u/phantom_2131

You have written all the lyrics for the new album. What kind of mood do you have to be in to write lyrics for a MAYHEM album?

Attila: It's like a trance-like mood, or I don't know what's the word for it, when I have my channels open … I can't write it like, for instance, this beautiful morning. It's not like I have a list of topics and I pick one of these, this is going to work. No, it's more like I got this vision, and I had this thing just manifesting, which is crazy. When I realized it's so profound, it's so deep-meaning, I just realized it's such a big challenge, and I was thinking I'm 55 now, maybe I'm grown up enough to deal with that. This just came to me, and I realized how deep it is, and then I just started to make scratches, and when I feel the inspiration, sometimes I just sit down and write it quickly, and then I come back to this later. I have a lot of notes. I try to get the right inspiration at the right time. It cannot be just at any time. But of course, I have to also push myself a little bit into it. It's kind of half work, half trance-like state. I enjoy it, actually. I mostly enjoy playing live, but composing, writing is also good.

It's not a secret that you're a huge fan of cannabis as well, so are drugs something that help you to get into that trance-like mood, or do you prefer to stay sober when working on lyrics, for example?

Attila: That's true, I love cannabis, but I don't know how it came… I am currently straight edge now. (laughs) I stopped doing it. We'll see how long it takes. I think it comes with my age maybe, but I think when I wrote the lyrics, probably I smoked a little bit here or there, but it's not a crucial thing. It's not about that. Actually, I think it's better when I'm clean. But sometimes inspirations come under the effect of cannabis.It's OK, you know. But I don't like to get high and then work. It's actually the other way around. I prefer to do it and then maybe have a spliff and then look into it. But then again, I'm totally straight edge now. Actually, I don't even do coffee. I do black tea – that's my highest thing… (laughs)

But when I write for MAYHEM, there is kind of a limitation, because I personally actually have a light side, too. But my whole life and everything is about the dark side for me somehow, it turned out like that. But that’s kind of balanced out. I’m also a human being – fortunately and unfortunately. I’m here, too, dealing with stuff, I have family, I have loved ones, I love animals, pets, I love the sun, you know, I love nature. So it’s not like I’m just completely a dark person. But yeah, when it comes to MAYHEM and my art in general, it’s always kind of limited into that. Or it’s just more like it’s coming naturally. I don’t feel natural if I write about the other side. Somehow this is my path.

Including the bonus tracks, the last words you sing on the album are „Deathlike Silence“ – I guess thats not a coincidence, but a reference to Euronymous‘ label?

Attila: Yes, absolutely … it’s no coincidence. I have those guys always in my mind, you know. Euronymous and Dead are obviously always part of the band, and at the live shows we still always invoke them: Every night, every MAYHEM-show, and it’s been decades now, I invoke them. People won’t hear it … normally, I do it in the songs from „De Mysteries Dom Satanas“, for instance during „Life Eternal“, when the long intro part starts, I whisper their names and I invoke them. But not only them, even like my friend Jon Nödtveidt or Joy Jordison, who passed away … or some other musicians, friends, I was spiritually connected. So I invoke all my musicians‘ friends who passed away … but especially them. This new album is also about that, so they are crucial, they are the death in our family. They already passed away, so it’s a little bit to mention them, and it’s a little bit like going back to that, and yeah, kind of invoking them in that sense.

Talking about the lineup and how stable it is, if you think back to the point when Blasphemer left after „Ordo Ad Chao“: Was it questionable whether the band had a future? As far as I remember, Morten then came along like a savior and basically brought the music for „Esoteric Warfare“ with him?

Attila: I don’t think it’s true. He didn’t have the album ready. We started to work together when he joined.

He had some ideas, but we kind of turned them down, actually. Then he had to start again… this is a typical MAYHEM thing … (laughs) But it’s true, it’s was really, really difficult. After Blasphemer left, I was actually … not heartbroken, but I don’t know how to say: We had so much on the same page and we were a really good creative force, but I understood his choice at the end, and I respected it, of course. We all respected it. It was his decision to leave the band for whatever the reason. But it was really difficult to find a replacement: Morton was at that time not available, he was in GORGOROTH. Charles was in CRADLE OF FILTH at that point, which sounds a little bit strange, but I have nothing against that band, actually. I don’t know, if people complain … I don’t really care. I look at the persons, and he just happened to play in that band. Anyway, we didn’t want to break up other bands to get some people out of them, so we had to deal with Krister [Dreyer, alias Morfeus] and Vagus Nox. They were also great, but somehow the chemistry didn’t work.

