The crowd is getting restless, the clock is ticking nearer to 6.00 pm on Saturday the 14th of July. On Sue Stage the atmosphere is thick with anticipation. Many have waited for this moment for years and now the time is drawing near. Then it happens. From the loudspeakers blasts forth the one and only Silvester Anfang. And so Mayhem, a living black metal legend takes to the stage.
There are many disagreements to be had about the history of Mayhem, but those familiar with that history know that it has been colorful – well, mostly black or red actually. The band was founded back in 1984 with Venom‘s song Mayhem With Mercy as its namesake. By the year 2012 many doors have swung back and forth as band members have been coming and going. Despite the changing line-up the band has never failed to deliver what every true friend of black metal has craved for: shockingly brutal Norwegian True Mayhem. Its a fair guess that nobody came to see the band to learn about its eventful history, so, without further ado, let’s get down to business.
It’s been so many years since I listened to the songs of these kings of metal with the volume cranked up to the max that now, nearing forty, I felt slightly out of place as the gig was about to start. I didn’t know quite what to expect. And I have to sa I was positively surprised to notice how different the sound of the band was in a live setting when compared to those self-published demo tapes from the 90s that I had copied from a friend. The legendary Hellhammer beat the drums as loudly as you’d expect from this seasoned veteran. Attila Csihar, who had previously left the band once, performed with such ceremonial panache that everybody in the audience could feel the flames of hell tickling their backsides. Necrobutcher, Morfeus and Silmaeth used their instruments to create such thick walls of sounds that had a flock of birds hit them the poor avians would have pattered down like rain drops.
The overall experience was slightly weakened by the bright, flashing lights which at times made watching the performance somewhat difficult. My ears were in working order though, and they tell me the gig was a very successful black metal experience. To quote Attila Csihar: “Twenty years of Mayhem… Thank you very fucking much.”
Text: Henkka Leppänen
Photo: Nuutti Turkki
Translation: Juha Peuhkuri
