General discussion question, personally I think I only like their Deathcrush EP and some of their live stuff before the release of their debut full-length.

The question is more about the quality of the music and not about the history or ethics of the band and its members/former members.

Yes. They are major innovators in second wave black metal (and pretty much the reason it exists). The musicianship on "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas" is quite good and it's one of the more 'polished' albums to come from that scene. It also has a genuinely sinister atmosphere to it that's difficult for other bands to replicate... and I unironically like Attila's weird vocals. They add to the vibe of the music imo. I have more mixed feelings on the material that came after but I'd never call any of their albums truly bad.

"Deathcrush" and "Live in Leipzig" are good too, of course.

Yeah but they should have ended after Ordo Ad Chao, if not sooner.

Purely focusing on the music, I'd say they're pretty good. Even their weakest album has something going for it.

That's a very broad question you're asking. It's hard to give a simple answer to that question, but I'll still try to give a fairly simple answer.

For starters, I think it's a little hard to think of Mayhem as one coherent entity through it's entire existence. The reason for this is quite simple: The main song-writer was murderer shortly before the first LP was released. With Euronymous gone, the band was of course going to change significantly. So why do I think of a band like Voivod as a coherent entity through time even if Piggy passed away? I guess it's because the other members of the band remained in the band, and they eventually found a guitar player with a similar writing and playing style as Piggy, so there was a continuity.

But with Mayhem it's different because there is basically only one who has been member (Hellhammer) in the band throughout the entire history of the band, and there is not really a real consistency to what they are doing. One could also argue that Necrobutcher has been there for quite some time. It is true, but the guy was not in the band for the release of their most iconic album De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, and he also was never the proeminent song-writer of the band. So what about Attila? Yes, he was present on DMDS, but then he left for an entire decade, and was not involved in the writing and recording of Wolf's Lair Abyss, Grand Declaration of War, and Chimera. Hellhammer is the one member who has been around for the longest in the band and he's the only one who played on every single one of the albums.

So when we are talking Mayhem, I tend to think of the band as many distinct eras where the band was basically almost an entirely different entity. But that's not necessarly a bad thing. These eras I delimit roughly around when the guitarists changed. So Euronymous era, Blasphemer era and Teloch/Ghul era.

I think early Mayhem, with Euronymous and Dead is absolutely solid. Deathcrush, Live in Leipzig and DMDS, is absolutely solid, with DMDS being one of the all time best, most iconic and influential black metal records.

Blasphemer era was marked by a change in guitarist, of course, but also by the change of vocalist and lyricist (while Dead didn't perform on DMDS, he did write most of the lyrics to the songs, and it shows). Wolf's Lair Abyss is an interesting beast. Not a perfect album, but Blasphemer did some amazing guitar work on there, and this album, while imperfect, is still fairly unique and interesting for what it is. It is most likely my favorite post-Euronymous album. Still, I think that the following LP, Grand Declaration One War, is an interesting album as well. Again, it's not perfect, but I love that Mayhem took risks and wrote some quite avant-garde and adventurous stuff instead of trying to just reproduce whatever they did with Euronymous. The following two Blasphemer records are also interesting. Not great albums, but they also have their moments and are worth revisiting every once in a while.

Teloch/Ghul era I can't really talk about much because I find it to be the least interesting era of the band. I've barely listened to any of these records more then once, and there is nothing really making me want to revisit them. Maybe I'll try, for the sake of it (and because of this thread), but I doubt I will find much there. From what I remember it's still quite avant-gardist and experimental black metal, but without much of anything that really stands out, at least significantly enough for me to enjoy it.

So, bottom-line, while Mayhem is not a "band" I think of as a continous entity, I would say that Euronymous era Mayhem is classic and DMDS is essential. Blasphemer era is quite interesting. Imperfect, but still adventurous and avant-gardist enough to keep the listener interested. And Teloch/Ghul era is somewhat forgettable/passable, but there is nothing truly amazing there.

