Mayhem (band)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
||
|---|---|---|
 Cover of Bootleg 'Tribute to the Black Emperors', Feat: Øystein Aarseth (Euronymous) and Per Yngve Ohlin (Dead)
|
||
| Background information | ||
| Origin | Oslo, Norway | |
| Genre(s) | Black metal | |
| Years active | 1981-1993, 1995 - present | |
| Label(s) | Deathlike Silence (1993–1994) Misanthropy Records (1997) Century Media (1994–1996) Season of Mist/Necropolis Records (2000–present) |
|
| Website | www.thetruemayhem.com | |
Mayhem is an influential black metal band formed in 1981, from Oslo, Norway. The name "Mayhem" was derived from the title of a Venom song, "Mayhem With Mercy". Much controversy has followed the various murders, suicides and other forms of violence that have surrounded the band since its inception.
Over time Mayhem has evolved through a variety of black metal styles, delving at times into areas of dark avant-garde industrial and electronica. Highly influential, the group (especially in its 'classic' incarnation featuring Dead is widely considered to be one of the cornerstones of the black metal movement.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Early Years (1981-1990)
Mayhem was founded in 1981 (1979-Garage days) by guitarist / vocalist Euronymous (Øystein Aarseth - then 'Destructor'), bassist Necrobutcher (Jørn Stubberud) and drummer Manheim (Kjetil Manheim). Euronymous concentrated solely on guitar following the hiring of vocalist Messiah (Eirik Nordheim) in 1986. After a short period, Maniac (Sven Erik Kristiansen) replaced Messiah and the band went on to make, following two previous demos, their third recording and first EP Deathcrush, with Euronymous's newly formed label 'Posercorpse Music'.
By this time, Mayhem's sound had developed from their initial death / speed metal influences to arrive at a sound more distinctive, dark and unique. Though maintaining the usual death metal obsessions in gore and violence, a more sinister, nihilistic preoccupation with both religion and paganism had emerged, taking influence from Norse mythology and Satanism (Euronymous opposed the Crowleyan and LaVeyan brands of Satanism, in favour of Christian perceptions).
An initial release of 1,000 copies of 3rd demo Deathcrush quickly sold out and was later successfully repressed in 1993 by the Posercorpse Music label, since having been renamed Deathlike Silence Productions as a joint venture with Øystein's Oslo specialist record shop Helvete. Øystein's plans for this new outlet included that it was to be "...like a black church in the future. We've thought about having total darkness inside, so that people would have to carry torches to be able to see the records."
By the summer of 1988 both Manheim and Maniac had left the band; Manheim, tired of 'the life', to get a 'real' job, Maniac, following a failed suicide attempt and confinement in a mental institution. After two brief replacements, their positions were filled by Swede Dead (Per Yngve Ohlin, previously of Morbid), and scene drummer Hellhammer (Jan Axel Blomberg).
Dead, as suggested by his stage name, was melancholic by nature and fascinated by death, decay, and darkness. He left even Euronymous (who by all accounts despised him) expressing concern for his mental stability. Despite this he was well liked on the scene, though regarded as a little naïve.
According to Bard Eithun "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 humour. He did, but it was very obscure. Honestly, I don't think he was enjoying living in this world."
Dead had, over time, carefully cultivated a notoriety for strange behavior; once burying a set of clothes underground for weeks so that he could later wear the decaying rags onstage. He had kept a rotting raven in a plastic bag so better to "inhale the scent of death" before going on stage. Such morbid fascinations and antics further developed Mayhem's progressing musical atmosphere, and by this point the band's lyrics had moved increasingly toward Satanism, darkness, depression and evil. A focal point of gigs at this time was the planting of pigs heads on stakes, center stage.
The new lineup with Dead and Euronymous was quickly to become the band's most notorious. After some live gigs in Norway and Germany (where Live in Leipzig was recorded), Mayhem started working on their first full length album: De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas (Lord Satan's Secret Rites), though by the time of its eventual release the two cornerstone members would be dead.
[edit] Classic Line-up (1991-1993)
By April 1991, Dead was dead, aged 22, having suffered a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head and several lacerations to the wrists, inflicted by a hunting knife he had bought that day. Dead committed suicide in a house he was sharing in Kråkstad with the other members of the band, and left a note asking that they "Excuse all the blood, Cheers." although other members of the band claimed it was more extensive, it also said "the knife was too dull to finish the job so i had to use the shotgun" Euronymous was first to discover the body, and took a series of polaroids of the corpse, some of which were later used as cover art for the bootleg album, "Dawn of the Black Hearts".
According to 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.."
The bullets used had been sent to him by Bergen, Norway musician Kristian Vikernes (aka Varg Vikernes, Count Grishnackh; ex Old Funeral, sole member of black metal band Burzum, later convicted murderer of Euronymous). Euronymous was particularly cold and opportunistic about Dead's suicide; in interviews he claimed, speciously, that Dead had killed himself due to the rising popularity of death metal, the American movement Black Metal had risen against. According to Hellhammer, Euronymous took pieces of Dead's brain and made a stew, in which he put ham, frozen vegetables, and pepper. "He'd always said he wanted to eat flesh, so he figured this was an easy way." Euronymous also claimed to have collected and forged fragments of Dead's skull into necklaces, sending pieces to those he felt 'worthy' (amongst those rumoured to be in possession of such pieces are the members of Swedish black metal band Marduk). Hellhammer has said he made a necklace from Dead's skull fragments as well.
