's Lair AbyssWolf's Lair Abyss-Credits:*Maniac - Vocals*Blasphemer - Guitar*Necrobutcher - Bass*Hellhammer - Drums-Trivia:...
(1997) - Grand Declaration of WarGrand Declaration of WarGrand Declaration of War is the second full-length studio album by Norwegian black metal band Mayhem, released through Necropolis Records, on 16 May 2000.-Track listing:...
(2000) - ChimeraChimera (Mayhem album)Chimera is the third full length album by the Norwegian black metal band Mayhem. It is the fourth and last main Mayhem release to feature vocalist Sven Erik Kristiansen . TurboNatas of fellow Norwegian band Red Harvest provided the album artwork...
(2004) - Ordo Ad ChaoOrdo Ad ChaoOrdo Ad Chao is the fourth full-length album by the Norwegian black metal band Mayhem. "Ordo ad chao" is incorrect Latin . It is meant to be translated as "order to chaos" - a reversal of the Latin expression "ordo ab chao" often cited as the motto used in Freemasonry...
(2007)
Videography
- 1998: Live In Bischofswerda
- 2001: European Legions: Live In Marseille 2000
- 2002: Mayhem - Cult of Aggression (Norwegian/Swedish documentary by Stefan Rydehed)
- 2005: Appearance in Metal: A Headbanger's JourneyMetal: A Headbanger's JourneyMetal: A Headbanger's Journey is a 2005 documentary directed by Sam Dunn with Scot McFadyen and Jessica Wise. The film follows 31-year-old Dunn, a Canadian anthropologist, who has been a heavy metal fan since the age of 12...
- 2005: Appearance in BBC One World episode Death Metal Murders
- 2008: Pure Fucking Mayhem (English documentary by Stefan Rydehed)