Mayhem: Liturgy of Death

"Death stalked Mayhem from the womb. Founded near Oslo in 1984, the black metal band cycled through a handful of temporary vocalists before meeting the Swedish teenager Per Yngve Ohlin in 1988. Ohlin went by the pseudonym Dead, and his self-destructive intensity onstage was the missing piece for this band bent on sonic and metaphysical annihilation. Dead died by suicide in 1991 without ever appearing on a proper Mayhem release."

"Mayhem quickly regrouped, soldiering on with a series of lineups built around bassist Necrobutcher and drummer Hellhammer. De Mysteriis is one of black metal's towering masterpieces, but the band has made plenty of interesting music in the decades since-the dark industrial oddity Grand Declaration of War, the violently atavistic Chimera, and a string of albums with De Mysteriis vocalist Attila Csihar. As they've aged, they've become more technically proficient, and their songs no longer sound like instinctive, nihilistic outbursts."

Mayhem formed near Oslo in 1984 and recruited Swedish teenager Per Yngve Ohlin (Dead) in 1988; Dead committed suicide in 1991 and appeared only on posthumous live recordings. Euronymous (Øystein Aarseth) was murdered by Varg Vikernes, who later played session bass on Mayhem's 1994 debut full-length De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas. The band quickly regrouped around bassist Necrobutcher and drummer Hellhammer and released diverse work over decades, including Grand Declaration of War, Chimera, and several albums featuring Attila Csihar. The band matured technically, moved beyond instinctive nihilistic outbursts, and continued releasing albums such as Liturgy of Death.

Read at Pitchfork