To be in MAYHEM takes more than just to be in a band. You really have to sacrifice your life. Charles sometimes jokes to me. You know, I told him, dude, are you sure you want to destroy your life? And he sometimes referes to that. It’s a joke, of course, but I tell him: I warned you, man! (laughs) But seriously, it takes a lot more then just playing in a random band. Your life is going to be around it, and your life will be in this dark energy and around this darkness. It’s a lot to carry on your shoulder. It’s a crazy history, a crazy heritage, and it’s about integrity. It’s not an easy task, actually. Even when I came in for the first time: I started playing live when I was 15, and I was always super secure, and I was kicking ass on stage. When I went on stage with MAYHEM, in the first half year or year, I felt like, holy shit, this is so different. It’s not that easy. This is really hard to make people to believe in it. People have expectations when they come to a MAYHEM show, and to make them to believe, to trust in us, to trust that it’s true, what I’m saying … that was a heavy task. So I guess it’s the same for the guitar players, too. It’s very difficult. Blasphemer put a very high standard, also Euronymous. Those are big shoes to fill!

You guys have 40 years of MAYHEM in the books, you are over 50 now yourself … what do you think, how long will MAYHEM be around? Do you plan to play live at the age of 60 or 70 as well, or are there any plans to retire?

Attila: I don’t know … we’ll see. Everybody says we sound better than ever, and I couldn’t hear bigger compliments than that. That’s crazy to achieve that as a 40 years old band. I mean, it’s up to Hellhammer: We always tell each other it’s time to take care of our health. I’m doing planks every day, I’m Straight Edge now. I’m kind of like facing with the fact that we are getting older, so we can’t do the same crazy shit as before, but that’s OK.

Link to the FULL interview: https://www.metal1.info/interviews/mayhem-attila-csihar-liturgy-of-death/?lang=english

Dayal Patterson is a journalist and writer, author of several books on Black Metal, including "Black Metal: Evolution of the Cult.

You’ve interviewed a handful of Mayhem members past and present. Did you discuss Dead? I’ve always been curious as to how Mayhem feels about Dead’s legacy as it stands today.

Dayal: Yes, Dead is discussed quite thoroughly, through interviews with Necrobutcher, who I guess was probably his best friend by the end, and also Maniac and Manheim. I think all members of Mayhem are aware of the profound impact Dead had and of course, that impact is felt in so many of today’s bands. Along with Euronymous and Varg and a few others, he may be considered one of the most important figures in Black Metal history. That said, it must be addressed that he was not a good man, and some of the mythologising of him today, particularly by younger acolytes, perhaps overlooks that. I’ve tried to take a balanced approach to this matter.

What kind of impressions did you get about these bands’ overall opinion of today’s Black Metal scene?

Dayal: Interesting question. I think most long-time Black Metal participants recognise that this is a very good time for the genre in terms of its popularity and the infrastructure that is now in place, which makes it much easier to tour, release albums, promote your work and so on. At the same time, I think the most exciting and vital years were unquestionably the late 1980s to the early 2000s – that’s not just me being an old man claiming ‘things were better in my day’, ‘objectively’, Black Metal was most exciting when it was still underground and developing rapidly, and when everyone was totally dedicated to it. In the last ten years, Black Metal has reached a massively expanded audience, which isn’t a bad thing as it allows more ambitious events and releases, but the fact that there are now ‘casual Black Metal fans’, and people that listen to (and even make) this music without taking it seriously obviously changes the dynamics somewhat.

That’s how things go of course. I am a huge fan of late 1970s and early 1980s UK punk: Obviously, I’m way too young to have been there at the time, but I love the music, and still see the bands live, but it was through watching documentaries and, most of all, reading interviews and books that I came to really understand the context of the whole thing. That’s what I hope to do with my books. You can read these books and get a real understanding of what it all means and where it came from even if you got into Black Metal after the fact. I mean I wasn’t there when it all kicked off either, everyone has to come into it as a newcomer at some point. But if you discovered Black Metal in the last decade you’re getting a slightly distorted and shallow picture unless you dig a little deeper. The immediacy of today’s internet-driven society isn’t necessarily totally in keeping with the nature of this genre after all.

