Mayhem
Wolf's Lair Abyss
[Misanthropy]
The hype behind this release has been nothing short of incredible,
mainly because it's been a few years since the masses have had the
chance to hear new Mayhem material. I personally attribute this to the
wave of new found black metal fans that are over-hyping every major
release to hell and back (this is true, I'll argue it if you really
wish), which in return has caused many a disappointment over the last
few months.
The band (now consisting of Hellhammer, Maniac, Necrobutcher, and Blasphemer) have in some way gone back to their roots, but for the most part, Blasphemer's guitars do retain some more "modern" Mayhem sound to them. When I say "gone back to their roots" I'm referring that they've taken a more brutal approach to the music, a sound consistent with earlier material, ala "Deathcrush". Yet as I mentioned before, they've also kept the smooth and ambient flow of later (I'm referring to De Mysteriis.) material.
Vocally, Maniac does an impressive job of taking over the post once kept by what can now be considered "black metal rockstars". I suppose his place in the black metal hall of fame is now secured, since it seems every modern (De Mysteriis and up, such cult bands affiliated with Mayhem such as Perdition Hearse never received any credit) member of the group becomes terribly famous. His vocals seem a tad overdone, if not ludicrous at times, mainly because they go terribly off the scale in terms of silliness, but they do retain a decent amount of brutality to keep me happy.
What makes this album semi-worthwhile though is the impressive drumming. Although I prefer Hellhammer's drumming on earlier material (the drumming here is produced in less than a stellar fashion...it sounds fake) it is technical, if not insane enough to keep listening to.
Bottom Line: Although obviously a cult band, Mayhem have never been the best. Bands always have, and always will sound better and reach higher levels musically than them. It seems the hype behind this release, created by people new to black metal, has made it out as the most amazing slab of extreme metal in the last five years; I'd personally take the new Graveland ("Following the Voice of Blood"), Handful of Hate (Qliphotic Supremacy), Sacramentary Abolishment (The Distracting Stone), or Judas Iscariot ("Thy Dying Light") any day over this. This is in no way the best release recently, but it's still solid enough to purchase, and much better than almost all other mendacious trash coming out of Norway. Comes in a tasteful digipak by the way.
© 1997 brand
The band (now consisting of Hellhammer, Maniac, Necrobutcher, and Blasphemer) have in some way gone back to their roots, but for the most part, Blasphemer's guitars do retain some more "modern" Mayhem sound to them. When I say "gone back to their roots" I'm referring that they've taken a more brutal approach to the music, a sound consistent with earlier material, ala "Deathcrush". Yet as I mentioned before, they've also kept the smooth and ambient flow of later (I'm referring to De Mysteriis.) material.
Vocally, Maniac does an impressive job of taking over the post once kept by what can now be considered "black metal rockstars". I suppose his place in the black metal hall of fame is now secured, since it seems every modern (De Mysteriis and up, such cult bands affiliated with Mayhem such as Perdition Hearse never received any credit) member of the group becomes terribly famous. His vocals seem a tad overdone, if not ludicrous at times, mainly because they go terribly off the scale in terms of silliness, but they do retain a decent amount of brutality to keep me happy.
What makes this album semi-worthwhile though is the impressive drumming. Although I prefer Hellhammer's drumming on earlier material (the drumming here is produced in less than a stellar fashion...it sounds fake) it is technical, if not insane enough to keep listening to.
Bottom Line: Although obviously a cult band, Mayhem have never been the best. Bands always have, and always will sound better and reach higher levels musically than them. It seems the hype behind this release, created by people new to black metal, has made it out as the most amazing slab of extreme metal in the last five years; I'd personally take the new Graveland ("Following the Voice of Blood"), Handful of Hate (Qliphotic Supremacy), Sacramentary Abolishment (The Distracting Stone), or Judas Iscariot ("Thy Dying Light") any day over this. This is in no way the best release recently, but it's still solid enough to purchase, and much better than almost all other mendacious trash coming out of Norway. Comes in a tasteful digipak by the way.
© 1997 brand