Cooking with Satan

Welcome to the part II of our Mayhem Archive, a testimony of the early black-metal scene in Norway revolving around (the true) Mayhem.
Here’s the last known interview of Dead (and Dead alone), second and most notable vocalist of Mayhem who killed himself in april 1991, by Evil (A.K.A Morgan Hakansson of Marduk) originally published in Slayer Mag.
This brings us back in the days, at the very end of the first black-metal wave, right before the media explosion that considerably altered the essence of the scene…

Check part I here.

Evil: How come you left Morbid and moved to Norway to join Mayhem?

Dead: As everyone knows (or should now): Morbid never was a real band. However after the “December Moon” demo the band kinda split up. I don’t know the reason why, but we were all very different and couldn’t compromise on how Morbid should be or sound like. What’s most mysterious to me is how everybody could change so much. When I and John formed the band, the band was looking for some members and asked them about the thought of having a black metal band as black metal should be, but it never turned out that way. They all seemed to be totally into the idea at first, but… well… I must say that I don’t think the 2nd Morbid demo is in the same vein as the first. But why the hell do I talk about Morbid in an interview when the band never should have been featured???? I talked to Euronymous on the phone and he explained how his view of the most brutal stage show would be and we discussed the problem that everybody wants everything to be so normal, boring and wimpy. And we totally agreed on that, I should come over and try out some rehearsals, to find out how I would fit in the band. And I guess I do fit ‘cos I’ve been singing here ever since. But the problems was that short after I joined the band we were out of rehearsal places…

E: You have said that the “Deathcrush” EP will be released again, what about it?

D: We want to release it again, but we just don‘t know how the hell we can afford it. It was wrong to limit it and now the copies are being sold for far too much money and that wasn’t the idea at all. Those who want it can’t get it unless they are millionaires. We will never release anything limited with Mayhem again.

E: Tell me about your new LP “De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas”. When will it be out? Any old Mayhem songs on it?

D: Good question… I wish I knew when! It’s planned to contain 8 tracks and to be released on D.S.P. as antimosh 003. When the 2nd edition of the Merciless LP has sold out and paid, the next band will go into studio (Imperator from Poland). When their 1st edition has…
»  read on…

I wanted to write a review of the last Burzum album when I just thought there’s no space for bad stuff here… In memory of the good ol’days: Dunkelheit forever.

It’s actually pretty rare to see a black-metal concert with only worth checking stuff.
Usually there’s always some crappy cheap symphonic act between two bands or even sometimes no good band at all but just a bunch of goofy metalheads muppets wearing bad corpsepaint and playing some kind of fuzzy high-pitched Iron Maiden with synth.
Tonight though, it’s a different story…
I’d suggest you to browse the Metal-Archives to have a better clue about the black-metal hall of fame who were on stage that night but let’s just say that these guys are hugely responsible, through their various musical projects, in the worldwide very known fact that french BM kicks some serious ass (sometimes).
Ok, Aosoth didn’t really impressed me but their show was a decent starter for the evening. Some good tunes but too similar from one to the other. Not totally bad but not really good either…
I was quite curious to see Blacklodge live as their industrial black-metal fueled on narcotics (Mysticum anyone?) is quite the shit on record. Good stage presence, all dressed in the same uniform, and awesome vocals (that reminded me of Master’s Hammer for some reason) but unfortunately too messy to really catch the brilliantness of their music. Some parts were totally insane, and totally appropriate to put you in a trance-like state, as some others were drown in the echoes of a fainting drum machine. Enough highlights though to enjoy the performance enhanced by Shantidas (from Aluk Todolo/Diamatregon/Obscure) visuals, mixed live on some good old cathodic screens. A better live sound would have certainly helped them out.
Then Hell Militia, leaded by the mighty Willy (also known as Meyhna’ch) took over the stage and literally torch the place with their merciless black assault. Nothing but very conservative black-metal at its best empowered by a very charismatic leader. The man got some consistence for sure. Very good response from the crowd (not too big by the way, a little bit over a hundred) as well, some moshpit here and there, and a pretty good conclusion with a GG Allin cover (I might be wrong here by the way). Badass as fuck!
In conclusion, this was probably the best black-metal concert I’ve seen in ages. Hands down to Blacklodge for the originality of their music and Hell Militia for a merciless show.
Alcest was playing the very next day, I’m glad I’d fixed my mind on that one instead.

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(pictures by Cooking with Satan, do not use without authorization)

Enough said… I’m still waiting for the time when a black metal band will kick my ass, change my life, as much as Emperor did back in 1994 with “In The Nightside Eclipse”. I’ve already written quite a few words about it so I won’t be long this time, but do not forget on some occasion to light up a candle on a chilly winter night and play this most awesome record loud as fuck. Before they turned into a shitty progressive metal band, no black metal record has ever beaten that one, and if you think the opposite, well my friend i’d be much pleased to hear about it… Oh yeah, and did I mention that a proper listen must be done on vinyl?

Those were the days…

As the french black metal scene is way too often associated with lame trendy bands like Deathspell Omega or Antaeus, the anticipated return of Diamatregon is something more than appreciated. And damn, it’s been a long wait since “Blasphemy For Satan” came out seven years ago! “Crossroad” (an open homage to Britney Spears) is your typical Diamatregon: sick, raw, fucked-up and vicious. But between these two releases, the band members explored new occult and psychedelic territories with both Aluk Todolo and Gunslingers which brought new influences to their music. So the notable difference here is that this album is even more sick, raw, fucked-up and vicious!!! Blame it on the unconventional drum-parts, the much better work on vocals and some riffing that brings you back circa 1993, when churches were still on fire. Diamatregon manages to mix the most traditional aspects of BM with some nasty fuzzy drone moods, hypnotic and minimal garage tones. But even if things get slower here and there, “Crossroad” always keeps this harsh edge all the way. And through some structures that might sound simple at first emerge a dangerously dark texture that will sneak mercilessly into your mind… Plus the artwork is really great, totally D.I.Y style and punk as fuck.
So don’t believe what the promo line says: there’s no blues at all in this album. Just furious, chaotic & devastating black metal with huge chunks of weirdness… Just awesome.

Purchase CD here
Purchase LP here
Purchase tape here