Mayhem

Mayhem is a Norwegian black metal band formed in 1984. The band is steeped in death, occultism and controversies, all which threaten to overshadow their acknowledged contribution to the genre.

The original band line-up was Euronymous, Necrobutcher, Manheim and Messiah but the line-up was to suffer terribly over the course of the next few years. After the release of two EPs and their first album Deathcrush (1987), Messiah and Manheim left.

Maniac replaced Messiah for a while until he tried to commit suicide and ended up in a mental institution. Maniac and Manheim were replaced by Dead and Hellhammer and completed what was considered to be their 'classic' line-up.

However, further tragedy struck when a death-obsessed Dead killed himself in 1991. An upset Necrobutcher left the band soon after the suicide. Dead and Necrobutcher were replaced by Attila Csihar and Count Grishnackh.

With the two replacement members installed they continued work on their second album De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas but its release was further delayed by yet more controversy. Count Grishnackh murdered Euronymous in 1993 though the motive remains unclear. Count Grishnackh was sentenced to jail and the band ceased to exist. The album was released posthumously in1994 and dedicated to Euronymous.

By 1995 Hellhammer attempted to reform the band, recruiting Blasphemer and bringing Maniac and Necrobutcher back on board. Together they released the EP Wolf's Lair Abyss (1997) which was regarded as a more technically adventurous album than previous records. Grand Declaration of War followed in 2000 and marked something of a stylistic shift, with spoken vocals and featuring electronic elements in "A Bloodsword and a Colder Sun".

Chimera was released in 2004 and was a something of a return to the raw style of earlier years but it was around this time that Maniac was replaced by Attila Csihar.

Ordo ad Chao was released in 2007 and achieved good reviews with sufficient sales to top all their previous albums.