MAYHEM — De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas (review)

MAYHEM — De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas album cover Album · 1994 · Black Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
Time Signature
Freezing moon...

Genre: black metal

Having survived a suicide, a murder, imprisonment and whatnot the notorious Mayhem release one of the most important black metal releases ever, and certainly their best release ever (featuring the lyrics of Dead who had commited suicide, guitars by Euronymous who was murdered, and bass by Grishnack who was imprisoned for the murder of Euronymous).

While it can be difficult to differentiate between the tracks on this album, because of the emphasis on fast tremolo riffage and insane blastbeats, there are a lot of interesting things here. First off, there are a lot of subtleties in Hellhammer's blasting, such as wee details on the cymbals and hi-hats. Moreover, the tremolo riffage is accompanied by more defined riffs and slower sections, and you can hear the bass(!), which is quite unusual in the black metal universe. So, while it seems like a bunch of indistinguishable songs, there is actually a lot of variation going on if one listens carefully - and, at times, there are even some progressive inklings.

The vocals are, in my opinion, the weak point of this album, as they are moaned, or even mumbled, throughout the album, which ends up just being quite annoying to listen to.

But all in all, this is an important black metal release, and one which, while very extreme, could appeal not just to fans of black metal but to fans of extreme metal in general.
Share this review

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

I, the Destroyer Black Metal
SVARTFJELL
Buy this album from MMA partners
A Sonication Technical Death Metal
OBSCURA
Buy this album from MMA partners
Hin helga kvöl Atmospheric Sludge Metal
SÓLSTAFIR
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Cycles of Suffering Black Metal
BURIAL OATH
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us