Mayhem: Of Lord Satan's Mysteries (1992-1994)

 

Mayhem's masterpiece

The years following Dead's suicide in 1991 were tumultuous ones for MAYHEM. By this time, black metal was beginning to emerge from the underground and establish itself as a legitimate genre. However, Mayhem had some issues they needed to work through. 

The first issue in these times was whether or not the band even still existed. Did Dead's suicide mean the end of Mayhem? Euronymous had begun exploiting Dead's suicide for publicity's sake, including crafting the narrative that it was the posers and trendwhores in the metal underground that drove him to take his own life. Between this and Euronymous's stated intention to use a photo of Dead's corpse as the cover to a future Mayhem release, Necrobutcher had had enough. He quit the band out of frustration. 

Dead without corpsepaint

The second issue Mayhem faced was that Mayhem still had no full-length studio albums to their name. 1987's Deathcrush was technically an EP, and Live in Leipzig had not been released yet. Numerous bootlegs were circulating in the underground, and some of those eventually saw the light of day as officially sanctioned releases. What was to become of Mayhem, and would their music ever see the light of day in a proper release? 

Euronymous took this time as an opportunity to champion the burgeoning Norwegian black metal scene. In a series of interviews in various zines, he (and to a lesser degree, Burzum's Varg Vikernes) laid down what he thought black metal should be and what it could be. He also decided to move forward with Mayhem.

Euronymous in corpsepaint

With no bassist and no vocalist, Mayhem first recruited Occultus (of Perdition Hearse) to fill both roles. While Occultus did contribute, he soon left the band because of personality clashes with Euronymous. Then, Varg was recruited to fill the role of bassist. Some recordings of rehearsals from this time period eventually saw the light of day as the From the Darkest Past bootleg.

This was also around the time that Snorre Ruch and Attila Csihar were recruited. Snorre came on board as a second guitarist and helped write lyrics for a few songs. Attila was recruited as vocalist. At this point, Mayhem's first full-length studio album was almost complete. 

This rough mix of "Funeral Fog" comes from the Life Eternal EP

The resulting album was to be titled "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas", and this was a title that had been up Mayhem's sleeve since before Dead's suicide. Unfortunately, Euronymous would never see the album's release. As is widely known, he was murdered by Varg Vikernes shortly after the completion of the album's recording.

The album was released in 1994. It was hailed as a milestone in black metal, and the album itself has (for better or worse) influenced scores of young musicians to try their hand at this diabolical genre of music. I think that this album is a true masterpiece, and it marvelously captures the essence of early second-wave black metal.

The title track of the album in question

Alas, with Euronymous dead and Snorre and Varg in jail for their criminal activity, Mayhem's roster was once again decimated. Was the band gone for good? Only time would tell..... 

Select discography of this era:

From the Darkest Past (1992 bootleg rehearsal of DMDS)

De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas (full-length) (1994)

Life Eternal (rough mix of DMDS) (2009)

Next time:  ABORYM

Thorns

THORNS is one of those bands that played a huge role in the development of 1990s Norwegian black metal but never gained the mainstream notoriety or success of bands like Darkthrone, Mayhem, Emperor, or Burzum.  Formed in 1989 as Stigma Diabolicum by Snorre Ruch and Marius Vold (going by the insane stage names Pedophagia and Coprophagia), the band released some crucial demos and rehearsals, such as 1989's Luna de Nocturnus and 1990's Lacus de Luna.  On these releases, one can hear the development of the famous Norwegian riffing style that heavily influenced the entire 1990s scene.

Here is Stigma Diabolicum's 1989 demo, Luna de Nocturnus

After roughly two years as Stigma Diabolicum, the band changed their name to Thorns.  As Thorns, they became more widely known throughout the Norwegian (and international) black metal scene.  The demos Grymryk (1991), Trøndertun (1992), and The Thule Tape (1992) all became famous for their fairly unique guitar sound that has since become practically a trademark of the Norwegian scene.

"You That Mingle May" is one of Thorns most famous songs

From the Trøndertun demo, this is "Aerie Descent"

After the production of these crucial demos, Snorre Ruch became a part-time member of Mayhem, and contributed to the legendary Mayhem album, De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas.  After the events surrounding Euronymous' murder, Ruch was sentenced to jail time for his role as an accomplice.  It was not until after his release from prison that Thorns renewed activity.  In 1999, the Thorns vs. Emperor album was put out with Thorns covering Emperor songs, and vice versa.

Back to back, here are the 1999 Thorns and Emperor versions of "Aerie Descent"

Following the Thorns vs. Emperor CD, Thorns finally managed to put out a full-length album in 2001.  This self-titled album featured the guitar sound for which Thorns had become known, but also electronic and industrial elements.  With such Norwegian black metal luminaries as Hellhammer, Satyr, and Aldrahn all contributing, this album was both an apex of sorts for black metal as well as a very forward-looking album.

What Thorns' self-titled album sounded like

Since that self-titled album, Thorns hasn't really done much.  The old material has been released in 2007 on CD as Stigma Diabolicum.  While their output hasn't been enormous, their impact on the black metal of Norway (and beyond) certainly has.

Select Discography:

as Stigma Diabolicum:

Luna de Nocturnus (demo) (1989)
Lacus de Luna (demo) (1990)

as Thorns:
Grymyrk (demo) (1991)
Trøndertun (demo) (1992)
The Thule Tape (demo) (1992)
Thorns vs. Emperor (split with Emperor) (1999)
Thorns (full-length album) (2001)

Next time: BEHERIT