In 1993 Live in Leipzig was released as the band's tribute to Dead. The release was followed by the acclaimed bootleg Dawn Of The Black Hearts, though against Euronymous's wishes, the release having been driven by the bands label. Following police and media attention Necrobutcher left Mayhem, thinning the band's ranks down to two.
- De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- Problems listening to the file? See media help.
Later that year, the recording of Mayhem's upcoming album, De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas resumed. In Dead's and Necrobutcher's absences, Attila Csihar handled vocals, with Vikernes on bass.
Due to adverse media and police attention, Euronymous was forced around this time to close his scene focal point record shop Helvete. By this stage he owed Vikernes 30.000 NOK (for album sales and related costs), which he was refusing to pay back, a fact argued over publicly on several occasions.
On the morning of August 10, 1993, Vikernes traveled, along with 21 year old Blackthorn (Snorre Westvold, of the band Thorns), the seven hours between Bergen to Euronymous's apartment in Oslo. They created alibis, en route, by getting friends to rent a video locally in their names. Upon arrival, Vikernes fatally stabbed Euronymous with a knife. The autopsy revealed that Euronymous suffered twenty-three stab wounds: two to the head, five to the neck, and sixteen to the back. However, Vikernes claims that Euronymous fell onto pieces of broken glass from a lamp shade broken in the ruckus, which he says, attributed to the multiple puncture wounds.
"(He died on) the first floor. I chased him and he fell down in the glass fragments, and I ran past him. I turned around to face him again. He was standing and the other guy came running up. I didn't know whether he was going to attack me too; he was Øystein's best friend. He was with me accidentally. I thought he might attack me because he was Øystein's best friend, I was waiting for it. Øystein got up and the other guy just ran past. Then everything was clear to me. Øystein came against me and I attacked him, quite simply. I got his chest and then I pounded his skull. He just sat down, dying momentarily" Varg Vikernes.
- "I thought it was just some lunatic who was living in Oslo, or some drug people had killed him for some stupid reason. I didn't have any reason to suspect anyone, because the people in Sweden I didn't think were capable of doing anything like this" 'Metalion' 1994
Though initial suspicion pointed towards members of the Swedish scene, Grishnackh had left key pieces of evidence, including a blood stained copy of a recording contract (used as the pretense for his visit to Euronymous). Within days Grishnackh was apprehended by police and charged with the murder. He has continued to record for his one-man project Burzum while in prison. With only Hellhammer remaining, Mayhem effectively ceased to exist.
[edit] Later Years (1994-present)
Mayhem's debut LP.
In 1994, De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas was released and formally dedicated to Euronymous. Its release had been delayed due to complaints filed by Euronymous' family, who had objected to the presence of bass parts played by Grishnackh. Contrary to contemporary reports these were not re-recorded by Hellhammer and appear unblemished.
By late 1995 Hellhammer had decided to reform the band with the help of new guitarist Blasphemer (Rune Erickson) 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 a 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 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, while others saw it as a laudable attempt to recreate and redefine black metal (critic Brian Russ called 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."
- You must fall (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- Problems listening to the file? See media help.
After a four year silence, Mayhem released Chimera in 2004. 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, perhaps due to increasing input from Blasphemer. In 2004, Maniac was forced out of the band. Stage fright had lead to both dependence on alcohol and reluctance to tour, which frustrated his bandmates. It is rumored that Necrobutcher signaled his departure from Mayhem by kicking him down a flight of stairs, after Maniac had gotten drunk before a gig and been unable to remember the lyrics. Attila Csihar was reinstated as Maniac's replacement.
The band is currently in the process of recording a new album, titled Ordo ab Chao, scheduled for release sometime in 2006. As of May the 4th 2006, Mayhem is signed to "Seasons of Mist" records, a French label specialising in Black Metal. As of yet no release date has been announced, though "upcoming" should be hinting at an autumn release.
[edit] Controversies
Like several other black metal bands, Mayhem is sometimes associated with nationalism and even neo-nazism. Such accusations are based on racist statements made by Hellhammer, photos of Necrobutcher in front of a Reichskriegsflagge and band merchandise featuring both the Totenkopf emblem and a stylised version of the symbol of the military branch of Nasjonal Samling. The latter is classified as an illegal (racist) symbol in Norway. There exist no official statements on the matter from any of Mayhem's members. Although the use of the emblems is most likely for shock value.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums (Studio)
- Deathcrush [EP] - (1987)
- De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas - (1994)
- Wolf's Lair Abyss [EP] - (1997)
- Grand Declaration of War - (2000)
- Chimera - (2004)
[edit] Albums (Live)
- Live in Leipzig [Live] - (1993)
- Mediolanum Capta Est [Live] - (1999)
- Live In Marseille 2000 [Live] - (2001)
[edit] Albums (Compilation)
- Out From The Dark [Compilation] - (1996)
- Ancient Skin / Necrolust [Compilation] - (1997)
- European Legions [Compilation] - (2001)
- U.S. Legions [Compilation] - (2001)
- The Studio Experience [Box Set] - (2002)
- Legions of War [Compilation] - (2003)
[edit] Albums (Split)
[edit] Demos/Promos
- Mayhem - (1983) - Never Released[citation needed]
- Voice of a Tortured Skull [Demo] - (1986)
- Pure Fucking Armageddon [Demo] - (1986)
[edit] Bootlegs
- Live Zeitz [Bootleg] - (1990)
- Dawn of the Black Hearts [Bootleg] - (1991)
- Includes the legendary performance in Sarpsborg in 1990 with Dead, as well as Mayhem's first ever live performance in Lillehammer in 1986. The cover is one of the photos of Dead's suicide taken by Euronymous.
