ITP V.014 REVIEW: MAYHEM: ESOTERIC WARFARE

BAND: MAYHEM (NORWAY)   GENRE: BLACK METAL   LABEL: SEASON OF MIST   RELEASE DATE: 6/6/2014 (EUROPEAN UNION) , 6/10/2014 (NORTH AMERICA)
                                                                                                                                               











PREVIOUS RELEASES (CATALOG) : LIFE ETERNAL (EP-1/7/2009-SATURNUS PRODUCTIONS), PURE FUCKING MAYHEM (VIDEO-2008-DVD/CD-INDEX VERLAG), ORDO AD CHAO (4/16/2007-SEASON OF MIST), CHIMERA (3/29/2004-SEASON OF MIST), CULT OF AGGRESSION (DOCUMENTARY VIDEO-2004-SELF RELEASED?), LEGIONS OF WAR (COMPILATION-4/22/2003-SEASON OF MIST),  MAYHEM/JIHAD (SPLIT-"FREEZING MOON"-2002-SUPERNAL MUSIC), THE STUDIO EXPERIENCE (BOXED SET-2002 SEASON OF MIST), EUROPEAN LEGIONS: "LIVE IN MARSEILLE" (VIDEO-6/6/2001-LIVE RELEASE-6/16/2001-SEASON OF MIST),   EUROPEAN LEGIONS (COMPILATION-2001-SEASON OF MIST), GRAND DECLARATION OF WAR (6/6/2000-SEASON OF MIST), MEDIOLANUM CAPTA EST (LIVE RELEASE-12/7/1999-AVANT GARDE MUSIC), MAYHEM/ ZYKON B (SPLIT-"NECROLUST"-1/1999), LIVE IN BISCHOFSWERDA-(5/25/1998-MISANTHROPY RECORDS), WOLF's LAIR ABYSS (EP-11/3/1997-MISANTHROPY RECORDS), OUT FROM THE DARK (COMPILATION-1996-BLACK METAL RECORDS),  DE MYSTERIIS DOM SATHANAS (5/24/1994-DEATHLIKE SILENCE), LIVE IN LEIPZIG (LIVE RELEASE-7/1993-OBSCURE PLASMA), DEMO (1990-SELF RELEASED), DEATH CRUSH (EP-1987-POSER CORPSE-CASSETTE), DEATH REHEARSAL(DEMO-1987-CASSETTE), PURE FUCKING ARMAGEDDON (DEMO-1986-CASSETTE)





BEST RELEASE (S): DEATH CRUSH (EP-1987-), DE MYSTERIIS DOM SATHANAS (1994),  WOLF's LAIR ABYSS (1997), PURE FUCKING ARMAGEDDON (DEMO-1986), ESOTERIC WARFARE (2014), GRAND DECLARATION OF WAR (2000), ORDO AD CHAO (2007).













MAYHEM: "ESOTERIC WARFARE":  TRACK LISTING:
1."Watchers"
2."Psywar"
3."Trinity"
4."Pandaemon"
5."MILAB"
6. "VI.Sec."
7."Throne of Time"
8. "Corpse of Care"
9. "Posthuman"
10. "Aion Suntelia"



ITP RATING: ****
PRODUCTION: *** 1/2

SONGWRITING: *** 1/2

PERFORMANCE: ****


Founded in 1986, Norwegian black metal legends MAYHEM are one of the pioneering bands of the second wave of black metal.
 Bred on the 80's tape trading scene as teens, MAYHEM  have endured many set backs, heart breaks, rivalries, legal issues, dysfunctions as the band felt compelled to revamp back in the mid 90's and start over again.

From the suicide of vocalist DEAD (PELLE OHLIN),  to the rise of EURONYMOUS (OYSTEIN AARSETH) and his label DEATHLIKE SILENCE, to the church burnings straight to AARSETH's untimely murder and former bassist VARG VIKERNES conviction, MAYHEM are one of metal's most notorious bands of all time.

..And pioneering.

MAYHEM (along with DARKTHRONE) all but founded the (second wave)  primitive black metal and necro production, the blue print to this KVLT known as black metal. Late founding MAYHEM guitarist  EURONYMOUS (OYSTEIN AARSETH) ironic humor gave the Norwegian and second wave of black metal an opposing, insular, nihilistic identity as late MAYHEM vocalist DEAD (PER/PELLE OHLIN), perhaps accidentally inspired depressive black metal.

MAYHEM, founded by original members NECROBUTCHER (bass-JORN STUBBERUD) and HELLHAMMER (drums-JAN AXEL BLOMBERG)  have also endured a rotating lineup of vocalists, guitarists and bassists.

From original vocalist MANIAC to KITTIL KITTELSON to DEAD and now, the very talented ATILLA, back in the band for over 10 years now.. After original drummers MANHEIM and TORBEN GRUE vacated the band, MAYHEM's drum throne has been HELLHAMMER's. MAYHEM's bass role has been tumultuous, however, more stable than the vocalist and guitarists role in the band.  VARG VIKERNES (BURZUM) is long gone (after his murder of EURONYMOUS) as NECROBUTCHER has regained his role as the stability of the band.  The death of founding MAYHEM member EURONYMOUS prompted the passing of the torch to guitarist BLASPHEMER who left the band in 2008 to replaced with guitarists TELOCH (2011) and GHUL (2012).