Link to the FULL interview: https://thisisblackmetal.com/interview-dayal-patterson/

🤔

You have now been in Mayhem for a few years. What is it like playing in one of the most important bands in the history of black metal?

Teloch: It’s a cool gig. It takes me around the world, at airports and the inside of a tour bus. Travel around the world and don’t see anything. Great. It’s of course cool. Then again, I don’t find joy in much things in life. But looking back, I could never foreseen that the day I experienced De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, that I one day would play in Mayhem because I don’t really have any goals in life. I take things as they come and jump in at situations that I don’t really want to do. I am telling myself I grow as a person doing things I find uncomfortable.

What does the band Mayhem mean to you? What I mean by this is, you are credited as one of the main songwriters of the new album, so how is writing a Mayhem song different than writing a song for one of your other projects?

Teloch: Yeah, Attila, our vocalist, wrote the lyrics and I wrote the music. What was different for me this time when writing was, first of all, it was a Mayhem album I had to write, so I didn’t exactly feel I was free to do whatever I wanted to. There are some rules to follow to make it sound like Mayhem, at least in my head, not that I want to get into that now.

First rule is, it has to sound like Mayhem! Second, it has to sound like nothing they released earlier! Well, fuck me, what a easy task. It was fucking hard. Of course, the album, it’s not good enough in my head and I can’t wait to start on the next one. This album was very important to get out of the way. Now we know what will work and what will not work when making the next one. We know what we must do more of next time and what was shit, if we can ever agree on it, that is.

What were your primary inspirations for Esoteric Warfare?

Teloch: Euronymous and Blasphemer. There was no point for me trying to top Ordo Ad Chao. That would be the end of me as a Mayhem writer. So instead, my plan was to make an extended version … but more controlled version of it, plus at the same time honor the band’s past composers. I thought that it was fitting to slow it down and look a bit at the bands past. So there is something in Esoteric Warfare that can be found in all the Mayhem albums. Very fitting as a 30 years anniversary album, in my opinion. So there was a bunch of things to think of just even before starting to compose this. And on top of this I had to add some of my own flavor into this soup of evilness.

What were the first bands/musicians that made you want to learn to play guitar?

Teloch: Metallica was the one that started everything for me. Metallica is also the reason I totally failed at school. I wasn’t attending classes at all. I sat home all the time learning how to play. Metallica records were more my thing back then. Result: an under average guitar player with no social skills. I don’t understand math or any of the other shit the other kids in my class studied. And I have no clue about any history or shit like that. Of course, years of drug abuse doesn’t help either. Stay in school kids. I can’t stress that enough. And stay away from playing black metal. Find something real to do instead, like blowing hobos in Vancouver.

What do you want people to know about this current incarnation of Mayhem?

Teloch: Apparently, this version of Mayhem is the tightest it has been in years. People who have been following the band for many years say that they have never seen the band as good as it is now. Might be worth checking out. Who knows how long it will stay like this. Maybe someone in the band gets killed or kills someone.

LINK to the FULL nterview: https://jumpphilly.org/2015/01/06/career-advice-from-black-metal-band-mayhem-who-perform-at-union-transfer-thursday/

Teloch is so humble it's endearing and has rather good dark sense of humour. He gives interviews rarely, though. He is a nice guy and a very good guitarist (no matter what he says!) 🤘🤘

Mortiis: 

"They were black metal parties, you know. The mood was okay, some people would be ass-drunk, others would sort of sulk in corners, everyone wanted to live up to something I suppose. I remember I drove a map needle into my arm until the bone stopped it and I heard Euronymous once drove a spike into his forehead. I also remember that I broke a beer bottle over my own head during one of those parties. A guy once came in waving a gun—he might have been a member of Abhorrent/Thyabhorrent—all kinds of shit could happen.” 

Enslaved’s Grutle Kjellson: 

"Obviously we had some crazy ideas about this and that… some stupid or weird ideas about humanity. But generally we had beers and we laughed… we didn’t sit there like this,” he frowns and crosses his arms, “all the time.” 

