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Mayhem (band)

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Mayhem
Live at Hole in the Sky 2011
Live at Hole in the Sky 2011
Background information
OriginLanghus, Norway
GenresBlack metal
Years active1984–1993, 1995–present
LabelsDeathlike Silence, Century Media, Misanthropy, Season of Mist, Necropolis
MembersNecrobutcher
Hellhammer
Attila Csihar
Morfeus
Past members(see below)
Websitewww.thetruemayhem.com

Mayhem are a Norwegian black metal band formed in 1984[1] in Oslo long regarded as one of the pioneers of the Norwegian black metal scene. Mayhem's career has been highly controversial, primarily due to their violent stage performances, the 1991 suicide of vocalist Per Yngve Ohlin ("Dead") and 1993 murder of guitarist Øystein Aarseth ("Euronymous") by former member Varg Vikernes ("Count Grishnackh"), also of Burzum.

The group released a demo and an EP that were highly influential, and amassed a loyal following through sporadic and notorious live performances, attracting further attention through their ties to the string of Norwegian church burnings and the prominent incidents of violence surrounding them. They disbanded after Aarseth's murder, shortly before the release of their debut album, De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, regarded as a classic of the black metal genre. Surviving former members Jan Axel Blomberg ("Hellhammer"), Jørn Stubberud ("Necrobutcher") and Sven Erik Kristiansen ("Maniac") reformed two years later with Rune Eriksen ("Blasphemer") replacing Aarseth. Attila Csihar and Krister Dreyer ("Morfeus") have since replaced Kristiansen and Eriksen respectively.

The band's music strongly influenced the black metal genre and was instrumental in moving the wider metal scene away from the prevailing trend for speed metal. Their post-Aarseth material is characterised by increased experimentation. Mayhem's most recent album, Ordo Ad Chao, received a prestigious Spellemannprisen award for Best Metal Album in 2007.

Biography

Early years (1984–1988)

Founding bassist Necrobutcher, shown here performing in 2008.

Inspired by groups such as Venom, Slayer, Motörhead and Celtic Frost,[2] Mayhem were founded in 1984 by guitarist and vocalist Øystein Aarseth (known initially as "Destructor"[3], later "Euronymous"), bassist Jørn Stubberud ("Necrobutcher"), and drummer Kjetil Manheim, taking their band name from the Venom song "Mayhem with Mercy".[4] 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 ("Maniac") as vocalists in 1986. With Maniac, Mayhem recorded its first EP, Deathcrush, in 1986 and 1987, and released it through Euronymous' 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. Manheim and Maniac left the band in 1988.

With Dead (1988–1991)

After two brief replacements, Manheim and Maniac's positions were filled by Swedish vocalist Per Yngve Ohlin ("Dead") and local drummer Jan Axel Blomberg ("Hellhammer"). According to Bård Eithun of Emperor:

[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.[5]

A prolific Norwegian heavy metal drummer, Hellhammer has remained with group since joining in 1988.

Stian Johannsen ("Occultus"), who briefly took position as vocalist after Dead's suicide, made a similar statement about him:

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.[6]

With Dead, the band's concerts became notorious. Whilst performing, Dead would often cut himself with hunting knives and broken glass.[7] Additionally, the band often had pig or sheep heads impaled on stakes and planted at the front of their stage.[7]

In 1990, the members of Mayhem moved to "an old house in the forest" near Oslo.[8] 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.[9] One of these photographs was later stolen and used as the cover of a bootleg live album Dawn of the Black Hearts.[10] Rumors later surfaced that Euronymous made a stew with pieces of Dead's brain, and made necklaces with fragments of Dead's skull which he gave to musicians he deemed worthy.[11]

De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas; breakup (1991–1994)

Dead's suicide affected Necrobutcher so much that he left Mayhem, thinning the band's ranks down to two. The group performed for a short time thereafter with Occultus acting as vocalist and bassist. In 1993, Live in Leipzig was released as the band's tribute to Dead.

Later that year, the recording of Mayhem's upcoming album resumed. Varg Vikernes of Burzum handled bass guitar, Snorre Ruch ("Blackthorn") of Thorns played second guitar, and Attila Csihar of Tormentor was later brought in as vocalist. 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.[12]

On 10 August 1993, Vikernes murdered Euronymous. On that night, Vikernes and Ruch travelled from Bergen 518 km to Euronymous' 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.[13] 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.[14] 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.[14] Additionally, Vikernes defends that most of Euronymous' cut wounds were caused by broken glass he had fallen on during the struggle.[14] 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.[14] (Vikernes was released from prison in 2009.) With only Hellhammer remaining, Mayhem effectively ceased to exist.

