r/Mayhem

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. 

The last few times I posted here, my items were removed, but I’m going to take this risk since it’s been a recurring theme as of late.

Some people wonder why Euronymous gets a bad reputation although others in the scene have behaved just as badly, or in some cases, worse.

It’s for the same reason that Musk gets so much bad press although other billionaires have behaved just as badly or worse. Others have the good sense not to constantly post what their thoughts are, and they don’t engage in overly frequent interviews, so they simply don’t supply the press with as much material.

Others in the black metal scene have said and have done bad things, but not all of them were prolific letter-writers, and not all of them participated in interviews. Euronymous did. His goal was to provoke, and he achieved that goal.

In other words, the person who gave Euronymous a bad reputation was…Euronymous, and he did that to himself on purpose. He wanted that reputation.

Yes, things would probably be different if he were here now, but that was what he had wanted in the 80s and 90s.

If it bothers you that people only seem to call out Euronymous and not anyone else, just consider the meaning of the following idiom:

“The squeaky wheel gets the grease!”

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!) 🤘🤘

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.

So i sewed this patch on my pants, but after i did it came to my attention that it includes a eagle that looks like the Nazi eagle, it has the Hirden logo and totenkopf