Tomas “Samoth” Haugen of Emperor:

“For a little while I moved into the basement together with Varg [of Burzum]. It was a shithole of a basement and I can’t believe we chose to take residence there looking back at it. We hardly stayed there though. It was very dark and gloomy… and moldy. I really dived deep into the darkness during that time of my life. There were a lot of parties in the shop with a lot of crazy shit going on. The shop wasn’t very organized looking back at it. Sometimes it was total chaos. It was more run by idealism rather than good business sense. But it became a good meeting ground for people who shared interest in this music and the lifestyle that came with it back then. And it had an atmosphere. It was very different compared to how things are today. There were no ‘black metal catalogue fans’ back then. It was total underground and there was a more genuine feeling amongst the bands and people involved.” 

Kristoffer “Garm” Rygg of Ulver:

“The shop was a meeting ground for people socially and a place to pick up albums and get insights. You can’t really underestimate the influence of Helvete and Euronymous in the formative days of black metal in Norway.”

Source: Black Metal: Evolution of the Cult, Dayal Patterson. 

Was it an exclusive one-time occasion? I have never seen anything like this at any of their other shows. Was it Necro's idea? 🤭🤫 So bizarre lol. Overall, quite crazy show. I have never seen Maniac so pumped up and agitated on stage. Here she comes starting from 35:05 😏 of the video.

The remastered version of Live in Bischofswerda is officially re-released for the first time on June 5th 2026. This is the performance of Deathcrush from the upcoming reissue. This is legendary and, finally, we will have good audio/video quality to give this concert full justice. I think it's great that all these old recordings are getting new life. 🔥🎸

The first time I've stumbled upon this performance in full and in a really decent quality. It's pro-shot and Mayhem is truly going all out in this one. It's one hell of a sick and super-kinky show with a killer setlist. It's Mayhem at its most unhinged.

Out on the 26th of June. The pre-order is now open!

Hell yeah! The patch looks badass 🔥 the vinyl design is pretty dope too.

I mean there is indeed tons of pictures of that era. It's great that a lot of stuff was documented. It never gets old 🐼

This is from 2015, so it's not new. This is written by a guy who met and hung out with Necrobuther after Mayhem's concert. 

Discussing the real Per Ohlin (Dead):

"I met and chatted to Jørn for sometime after the Mayhem concert in Auckland. Although some alcohol may have been involved I got some interesting insight into the workings of the band and Jorn’s own feelings about his bands history and how they’re regarded. Jørn talked about the loss of Per (Dead). Per had been known to talk about killing himself for some time. Jørn said that members of the band had limited patience his comments about suicide. He seemed to imply that Øystein and Hellhammer would say things to the extent of – “if you’re going to keep talking about killing yourself, why don’t you go and do it”. This uncaring attitude seems cruel but in my mind, the band were all very young at that time. They were perhaps short tempered and serious people, but I doubt they would have actually wanted their singer to commit suicide. Jørn stated that he was closest with Per, that Per was a cool guy – shy and with a weird sense of humour. Per apparently avoided eye contact with people – Jørn talked about Per coming over for dinner at his house, and when thanking Jorn’s mum for the food, would have his eyes fixed at the ground. Had Jørn himself had been aware of Per’s final threat to kill himself, Jørn would have tried to stop him. Per had told the other members of the band, but not Jørn, about his plans. Jørn suspects that Per knew Jørn would be the one that would stop him committing this act, hence why he kept it secret."

About the controversial comments by HH:

"We also discussed the controversial/racist comments that drummer Hellhammer had made in an interview (Jørn brought this up, I didn’t prompt him) with Jørn expressing his disapproval at what he said (black metal is only for white people – or something pretty disgusting). This has apparently caused Mayhem to have problems playing with other bands. Napalm Death, long-time friends of Jørn, had banned Mayhem from the guest list at their gigs. This harsh feeling has somewhat cooled down, and although Hellhammer hasn’t retracted his statements it seemed some consolation that Jørn didn’t agree with them and felt them just another set back, another controversy in Mayhem’s history to distract from the music they were making. I have to admit, getting into Mayhem I had reservations due to the connection with racism through the drummers comments. I had to do some research to decide whether I would follow this band. Talking to Jørn made me realize the complicated nature behind band dynamics and that even if one band member says something, the rest of the band doesn’t necessarily agree with it. It is still a complicated and off putting issue and I believe if the band want to be recognized on a wider scale, one step would be to publicly denounce these prior ignorant and inflammatory comments."

Source link: https://shutuphamish.wordpress.com/2015/05/12/meeting-necrobutcher-from-mayhem-and-the-stories-that-inspired-the-recently-announced-lords-of-chaos-film/