In May 1994, De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas was released and dedicated to Euronymous. Its release had been delayed due to complaints filed by Euronymous' 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; Hellhammer did not do this, so the album features Vikernes' original bass tracks.[15]

With Maniac and Blasphemer (1995–2004)

Blasphemer (left) and Maniac (right) joined the band during its 1995 reformation.

By late 1995 Hellhammer had reformed the band with new guitarist Rune Eriksen ("Blasphemer") and two previous Mayhem members: Maniac and Necrobutcher. Despite arousing some controversy[16] and scepticism[17] for reforming without founding member Euronymous, the group returned to activity, beginning with the 1997 Wolf's Lair Abyss EP. This was followed by a string of European performances, including one in Milan, Italy, featuring a guest appearance by Csihar, which 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)[18] and the use of Nazi imagery such as swastika flags in the rehearsal room,[19] the Totenkopf emblem[20][21] and band merchandise featuring the symbol of the military branch of Nasjonal Samling led to controversy and accusations of neo-Nazism. Additionally, Hellhammer stated that no member of the new line-up was a Satanist,[22] and that the "Satanic stuff […] isn't what I feel Mayhem is about today. […] Mayhem's music is still dark, but I wouldn't say that it's Satanic."[23]

The band's second full-length album, Grand Declaration of War, was released in 2000. 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,[citation needed] and for Maniac's vocals, which they perceived as inferior to Dead's and Csihar's.[citation needed] Others saw it as a laudable attempt to recreate and redefine black metal.[citation needed]

Mayhem made headlines in 2003 when 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.[24][25][26] The band released Chimera in 2004, showing a return to their initial raw sound, but with higher production value and a progressive edge.

Later this year, Maniac left the band. According to Necrobutcher, this was due to his alcoholism induced by stage fright.[7] Necrobutcher explained that because of this tendency, a violent encounter between the singer and Blasphemer lead to the guitarist kicking Maniac down a flight of stairs, resulting in injury.[7] Csihar was reinstated as his replacement.

Return of Csihar; Ordo Ad Chao (2004–2008)

Attila Csihar, live with Mayhem at Hole in the Sky 2007.

The band's fourth full-length album, Ordo ad Chao (Latin for "Order to Chaos"), was released in April 2007. Ordo ad Chao contained a much rawer sound than the rest of the band's recent work; the drums were not equalized and the mix was notably bass-heavy against black metal convention. The album continued the band's experiments with unorthodox song structures, with "Illuminate Eliminate," at 9:40, the band's second longest track (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, peaking at #12 on the Norwegian charts. In early 2008 Ordo Ad Chao won a Spellemannprisen, an award from the largest and oldest of Norway's music awards shows, for Best Metal Album of 2007.

In April 2008, Blasphemer announced his plans to leave the band, expressing a lack of desire to continue despite satisfaction with their accomplishments.[27][28] He played European festival dates over the following months, with his last performance in the group coming in August. He thereafter continued work with the Portuguese band Ava Inferi.[27] 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 imminent touring plans were announced on the band's web page a few weeks after their final dates with Blasphemer. In October 2008, Krister Dreyer ("Morfeus") of Dimension F3H and Limbonic Art joined the group as touring guitarist for their upcoming South America Fucking Armageddon tour.

The band toured through late 2008 and 2009 with this lineup, prior to announcing Summer 2009 dates with Silmaeth, a French musician, as a second touring guitar. In November 2009, the band was arrested in Tilburg, Netherlands, after destroying a hotel room while on tour.[29] Norwegian guitarist Teloch replaced Silmaeth in February 2011,[30] and performed with the group before departing the following year. Mayhem will perform on the main stage at Bloodstock Open Air festival in the UK, on Saturday 11th August 2012.

Members

Main article: List of Mayhem band members
Role Year
1984–1986 1986–1988 1988–1991 1992–1993 1993–1995 1995–2004 2004–2008 2008–present
Vocals Euronymous Maniac Dead Attila Csihar Maniac Attila Csihar
Guitar Euronymous Blasphemer Morfeus
Bass Necrobutcher Count Grishnackh Necrobutcher
Drums Manheim Hellhammer Hellhammer
  • Note: Mayhem was inactive during 1994.
Current

with

  • Morfeus – guitars (2008–present)
Former
  • Euronymous (deceased) – guitars (1984–1993), lead vocals (1984–1986)
  • Manheim – drums, percussion (1984–1988)
  • Messiah – lead vocals (session) (1986)
  • Maniac – lead vocals (1986–1988, 1995–2004)
  • Torben Grue – drums, percussion (1988)
  • Kittil Kittilsen – lead vocals (1988)
  • Dead (deceased) – lead vocals (1988–1991)
  • Occultus – lead vocals, bass (1991)
  • Count Grishnackh – bass (1992–1993)
  • Blackthorn – guitars (1992–1993)
  • Blasphemer – guitars, bass (1995–2008)
  • Alexander Nordgaren – guitars (1997–1998)
  • Silmaeth – guitars (2009–2011)
  • Teloch – guitars (2011–2012)

