MAYHEM — De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas (review)

MAYHEM — De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas album cover

Album · 1994 · Black Metal

4/5 · 2014-07-20
siLLy puPPy

DE MYSTERIIS DOM SATHANAS is the first full length album by MAYHEM, a band that truly lives up to its name and is perhaps one of the strangest releases in musical history because it is arguably more famous for the historical context in which it was made than the music that it contains although the music itself is a hypnotic black metal fury depicting the very nature of evil and the energies of the underworld. This wasn't released until 1994 after other second wavers like Darkthrone and Immortal had already released music of this sort and at first it sounds like a typical release of the day, but the album actually began to see its creation after the release of the 1987 EP “Deathcrush” only being prevented from a much earlier release due to the circumstances following. If you listen to “Deathcrush” it is obvious that MAYHEM was a pioneer of this sound rather than a follower since most other bands didn't jump onto the black metal bandwagon until the 90s.

The unique and utterly disturbing story began shortly after after the release of “Deathcrush” in 1987. Dead was intent on writing new music that would induce people to commit suicide and released many of these tracks on the “Live In Leipzig” album. After writing the majority of the lyrics for DMDS, Dead succumbed to his disturbed instability and committed suicide himself in 1991. This left Euronymous and Hellhammer to carry on so Attila Csihar was imported from Hungary to pick up demented vocal duties while Varg Vikernes was busy on the side burning down churches in Norway. In 1993 Varg Vikernes, the bassist stabbed Euronymous, the guitarist and went to prison. Finally after all this, the album was released. So on this album we are treated to lyrics written by a dead man who called himself Dead, but this wouldn't be true “MAYHEM” if we only got a suicide. How about the murder of a the guitarist (who made necklaces out of the bits of Dead's skull and passed them out as gifts to musicians he liked to commercialize the band's image) by the bassist who was convicted of church burnings as well. The story is actually more complex than the music but really emphasizes the “MYSTERIIS” part of the title!

Musically DE MYSTERIIS is a typical second wave black metal release on the surface. It exhibits hypnotic riffing with the lo-fi wall-of-sound buzzsaw distortion replete with blastbeats, tremolo guitar playing and growly vocals. We also get some Gregorian chant type vocals at times making me think of a remote monastery that has turned to the dark side and red eyed monks growing horns and tails and sacrificing goats or whatever. The album is relentless and there are no slow tracks, no ballads, just lo-fi fury that supplicates the lord of aggression to punish the Christian world for the injustices and hypocrisies committed in its name. The image of the church on the front suggests the idea is to fuel a flurry of church burnings and create a legion of devil worshiping zombies to destroy all of creation. Whew! Intense stuff. I'm happy to say that as many times as i've heard this I have not become a zombie or had any desire to burn a church but it is a wicked album to say the least. A historical gem that isn't my first choice when I pick up a MAYHEM album to listen to but it is certainly the one that will be marked in history as a milestone in the development of the most extreme forms of metal. It is certainly one for the history books but all in all an exemplary example of mental psychosis, juvenile behavior and squandered talent and opportunities.

more than 2 years ago
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666sharon666 wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I've not heard the latest yet, but I quite like Ordo Ad Chao and Deathcrush.

siLLy puPPy wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Yeah, i hear you all with it not being the best black metal album. It's not even the best Mayhem album. I much prefer Wolf's Lair Abyss, Chimera and my absolute fave Ordo Ad Chao. Like others i was underwhelmed upon first listen but there is an atmosphere that is evoked with this one that makes it a bit better than the sounds due to the shenanigans of the band. It has grown on me but not to the point of it being a mega-classic that it is made out to be. Even the newest album Esoteric Warfare floats my boat more actually. Live in Leipzig is pretty rad as well. Actually so is the EP Deathcrush

666sharon666 wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Probably due to it being the first album and also because of the controversy surrounding it. Live in Leipzig though is notable because Dead is the vocalist on. It's not exactly great either, but I do think Dead was a better vocalist. There's a studio take of Freezing Moon with him available, and I think it is better than the one on this album with Attila.

Vim Fuego wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Not heard Live in Leipzig, but this album is mentioned more often in black metal discussions.

666sharon666 wrote:

more than 2 years ago

This is one of those albums that is more historically important than it is good. It's far from terrible by any means, but there are much better black metal releases out there. I'm glad to have a copy in my collection, but I don't play it very often. I'd argue that Live in Leipzig is the more definitive Mayhem recording, but the sound is so bad on that even by black metal standards.

adg211288 wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I've never thought much of the vocals on this, more than anything.

Vim Fuego wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I bought this not long ago. Not 100% sure what I was expecting, but I found it greatly underwhelming.

adg211288 wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I've always struggled with this supposed classic and the band in general really (I've never been able to even get through Grand Declaration of War in a single sitting). I'm probably due to give De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas another chance though, since opinions do change sometimes.