Edit: Typos and weird sentences.

I think that's a decision for you to make bro. Personally I think they're quite unique, I haven't heard anyone quite like them so at least they are original. No standout albums for me but there are good songs on each album really.

Yes, and deathcrush is one of my fav 1st wave black

De mysteriis is the best "classic" black metal album by a mile. Everything they have recorded with Attila ranges from good to great.

De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas is an amazing recording, not just for black metal, but metal as a whole. Regardless of ones opinion of the activities outside of music, its well worth anyones time checking out DMDS.

Yes and post Euronymous is even better …

Fuck revisionism

They have become musically good only on Grand Declaration Of War, or at least interesting and unique. Since then they have been experimenting and adding some extra twists to the orthodox black metal of old which makes them a rewarding listening experience, at least. Adding two unique vocalists such as Maniac and Attila did them only good. Their early days were terrible, and their debut album is meh (even with Attila on vocals), so overrated it is mind boggling. Wolf's Lair Abyss EP is just a mess of a recording (but Maniac fucking slays) and as mentioned, their true shining moment has begun on A Grand Declaration, as far as I'm concerned.

I'd say so yeah - I just think the story behind the band (if I'm wording it correctly) just kinda overshadows the band itself.

did you not read the post itself? my decision is that i think their studio albums fuckin suck and i only like their early period.

Theyre a great band, and legendary in the history of Norwegian black metal, however, i dont know how many of you are like me but i actually struggled to get into Esoteric Warfare. Their last album Daemon was really good. And Ordo Ad Chao and De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas are masterpieces.

I'm not BM die hard but I like them, well what I've heard. DMDS is a monster with killer riffage. And Daemon may be "stock BM" but its got some good shit going on. I should listen to the stuff in between more.

Only Deathcrush and DMDS are trve. Their other albums hit that same thing Emperor's Prometheus do in that they're at least interesting (except their very recent stuff), but nah, Deathcrush's feral atmosphere makes it a certified classic, and the overall grandiosity of DMDS is second to oh so so so very few.

They're just soso

Good band overall, killer live band. I generally enjoy all their studio albums, though I would argue that the live version of DMDS that they released is better than the studio version. Attila's vocals are less goofy and more sadistic and tormented, like he was originally going for. But they goofed hard when they didn't include the live interludes before the songs; when they were doing that album live they added that classic recording of Dead screaming "When it's cold, and when it's dark, the freezing moon can obsess you" which really set a haunting tone for Freezing Moon when they played it live. IMO too good to just toss aside; why they didn't include that in the live album is beyond me.

I think the avant-garde period of that band is also rather underrated. Particularly love Ordo Ad Chao. Esoteric Warfare is good too, but has some filler. Haven't revisited Daemon much, but when I listened to it once or twice I enjoyed it. I think I just wasn't in that headspace when it came out, so I didn't feel compelled to binge it.

YES awesome band... the legacy is eternal.

Absolutely. I like every studio full-length they ever did and listen to all of them. Each is unique, each is it's own entity and has something going for it. I like Heavenduff's answer for defining them as more of an "entity" than a band because it's true, they haven't really evolved as a band in the conventional sense.

Latter era Mayhem seems to divide a lot of people but I find them to be still quite solid and relevant and interesting. Albums like Esoteric Warfare and Ordo ad Chao are complete mindfucks when you're in the mood for that.

They've had some ups and downs over the years musically, but 'Daemon' was pretty killer. So, too, was the recent EP.

I think they are a good band, but all the lineup changes have sort of diluted them. It's hard to really find the spirit of old Mayhem because aside from Necrobutcher, none of them are there or involved anymore. A band is only the sum of the input of its members. The two (!) guitarists in mayhem now are very skilled musicians, but I don't know who they are and they're not really part of the legacy I think of when I think of Mayhem.

