Mayhem

Mayhem was formed in Norway in 1984. The founders were Øystein Aarseth (Euronymous, although his first band is the pseudonym Destructor - guitar), Jorn Stubberud (Necrobutcher - low), and Kjetil Manheim (Manheim - drums). The name came from Mayhem 'Mayhem With Mercy', in homage to the creators of BlackMetal, Venom. They recorded their first demo, 'Pure Fucking Armageddon' in 1986, and only 1000 copies were released. The demo is extremely brutal, though their quality is low. In the fall of that year, the Mayhem recruited its first real singer, Sven Erik Kristiansen (Maniac). Then in winter 1987 Mayhem entered the studio to record the legendary demo 'Deathcrush'. This demo gave the Mayhem a base of loyal fans and they really worshiped the band. The demo was later relaunched as a mini LP, the label Deathlike Silence, owned by Euronymous. Shortly after the release of the mini LP, Manheim and Maniac left the band. The Mayhem recruited a new vocalist Per Yngve Ohlin (Dead vocalist of cult Swedish band Morbid), and a new drummer, Jan Axel Von Blomberg From (Vlamir). The band recorded two songs for a compilation of CBR called 'Projections Of the Stained Mind'. The songs were 'Freezing Moon' and 'Carnage'. The band then made an excursion by Turkey and East Germany. It was this tour that Mayhem did the biggest shows of its history, if not the biggest in the city of Leipzig. The concert was later released on the album 'Live in Leipzig'. In April 1991 Dead committed suicide. Soon after the fact Necrobutcher left the band. Occultus joined the band as bass / vocals to replace Dead and Necrobutcher, but not for long. Euronymous brought Varg Vikernes (Count Grishnackh the one man band, Burzum) to play bass, and Attila Csihar (Tormentor Hungarian vocalist) on vocals. Blackthorn (band Thorns) also joined for a short time, to be the second guitarist, but left soon after. This lineup recorded the long awaited first full-albumin Mayhem "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas'. After the album was recorded, things started to go wrong between Euronymous and Count Grishnackh. The difficulties between the two climbed the highest level, and finished with Grishnack killing Euronymous stabbing. The story of the murder of Euronymous, Norwegian BlackMetal and the scene at the beginning of the 90s has been said from time to time, and it has been a great legend tournou inclusive. So Hellhammer was the only member to remain. The below 'De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas' had been allegedly rewritten by Hellhammer respect for Euronymous. In fact this is NOT true, and bass you hear in De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, was really touched by Count Grishnackh. This was considered as the final memory Mayhem. The Mayhem this time gained a huge cult following. The chaos that caused the Black Metal scene in Norway in the early 90s caused repercussions around the world and gained global attention. Unfortunately fans were left with only the recording of Mayhem during its existence, and poor quality of pirated albums. They had become one of the greatest, most legendary and infamous underground metal bands. Dead and Euronymous are gone but will never be forgotten. In 1995, Hellhammer called for some tests and Necrobutcher Maniac. He wanted to reform the Mayhem. They recruited a guitarist already known Necrobutcher, Rune Erickson (Blasphemer). Now they were full band. Have agreed that if the feeling was found again, the Mayhem rise again. Fortunately, the feeling was there more than ever. In 1997 they recorded the mini LP 'Wolfs Lair Abyss', and proved that they could actually continue the legacy of Mayhem. They made a tour of Europe, and a small tour in the United States and Mexico. In November 1998 the band recorded the live album "Mediolanum Capta Est 'in Milan, Italy. Mayhem was definitely back. The band released a new album entitled 'Grand Declaration of War' in 2000. It is an album completely different from what had been released by the band until then. It is the vision of Mayhem BlackMetal in the new millennium. Following the album's release, came the first major tour in the United States was continued in Europe too. An official video of a performance of Marseille, France was launched in February, 2001. The video was released as DVD & VHS. Following the release of the video, Mayhem released two more albums live. The first was titled European Legions and has 7 live tracks recorded on excursion Grand Declaration of War, and 5 pre-production. The second live album was titled U. S. Legions and features 7 tracks live. The Mayhem has held for over 15 years and are still following very strong, maintaining its legacy of Pure Fucking Armageddon!