Mayhem is a seminal black metal band formed in 1983 and based in Oslo, Norway. The name "Mayhem" was derived 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 its inception.
Over time Mayhem has evolved through a variety of black metal styles, 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.
Early Years (1983-1990)
Mayhem was founded in 1983 by guitarist Euronymous (Øystein Aarseth (then called 'Destructer')), vocalist Messiah (Eirik Nordheim), bassist Necrobutcher (Jørn Stubberud) and drummer Manheim (Kjetil Manheim). When Maniac (Sven Erik Kristiansen) replaced original vocalist Messiah in 1987, the band went on to make their third recording (following two demos) and a first EP Deathcrush. By this time Mayhem's sound had developed from their 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 violence, a more sinister preoccupation with religion and satanism had begun to emerge. An initial release of 1,000 copies (on their own label Posercorpse Music) quickly sold out and was later successfully repressed in 1993 by Euronymous' label Deathlike Silence Productions.
During the summer of 1988 both Manheim and Maniac left Mayhem; Manheim to get a 'real job', Maniac following a failed suicide attempt and later confinement in a mental institution. Their positions were filled by vocalist from Sweden Dead (Per Yngve Ohlin, previously of Morbid) and drummer Hellhammer (Jan Axel Blomberg). 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 performing 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 Live in Leipzig was recorded), Mayhem started working on their first full length album: De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas (Lord Satan's Secret Rites), though by the time of it's eventual release two cornerstone members would be dead.
Death of Dead (1991)
By April 1991, Dead was dead, aged 21, having inflicted a self administered shotgun wound to his head and several lacerations to his wrists.
"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..." "Occultus (Stian Johannsen)" (Who briefly took position as vocalist after Dead following his suicide)
The bullets used had been sent to him by Bergen, Norway musician Varg Vikernes (Kristian Vikernes, aka Count Grishnackh, ex Old Funeral, sole member of black metal band Burzum, later convicted 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 at the scene, some of which later appeared in the booklet of subsequent Mayhem release Dawn of the Black Hearts.
Euronymous was unusually cold and opportunistic about Dead's suicide; in interviews he claimed that Dead had killed himself due to the rising popularity of death metal. He also claimed to have collected and forged fragments of Dead's skull into necklaces. In 1992 Euronymous set up his gendre record shop "Helvete" (Hell) in Oslo, specialising in "EVIL records for EVIL people".
"We've had a couple of 'actions' in churches lately, and the shop is going to look like a black church in the future. We've also tought about having total darkness inside, so that people would have to carry torches to be able to see the records."
"Euronymous"
Death of Euronymous (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 year 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.