Mayhem is a black metal band from Oslo, Norway currently comprised of bassist Necrobutcher, drummer Hellhammer, guitarist Teloch, secondary guitarist Charles Hedger & frontman Attila Csihar. Considered pioneers in the most extreme metal subgenre imaginable, their 1994 debut De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas is considered to be some of the greatest black metal ever recorded & the sophomore effort Grand Declaration of War would go for a more avant-garde direction. Can’t forget to mention one of their original frontmen Dead taking his own life only for the photo of the aftermath to be used as the coverart for a live bootleg or original guitarist Euronymous being murdered by the most notorious black metal musician of all-time Varg Vikernes a.k.a. Burzum. Chimera & Ordo ad Chao were both great even though Esoteric Warfare near the end of my junior year of high school holds a special place in my heart today, returning for their 7th album almost 7 years since Daemon.

“Ephemeral Eternity” infernally starts us off singing about death ruling everything without any exceptions whereas the 2nd single “Despair” combines elements of their signature black metal style & progressive metal suggesting the reaper’s already here & has supremacy over us all. “Weep for Nothing” takes a more dissonant black metal approach stylistically singing about the world around us falling apart & leaving no remains leading into “Aeon’s End” making a statement regarding every civilization meeting their demise.

To begin the Liturgy of Death’s other half, “Funeral of Existence” describes the point in life where everything decays & loses all meaning while the 3rd & final single “Realm of Endless Misery” goes for a more traditional black metal vibe singing about existence functioning as part of suffering. “Propitious Death” looks at dying from the perspective of being freed from life’s repetitions & “The Sentence of Absolution” finishes with the realization that greatest deception has been the idea of human life the whole entire time.

Determined to push the boundaries of extremity itself even further over 4 decades later, Mayhem reaffirms their status as the most uncompromising force in all of Norwegian black metal reaching an entirely different apex of darkness by making Liturgy of Death yet another testament to their longevity. It’s easily the most progressive & dissonant the band has sounded since Esoteric Warfare & I commend Attila for deepening his research on the idea of every living being inevitably passing away since it’s been such a prominent theme within the dark arts.

Score: 4/5

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