De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas
| De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas | ||||
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| Studio album by Mayhem | ||||
| Released | 24 May 1994 | |||
| Recorded | 1992–1993 at the Grieg Hall in Bergen, Norway | |||
| Genre | Black metal | |||
| Length | 46:01 | |||
| Label | Deathlike Silence Century Black |
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| Producer | Pytten Euronymous Jan Axel Blomberg |
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| Mayhem chronology | ||||
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De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas is an album by Norwegian black metal band Mayhem. Songwriting began as early as 1987,[1] but due to the suicide of vocalist Per "Dead" Ohlin and murder of guitarist Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth, the album's release was delayed until May 1994. De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas is widely considered one of the most influential black metal albums of all time.
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[edit] Background and recording
[edit] 1987 to 1991
Mayhem began writing songs for the album in 1987, with vocalist Dead composing the lyrics. In 1990 or 1991, studio versions of the songs The Freezing Moon and Carnage were recorded; appearing on the CBR Records compilation album Projections of a Stained Mind.[2] Mayhem drummer Jan Axel 'Hellhammer' Blomberg claimed that the lyrics of the song Freezing Moon are "meant to make people commit suicide".[3]
By 1991, Dead and Euronymous were living in a house in the woods near Kråkstad, which was used as a place for the band to rehearse.[4] On 8 April 1991, while left alone in the house, Dead slit his wrists and throat and then shot himself in the head with a shotgun.[5] He left a brief suicide note, which apologized for having used the gun indoors and ended with: "Excuse all the blood".[4] The body was found by Euronymous. Before calling the police, he allegedly went to a nearby shop and bought a disposable camera with which he photographed the body, after re-arranging some items.[6] One of these photographs was later used as the cover of a bootleg live album called Dawn of the Black Hearts.[7]
In time, rumors spread that Euronymous had made a stew with bits of Dead's brain and had made necklaces with bits of his skull.[8] The band later denied the former rumor, but confirmed that the latter was true.[7][8] Moreover, Euronymous claimed to have given these necklaces to musicians he deemed worthy,[9] which was confirmed by other members of the Norwegian black metal scene.[10] Mayhem bassist Jørn 'Necrobutcher' Stubberud, disgusted by Euronymous's behavior towards Dead, left the band.[5] Thus, after the suicide, Euronymous was the only original member left, and the only member besides drummer Hellhammer.
[edit] 1991 to 1994
To record the new album, Euronymous recruited Attila Csihar (who performed with Tormentor) as vocalist and Varg Vikernes (who performed solo as Burzum) as bassist. In 1992, Vikernes was behind three church arsons in Norway. Snorre 'Blackthorn' Ruch (who performed solo as Thorns) claimed to have written some of the riffs for the album and to have finished some of Dead's song lyrics.[11] This lineup recorded much of the album during late 1992 and early 1993 at Grieghallen in Bergen.
On 10 August 1993, Vikernes and Blackthorn traveled to Euronymous's apartment in Oslo, where Vikernes stabbed and killed Euronymous.[12] He was arrested and sentenced to 21 years in prison.[13]
During Vikernes's trial, police said that they had found explosives and ammunition in Vikernes's home. Euronymous and Vikernes had allegedly plotted to blow up Nidaros Cathedral, which appears on the album cover, to coincide with the album's release.[5] Vikernes denied this allegation in a 2009 interview, stating "I was getting [the explosives and ammunition] in order to defend Norway if we were attacked any time. During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union could have decided to attack us".[14]
After Euronymous's funeral, Hellhammer and Necrobutcher worked on releasing the album.[15] Euronymous's parents asked Hellhammer to remove the bass tracks recorded by Vikernes. Hellhammer said "I thought it was appropriate that the murderer and victim were on the same record. I put word out that I was re-recording the bass parts, but I never did".[15]
The album was eventually released in May 1994, around the time that Vikernes was sentenced. It features the last lyrics written by Dead before his suicide, and the last songs recorded by Euronymous before his murder.
