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Seminal Norwegian Black Metal band formed in 1983 by guitarist Euronymous (Øystein Aarseth (then called 'Destructer')), vocalist Messiah (Eirik Nordheim), Necrobutcher (Jørn Stubberud) on bass and Manheim (Kjetil Manheim) on drums. The name "Mayhem" was taken 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 it's inception. Over time Mayhem has evolved through a variety of black metal styles, even delving at times into areas of dark, avant-garde Industrial and Electronica . Highly influential, the group (at least in its earliest incarnation; 1983 - 1993 ) is widely considered to be one of the cornerstone of the Black Metal movement. BIOGRAPHY 1984-1990 With Maniac (Sven Erik Kristiansen) repacing original vocalist Messiah in 1987, the band made their third recording and first EP proper ''Deathcrush''. By this time Mayhem's sound had developed from thier 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 voilence, a more sinister preoccupation with religion and satanism had begun to emerge. Despite an initial release of only 1,000 copies (on their own label Posercorpse Music ), it quickly sold out and was later sucessfully repressed in 1993 by Euronymous' label Deathlike Silence Productions . During the summer of 1988 both Manheim and Maniac left Mayhem; Manheim to pursue a love interest and a career in business, Maniac following a failed suicide attempt and later confinment in a mental institution. Their positions were filled by Swede Dead (Per Yngve Ohlin, Ex Morbid ), on vocals and Hellhammer (Jan Axel Blomberg) on drums. Dead (as suggested by his stage name) was strongly fascinated by death, decay, and darkness, with even Euronymous describing Dead as mentally unstable and possibly Schizophrenic . Dead had gained considerable notoriety for strange behavior; he had once buried a set of clothes underground for months so that he could wear the decaying rags onstage. He had also kept a rotting raven in a plastic bag so he could "inhale the scent of death" before performed on stage. Dead's morbid fascinations and antics further infected Mayhem' new musical atmosphere, at this point the band's lyrics were moving increasingly toward Satanism, darkness, depression and evil. The new lineup with Dead and Hellhammer was quickly to become the band's most notorious. After some live gigs in Norway and Germany (where '' (Lord Satan's Secret Rites)'', though by the time of it's eventual release two cornerstone members would be dead. 1991-1992 By April 1991 , Dead was Dead , having inflicted a self administered shotgun wound to his head and several lacerations to his wrists. The bullets used had been sent to him by Bergen musician Varg Vikernes (Kristian Vikernes, aka Count Grishnackh ex Old Funeral , sole member of black metal band Burzum , later convected murderer of Euronymous). Dead's body was discovered by Euronymous in a house shared by the group in Ski, just outside Oslo , along with a suicide note containing the uncharacteristically humorous quip "Excuse all the blood". Euronymous took a number of polaroides of the scene, some of which later appeared in the booklet of subsequent Mayhem release Dawn Of The Black Hearts . Fragments of Dead's skull were collected and forged, by both Euronymous and Hellhammer, into necklaces. 1993 In 1993 ''Live in Leipzig'' was released as the band's tribute to Dead. The release was followed by the aclaimed bootleg '' Dawn Of The Black Hearts '', though against Euronymous's wishes, the release being driven by the bands label. Following police and media attention Necrobutcher left Mayhem, thinning the band's ranks down to two. 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, and, chillingly, Vikernes played bass. Euronymous by this stage owed Vikernes 30 000 NOK (for album sales and related costs), which he refused to pay back, a fact argued over in public on several occasions. On the morning of August 10th 1993, Vikernes traveled, along with 21 yr old Blackthorn (Snorre Westvold, of the band Thorns ), the seven hours between Bergen to Euronymous's apartment in Oslo. Upon gaining entry, he stabbed Euronymous to death with a knife. The autopsy revealed that Euronymous had suffered twenty-three stab wounds: two to the head, five to the neck, and sixteen to the back. Though initial suspicion pointed towdards members of the Swedish scene, Grishnackh had left key pieces of evidence, a copy of a recording contract (used as the pretense for his visit to Euronymous) stained with his bloody fingerprints. Within days Grishnackh was apprehended by police and charged with murder. He continued to record for his one-man project Burzum while in prison. With only Hellhammer remaining, Mayhem effectivly ceased to exist. 1994-Present In 1994 , ''De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas'' was released and formally dedicated to Euronymous. It's late release was due to complaints filed by Euronymous' parents; they opposed release due to Grishnackh's bass contributions. Contrary to popular belief, however, Hellhammer did not re-record Grishnackh's bass-lines, they have neen left untouched. In late 1995 Hellhammer decided to reform the band with the help of new guitarist Blasphemer and two former Mayhem members, Maniac and Necrobutcher. The first release of this new lineup was an EP titled ''Wolf's Lair Abyss'' in 1997 followed by a some live shows over the next few years. One of these shows, which took place in Milan , Italy , guest starred Attila Csihar, and was recorded for the ''Mediolanum Capta Est'' live album. In 2000 the band's second full-length CD was released, called '' Grand Declaration Of War ''. 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 monologues on several songs, and most of the songs segued seamlessly into one another. Some rejected the album for its bold and pretentious avant-garde electronic elements, 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, as they only dominated a single track, "A Bloodsword and a Colder Sun (Part II of II)," and only (with the exception of brief uses of vocal processing) even appeared on a single other track, "Completion in Science of Agony (Part I of II)." After a four year silence, Mayhem released a new album titled ''Chimera''. It shows a return to a more raw, brutal style, but has been updated with pristine production value, quite in contrast to the band's early recordings. ''Chimera'' still maintains a slight progressive edge, however, which is revealing itself gradually as one of Blasphemer's songwriting tendencies. In 2004, Mayhem's singer Maniac was forced to leave the band, due to his unwillingness to tour. Maniac has long been subject to nervousness on stage, and had resorted to alcohol abuse before concerts to combat this. It is rumoured that he was informed of his omission from the band when Necrobutcher kicked him down a flight of stairs, knocking him unconscious, after Maniac got drunk before going on stage that night and forgot the lyrics to most of the songs played. Attila Csihar returned as their new singer, and the band are currently in the process of recording a new album, titled ''Ordo Ab Chao,'' which will be released in 2006 after the band complete a short tour of South-East Asia in February. DISCOGRAPHY Studio releases
Live and compilation releases
Demos and bootlegs
Videography
BAND MEMBERS Current members
Former members
Session members
Original Line-up
"Classic" Line-up
This line-up is considered among Mayhem's fans to be the band's best one. However, it only appears on the official live release ''Live In Leipzig'' and the two studio tracks Freezing Moon and Carnage featured on the compilation album Projections of a Stained Mind. RELATED BANDS
SEE ALSO
EXTERNAL LINKS
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