So after employing two new guitarists, and 30 years of growing and maturing this dark entity called black metal, can MAYHEM still keep the KVLT alive?

MAYHEM's "ESOTERIC WARFARE" kicks off with the track "Watchers", with an ominous intro and an AWESOME scream via vocalist ATTILA, this track SMOKES. Dissonant tones engulf  MAYHEM's "Watchers" with some minimalistic blackened thrash, crusty, dark and moody. ATILLA's alternates between screams,  chanted vocals and despondent slower balances..AHHHHHHHHHHHH...\m/ -l- -l- -l-

MAYHEM's "Psywar", evolves into some quality blackened thrash, very tight and well played, as the floor drops on the  track  (1:20) into an amalgamation of mesmerizing, creepy spoken word upping the anti to some brutal, tormenting, thrash.

MAYHEM's "Trinity" kicks off with the ever so famous sample "I have become death, the destroyer of worlds" (also featured on ORIGIN's "Antithesis"), as otherwise,  the track features a slightly different approach via vocalist ATTILA, as haunted chants dance in and out of "Trinity"'s blackened thrash attack, evoking a truly creepy atmosphere of...."war fare"... Again ATILLA, is a very talented vocalist, he practically carries the band.
   

MAYHEM's "Pandaemon" kicks off with a very tight, start and stop as the track, a cross between very tight, TECHNICAL blackened thrash and dissonant tones featuring a very mighty performance via drummer HELLHAMMER.

MAYHEM's "MILAB", a slower based experimental dark rock track, features vocalist ATILLA stretching the boundaries of his often talented and experimental vocal phrasing, as "MILAB's" exudes a bluesy psychotic crawl until the band steps out of the darkness (3:48) to chase shadows. ATILLA evokes a creepy and tortured performance as MAYHEM's "MILAB"  closes with a TWANG and crawls back into a dark,  hole...

 MAYHEM's "VI.SEC",  is pure blackened, experimental doom, bluesy, and a freaky consolidation between blackened death/doom and experimental prog and drone elements. MAYHEM's "VI.SEC", is well performed, tight..

MAYHEM's "Throne Of Time", evokes a psychotic hallucination as the track segues into some vicious experimental/minimalist black metal, as if one threw dishes on the floor after a slug out with a significant other. ATILLA stretches his vocal capabilities with a creepy grunt (1:02) as his spoken word are genius shadows to the smoke left by the flames of MAYHEM as the band darts in and out of coals in a dark cauldron of despondent madness.

MAYHEM's "Corpse Of Care", crawls in at snails pace before the track kicks in with minimalistic dissonant tones as ATILLA experiments with both screamed, death and spoken word for a truly creepy and surreal experience. With ATILLA's sinister howl,  MAYHEM's "Corpse Of Care" picks up the pace, with the bands darkest overtones since "Grand Declaration Of War", off into a dark underworld.

MAYHEM's "Post Human" continues the experiment into slower, dissonant atmospheres. MAYHEM's "Post Human"  opens the coffin (2:02), blasting into oblivion, whilst keeping the darkest, creepiest atmosphere, slowly crawling into a bluesy, depressive, dark abyss.

MAYHEM's "ESOTERIC WARFARE" closes with "Aion Suntelia", evoking the darkest black and roll, primitive, crusty and necro complemented by ATTILA's tortured rasps, from the abyss of despondency, as the guitar work is less thrash oriented and more dissonant and depressive, a perfect guitar tone setting the most abysmal atmosphere, and psychic torment.

MAYHEM's  "ESOTERIC WARFARE", a lyrical concept release about the psychological tactics of war, is a far more diverse, varied extension of "Ordo Ad Chao".  MAYHEM's experimentation with dark, depressive, psychotic atmospheres,  is akin to walking through a snow blizzard and led by the nape of your neck over a ledge.  New MAYHEM guitarists TELOCH and GHUL evoke perhaps underrated performances, varied, and diverse enough to perform the most evil riffs to the most despondent, dissonant guitar tones.

MAYHEM's "ESOTERIC WARFARE" is complemented by quality performances as vocalist ATTILA CSIHAR's diverse arsenal paints a sinister atmosphere, and HELLHAMMER (drums) are awesome as usual.

As there is always the debate, minimalistic, primitive black metal is fine with necro production. However, with an experimental edge to the second half of MAYHEM's "ESOTERIC WARFARE", the band upped the ante on production, as to highlight the atmospheric tendencies and creepy aspects of ATILLA's diverse vocal performances.    

MAYHEM expand the bands scope for an impressive range of blistering, vicious blackened thrash, into the darkest abyss of depressive black and roll. MAYHEM paint a despondent atmosphere of your darkest fears as  "ESOTERIC WARFARE" walks you through the dungeons of darkness, into a battlezone of dead souls and mental madness.

MAYHEM's  "ESOTERIC WARFARE", varied and progressive in destructive and experimental atmospheres, crushes the psyche, and delves into new sonic territories, uncharted only by a select few blackened bands.

..And if you dare to go there, it was well worth the wait..

R.I.P. DEAD (PER/ Yngve PELLE OHLIN), and  EURONYMOUS (OYSTEIN ARSETH)

 ITP RATING: ****
PRODUCTION: *** 1/2

SONGWRITING: *** 1/2

PERFORMANCE: ****

Thanks-Stay Metal, Stay Brutal-\m/ -l-