Mayhem: The Root Of Black Metal Evolution

There are branches upon branches of different genres when it comes to music. You have the commonly liked ones such as pop, indie, rock, rap etc. And then you have the obscurities such as shoegaze, cloud rap, avant-garde. Despite the uncountable list of what’s on offer, they’re all developed from the strong, timeless roots of the things that shape us, from culture, religion right through to the age we live in. We’re lucky to be able to see such an expansive history of music, and get to watch it continue to grow. Whilst the artists are in their many, there is one unique band that needs to be thanked for growing their own branch from the roots of punk and inviting us to step into the world of black metal, and that is MAYHEM.

Stemmed from the roots of rock, punk was in its prime element over the 70s and early 80s. SEX PISTOLS, RAMONES, DEAD KENNEDY’S, X-RAY SPEX were all dominating the scene with their outrageously bad attitudes, liberty-spiked hair and clothes held together by safety pins. It’s no surprise why people, especially the youth, were drawn to the rebellious genre. Political affairs, forced religion, societal changes were all key factors in what people were angry about and punk hit home for those who felt what was going on around them.

For Norwegian bassist Necrobutcher, he recalls fondly about how punk became such a heavy influence on the sound of MAYHEM and how the genre has connected members of the band, past and present. “What’s brought us together in MAYHEM is that we have some similarities and one of them is that we came out of that era where it was extreme metal and punk, extreme punk sort of took off in the beginning of the 80s. We were listening to as much of those bands as metal bands actually, because there was very few extreme bands, and there was actually more punk bands.”

Despite MAYHEM adopting the punk attitude when it came to throwing underground gigs and defying the structured rules set in place, Necrobutcher goes on to mention that it doesn’t mean he ever felt disregard for Norway, and there was no place for creating anarchy in his home country. “Back in the day, we used to share a rehearsal place with a punk band and there was an iconic photo of me and Øystein (Aarseth, Euronymous) and Manheim, the drummer, in the 80s outside the relative place having a fag and there’s this graffiti over it that says ‘ingenting for Norge’ which means ‘nothing for Norway’ and that punk band had sprayed it. I’m a patriot and we would never do that. I would have to excuse or explain to all these people over the years that that was a punk band.”

In a strange sense, it’s heart warming to hear Necrobutcher speak with such fondness over these memories. When you discover a genre that really takes to you, it always creates a little feeling of magic no matter how often it is spoken about or how often it’s listened to. With the band’s latest EP, Atavistic Black Disorder / Kommando, which pays homage to punk with several covers, you know that despite all of this black metal the band ooze, there’s a side to each member that hasn’t been seen before when they’re faced with playing some of their favourite punk tracks.

What is really special however, is the EP is a split between Daemon cuts and the punk covers. MAYHEM themselves have become a band that is staple to the black metal genre, inspiring other bands to follow suit and decades later, the genre has seen a magnitude of changes. The EP highlights how they formed out of the roots of one genre, and planted their own, in a truly wonderful circle of events.

“One of the coolest things about the whole thing is that I’ve seen all of the trends, music trends come and go,” he grins. “This type of music has had a steady uprising the whole time and it’s still going up, it never stagnated and always there’s something around the corner which is like a new take on it.”

Continuing after reeling off the lists of different genres that have come forward since such as symphonic, folk, jazz black metal and the Nordic-inspired folk which had a huge uprising a couple of years ago, Necrobutcher says how you know that’s when you have created something special when it has branched out.

“That’s a mark, that’s a sign on when you have created something which is really fucking unique and good and has enough quality in it that other people who are coming from other types of music get inspired by this and there’s still quality in it.” With that, MAYHEM are aware of the roots that they have put down for the decades of music that has followed, but it said with a humble attitude where they don’t believe in not seeing the growth, or influence they have had on bands, and in fact encourage it and admire it. They still remember their roots and aforementioned pay homage still with their recent EP. They know to accept recognition where deserved, but they never take it for granted, MAYHEM are one of the pioneering bands of black metal, and their sound is just one of the many reasons why they will always be valued and respected in the scene.

“To be a musician, you’re very vulnerable, but to get recognition is a good thing. You need to believe in yourself, you need high confidence to deliver something truthfully.”

Atavistic Black Disorder / Kommando is out now via Century Media Records.

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