And yes, I love De Mysteriis. Good live stuff with Dead too.

Hellhammer was there since the beginning and still is in the band.

Attila and Hellhammer for me are every bit as important as Necrobutcher. They recorded their best and most important album.


All the early recordings were done by Manheim though. He is not their original drummer.

Well, pretty early on, but not the beginning -- he was part of the second era of Mayhem, and wasn't on Deathcrush or their earlier demos. So his arrival coincides more or less with Dead's.

I don't mean to fully discount Hellhammer as a contributor to Mayhem's music -- I'm a drummer myself and I recognise that he's a master on drums, but Mayhem has always been about riffs to me, and hellhammer never really seems to contribute much to songwriting in the many bands he's in (not unusual for a drummer I guess). To me, Mayhem could have replaced him more easily than they could a guitarist, though of course, with the death of Euronymous, they certainly had no choice.

No he was not.

Manheim was the original drummer and played on Deathcrush, and for a bit after that.

Hellhammer didn't join until he left. So no, he was not.

Sorry, Hellhammer was not there at the very beginning, my bad. (Didn't need 4 different people to point it out though.)



Yes, that's also how I felt. Like, yes, he was in the band for most of it's existence, but he is not an important song-writer.

They're good, but no band is as good as Mayhem's superfans think they are.

+1 It was cool to see them live last year though. Bucketlist.

They might be my favourite black metal band of the original 90's wave. There seems to be three camps with the band. Those who just don't like them. Those who like Deathcrush and De Mysteriis and those who appreciate more than that. For my money I like everything they've done except Deathcrush and Esoteric Warfare. The first is just not my thing - I think it's bad. As for the latter I find it boring. Everything else is good to excellent. I've learned to love De Mysterris (used to have a hard time with the vocals). Wolfs Lair Abyss was my introduction to the band - love it! Grand Deceleration is someting totally different but awesome as well. Chimera builds on the previous one but is more streamlined - very good. Ordo ad Chao goes in the opposite direction with the muffeled sound and the weird songs - it's excellent. And then Daemon which is a return to the old sound which I think they did well.

They keep doing stuff that feels fresh which is a great thing for a band. And they usually succeed as well. I hope they keep experimenting on the next release so they don't get stuck and do another album with the old school sound. You never know what you're gonna get with a Mayhem release.

I can't see what's not to like about Mayhem

Deathcrush is pure MAYHEM in every sence of the word. If you go for it with musical mindset you are doing it wrong. Same story for Live in Leipzig. DMDS is a classic. Drum sound and the riffs are the best stuff, "From the dark past" for example has one of the best opening riffs ever. Wolf's lair abyss, Grand declaration of war and Chimera have really interesting stuff going on. Can't say much about the time after that, but what I've heard is not bad. So good band, even better if you take up and look the history behind it. It's so much more than just Varg stabbing Aarseth. What it all just could have been if Dead and Euronymous were still here...

I personally dislike ''Ordo Ad Chao'' and ''Esoteric Warfare'' due to the muffly sound, but I like everything else.

Weird topic eh. what is 'good'?
Millions like Beyoncé but for me it's no good hahaha

I only like 'Deathcrush', because it's funny. A friend of mine has always been into 'De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas' a lot.
Does it matter?

DMDS is a bona fide classic, so there's not much discussion to be warranted about that or Deathcrush for me at least. For the material written after word I love the avantgarde era (GDOW, Chimera, and the weird spoken poetry Maniac went with). Their newer albums always sounded weird to me and I still remember Anti (pissing) a lot of people off when it first came off on different message boards. Their newest is a definite return to form to their traditional black metal material, but when its all said and done they've got a lot of different sounds and they're a legendary band.

huh. is it not obvious? i mean subjective to you. not a weird topic at all.

Do you like them? Then they're good to you, if not then they're not. There's no objectivity in art, that's what makes it art.

Quite, if everyone liked everything, the world would be extremely boring.