Discography

Main article: Mayhem discography

 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 Journey
  • 2005: Appearance in BBC One World episode Death Metal Murders
  • 2008: Pure Fucking Mayhem (English documentary by Stefan Rydehed)

Bibliography

  • Steinke, Darcey (1996). "Satan's Cheerleaders". Spin. 11 (11): pp. 62–71. ISSN 0886-3032. Retrieved 5 May 2010. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  • Moynihan, Michael; Søderlind, Didrik (2003) [1998]. Lords of Chaos (2nd ed.). Feral House. ISBN 0-922915-94-6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

References

  1. ^ Typhon (1993). "Euronymous' final words". Retrieved 2010-05-05.
  2. ^ Pure Fucking Mayhem, dir. Stefan Rydehed, Prophecy Productions, 2008
  3. ^ Jon Kristiansen: Metalion: The Slayer Mag Diaries. Brooklyn, NY: Bazillion Points Books 2011, p. 39.
  4. ^ The Dark Past.
  5. ^ Moynihan & Søderlind 2003, p. 54
  6. ^ Moynihan & Søderlind 2003, p. 59
  7. ^ a b c d Campion, Chris (20 February 2005). "In the face of death". Guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
  8. ^ Hellhammer interviewed by Dmitry Basik (June 1998)[dead link‍]
  9. ^ "''Lords of Chaos'' (1998): Hellhammer interview". Replay.waybackmachine.org. 2008-12-16. Retrieved 2011-10-06.
  10. ^ Sounds of Death magazine (1998): Hellhammer interview[dead link‍]
  11. ^ Hartmann, Graham (4 June 2012). "Marduk Guitarist Confirms He Owns Skull and Brain Matter From Mayhem's Per 'Dead' Ohlin". Loudwire.com. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
  12. ^ Martin Ledang, Pål Aasdal (2008). Once Upon a Time in Norway.
  13. ^ Steinke 1996, p. 66
  14. ^ a b c d "Varg Vikernes - A Burzum Story: Part II - Euronymous". Burzum.org. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
  15. ^ "Interview with Varg Vikernes". Burzum.org. Retrieved 2011-10-06.
  16. ^ De Mysteriis Dom Euronymous. In: Jon Kristiansen: Metalion: The Slayer Mag Diaries. Brooklyn, NY: Bazillion Points Books 2011, p. 282.
  17. ^ Mayhem. In: Jon Kristiansen: Metalion: The Slayer Mag Diaries. Brooklyn, NY: Bazillion Points Books 2011, p. 477.
  18. ^ Bruder Clé: Mythen, Mord & Metal. In: Ablaze, no. 6, September/October 1995, p. 13.
  19. ^ Steinke 1996, p. 65
  20. ^ Mayhem: Chimera, Season of Mist 2004.
  21. ^ "Mayhem interview". Webcitation.org. Retrieved 2011-10-06.
  22. ^ Dmitry Basik: Interview with Hellhammer conducted by Dmitry Basik June 1998
  23. ^ Dan Zimmer: Interview with Hellhammer taken from Sounds Of Death Magazine
  24. ^ Berglund, Nina (10 March 2003). "Mayhem fan hit by sheep-head". Aftenposten.no. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
  25. ^ "Sheep head fractures fan's skull". BBC News Online. 11 March 2003. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
  26. ^ "Flying sheep head fractures fan's skull at rock concert". CBC.ca. 12 March 2003. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
  27. ^ a b Bennett, J. (August 2008). "Blasphemer quits Mayhem". Revolver (71): p. 30. ISSN 1527-408X. {{cite journal}}: |page= has extra text (help)
  28. ^ "Mayhem parts ways with guitarist". Blabbermouth.net. Roadrunner Records. 22 April 2008. Retrieved 25 January 2010.
  29. ^ "Metalband vernielt Tilburgse hotelkamer". Radio Netherlands Worldwide. 2009-11-16. Retrieved 2009-11-16. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  30. ^ "Metalband vernielt Tilburgse hotelkamer". Radio Netherlands Worldwide. 2011-02-11. Retrieved 2011-02-11. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
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