[edit] Title and artwork
The title De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas is a Latin phrase which translates as ‘Of Lord Satan Mysteries’/‘Of Lord Satan Secrets’/‘Of Lord Satan Secret Rites’.[16] The album cover shows the east side of Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, Norway.[15]
[edit] Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [17] |
| Metal Reviews | (Classic Status) [18] |
De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas is widely acclaimed as one of the masterpieces of the black metal genre, and its bleak aesthetics and lyrics have often been cited as an inspiration by other black metal groups.[citation needed]
While Mayhem's previous vocalist had been Swedish, Attila Csihar was from Hungary.[19] His style was somewhat atypical for Nordic black metal then, and has provoked a mixed reception from fans; for example, metalreviews.com gave him the nickname "Attila 'Fingernails' Csihar" (although a subsequent review by the website praised his later, Ordo Ad Chao-era performances). The song Freezing Moon was included on Kerrang!’s 25 Extreme Metal Anthems and has been covered live and in studio by such bands as Behemoth, Vader, Enslaved, Cradle of Filth and Darkmoon. Funeral Fog was covered by Emperor with Csihar on vocals.
[edit] Track listing
All songs written and composed by Mayhem.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Funeral Fog" | 5:47 |
| 2. | "Freezing Moon" | 6:22 |
| 3. | "Cursed in Eternity" | 5:10 |
| 4. | "Pagan Fears" | 6:21 |
| 5. | "Life Eternal" | 6:57 |
| 6. | "From the Dark Past" | 5:27 |
| 7. | "Buried By Time and Dust" | 3:34 |
| 8. | "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas" | 6:22 |
[edit] Credits
- Attila Csihar – vocals
- Euronymous (Øystein Aarseth) – electric guitar
- Count Grishnackh (Varg Vikernes) – bass guitar
- Hellhammer (Jan Axel Blomberg) – drums
- Blackthorn (Snorre Ruch) – wrote some of the lyrics and guitar riffs[11]
- Dead (Per Yngve Ohlin) – wrote most of the lyrics
[edit] Samples
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[edit] References
- ^ Lahdenpera, Esa. "Interview with Euronymous". Kill Yourself! Magazine. http://www.fmp666.com/moonlight/mayhem.html. Retrieved 25 August 2009
- ^ Various Artists: Projections of a Stained Mind, CBR Records 1991.
- ^ Gunnar Grøndahl (director) (1994) (in Norwegian). Det Svarte Alvor (motion picture). Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation.
- ^ a b Stefan Rydehed (director) (2008). Pure Fucking Mayhem (motion picture). Index Verlag.
- ^ a b c Martin Ledang (director), Pål Aasdal (director) (2007). Once Upon a Time in Norway (motion picture). Another World Entertainment.
- ^ Michael Moynihan, Didrik Søderlind: Interview with Hellhammer taken from the book Lords Of Chaos.
- ^ a b Dan Zimmer: Interview with Hellhammer taken from Sounds Of Death Magazine.
- ^ a b Michael Dome (director) (2007). Murder Music: Black Metal (motion picture). Rockworld TV.
- ^ Sam Dunn (director) (2005). Metal: A Headbanger's Journey (motion picture). Seville Pictures.
- ^ Moynihan, Michael; Didrik Søderlind (1998). Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground. Feral House. p. 54.
- ^ a b Sonderkrig, Agnes: THORNS. Voices from the Darkside (zine).
- ^ Darcey Steinke: Satan’s Cheerleaders". In: SPIN. February 1996.
- ^ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedburzum.org; see Help:Cite errors/Cite error references no text - ^ Midtskogen, Rune (4 July 2009). ""Greven" angrer ingenting ["The Count" regrets nothing]" (in Norwegian). http://www.dagbladet.no/2009/07/04/magasinet/innenriks/kriminalomsorg/kirkebrann/drapsdom/7051663/. Retrieved 25 August 2009.
- ^ a b c Campion, Chris (20 February 2005). "In the Face of Death". The Observer (Guardian Unlimited). http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,11710,1419364,00.html. Retrieved 06 October 2007.
- ^ Markheim: Mayhem - De mysteriis Dom Sathanas. Heavy Latin web blog.
- ^ De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas at Allmusic
- ^ Metal Reviews Review
- ^ Christe, Ian (2003). Sound of the Beast: the Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal. New York, New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc.. p. 275.
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