- From The Darkest Past [Bootleg] - (1993)
- An instrumental rehearsal from the De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas period, including most of the tracks from said album.
- A Tribute To The Black Emperors [Bootleg - Split w/Morbid] - (1994)
- Includes the December Moon demo of Dead's previous band, Morbid, released in 1987. It also features a compilation of Mayhem tracks: "Necrolust" from Deathcrush, "Funeral Fog" from Live in Leipzig, and "The Freezing Moon" and "Carnage," from the Projections of a Stained Mind compilation released on CBR in 1991. The tracks from the Projections of a Stained Mind compilation are the only two studio songs Mayhem ever recorded with Dead on vocals.
- In Memorium [Bootleg] - (1996)
- Includes a 1991 rehearsal featuring the "classic" lineup of Euronymous, Dead, Necrobutcher, and Hellhammer, an instrumental rehearsal from 1992 featuring Varg Vikernes on bass, and a rehearsal from 1991, after Dead's suicide, featuring the short-lived member Stian Occultus on bass and vocals.
[edit] Videography
- Live In Bischofswerda [VHS] - (1998)
- European Legions: Live In Marseille 2000 [VHS & DVD] - (2001)
- Appearance in Metal: A Headbanger's Journey (2005)
- Appearance in BBC One World series - Episode Name: 'Death Metal Murders' 2005
[edit] Band members
| (1981-1985) | |
|---|---|
| (1986) |
|
| (1986-1987) | |
| (1987) |
|
| (1988-1991) | |
| (1992) | |
| (1993) | |
| (1993) | |
| (1994) | SPLIT |
| (1995-1997) | |
| (1997-1998) |
|
| (1998-2004) | |
| (2004-present) |
[edit] See also
- Season of Mist - Mayhem's record label
- Bathory - An early Swedish black metal band and a large source of musical inspiration for Mayhem.
- Arcturus - Avantgarde metal band formed in 1987 under the name Mortem by Hellhammer and Steinar Johnson.
- Burzum - The primary band of Count Grishnackh, who murdered Euronymous and played bass on De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas.
- Darkthrone - Black metal band formed in 1986 (Under the name Black Death) who originally played death metal; its members were part of the original inner circle.
- Emperor - A well-known symphonic black metal band with members in Euronymous' inner circle.
- Immortal - Well known black metal band (1989-2004) hailing from Bergen, Norway. Euronymous apparently helped in the changing of style in their songs (from a more death-black to a more black sound). Also known to have been in contact with Count Grishnakh
- Thorns - The primary black metal band of Blackthorn, who indirectly aided in the murder of Euronymous.
- Venom - An early English black metal band which inspired Mayhem.
[edit] References
- ↑ Moynihan & Soderlind (1998). Lords of Chaos (2nd ed.) Chapter 4, P59. Feral House. ISBN 0-922915-94-6
- ↑ Moynihan & Soderlind (1998). Lords of Chaos (2nd ed.) Chapter 4, P54. Feral House. ISBN 0-922915-94-6
- ↑ Moynihan & Soderlind (1998). Lords of Chaos (2nd ed.) Chapter 7, P238 Feral House. ISBN 0-922915-94-6
[edit] External links
- Mayhem Official site
- Mayhem Tribute site (A Tribute to the Mayhem releases inspired by the true essence of Black Metal)
| Mayhem |
|---|
| Necrobutcher | Hellhammer | Euronymous | Dead | Attila Csihar | Blasphemer | Maniac |
| Occultus | Count Grishnackh | Blackthorn | Nordgaren |
| Discography |
| Studio albums: Deathcrush, 1987 | De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas , 1994 | Wolf's Lair Abyss , 1997 | Grand Declaration of War, 2000 | Chimera, 2004 | Ordo ab Chao, 2006 |
| Live and compilation releases: Live in Leipzig, 1993 | Out From The Dark, 1996 | Ancient Skin / Necrolust, 1987 | Necrolust / Total Warfare, 1999 | Mediolanum Capta Est, 1999 | European Legions , 2001 |
| Demos and bootlegs: Voice of a Tortured Skull, 1986 | Pure Fucking Armageddon , 1986 | Live Zeitz, 1990 | Dawn of the Black Hearts, 1991 |
| Related articles |
| Season of Mist | Bathory | Burzum |
