MAYHEM

IF you are at all interested in some wicked OG Black Metal, this was the show to attend.

After seeing the legendary Abbath a couple weeks ago, we have another show where we are about to receive some further black metal education from the Norwegian darklords called Mayhem.  They were among the first in the world to spread the darkness of the black metal genre.   Tonight, as part of the Decibel tour, we see New Skeletal Faces (San Diego USA), Imperial Triumphant (New York, USA), Mortiis (Norway) and headliner Mayhem set to meltdown the Rickshaw Theatre in Vancouver Canada.

This is one interesting tour with these 4 bands.   New Skeletal Faces is like a really doom death rock trio.   Imperial Triumphant is more Advant-Garde like, with black metal or death metal fused with experimental jazz.    Then there is Mortiis who were prior to Mayhem, who is more of an electro darkwave 2 piece, keyboard player (who is Mortiis) and Tim Van Horn on drums.

Then of course, Mayhem who have been around since 1984 and have 6 studio albums, 4 ep’s and a trove of live albums and video footage in the discography.  These guys are the real deal, no doubt about it, with founder Necrobutcher (bass), Hellhammer (drums), Attila Csihar (vocals), as well as Teloch (guitar) and Ghul (guitar).

As they commence the show with “Malum” from 2019’s Daemon album, not all sport the customary corpse paint as just Teloch and Attila dress the part, which I always find odd when I see bands are half committed.   I am not going to go through the entire setlist but this night they play for almost 2 hours with 19 songs from 1984 and up.  This makes most black metal aficionados froth at the mouth as they hit a good variety of songs from all the years of their existence (see setlist below).

The visuals are played on screen behind the drummer and if you knew nothing on the history of the band, all you have to do is watch that video footage behind them as they display tonnes of old images of the band or other bands that started this movement.  Not to mention all the other gruesome images like hangings, or war or death.  If you think that black metal is dead, think again, because both Abbath and Mayhem both sold-out the Rickshaw Theatre this past month.

They did dawn the robes and Atilla did have a few costume changes to reflect the era of the songs played.    They also did a tribute to singer “Dead” who passed to the realm via suicide in 1991 during “Funeral Fog”.  Atilla didn’t sing that song, as they played Dead’s via tape. 

But this is a serious band, and there is no space for happy faces or joyous occasion.   There is not much in-between song fun or giddy jokes to be told.   

The band was on point with all their songs and no hiccups throughout this entire experience.  However, if I had one observation to share, it was that the Vancouver audience was very flat.   I am not sure if they were just there for the spectacle or just wanted to actually enjoy and take in the music that we haven’t heard since 2011 at this very facility.   My hunch here is that having a band like Mortiis, which is more calming Norwegian instrumental music, with a good part of it with no vocals put the audience in “Crystalized Pain and Deconstruction”.   I would describe them like a heavier version along the lines of say Wardruna at times.  Frankly, I think they put Vancouver under a sleep spell prior to Mayhem, and they never got into much, if any, pit action during the Mayhem set, which appeared odd.   Don’t get me wrong about Mortiis, they are extremely talented in their own right, but not sure if the placement prior to Mayhem works.

I think the highlight song of the night for me was “Deathcrush” from 1987’s Deathcrush EP, at song 16.  They played “Chainsaw Gutsfuck” as well as “Pure Fucking Armageddon” from that same EP which I think Atilla was delivering sonic earsplitters on vocals that tear into your very soul.

Definitely if you are new to Black metal or a little curious, this was ‘thee’ show to attend in 2025.  Why not start with visionaries that blow up all this sensory destruction?  You are either going to love it or hate it, but one thing I know for certain that this is a great tour that you should not miss.