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"De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas" is an album that I should not review. The cult status position it holds in black metal circles makes it impossible to pass a fair judgement on the release. But I will try, no matter what you think about it. The members of Mayhem is of course living legends by now, at least those of them who are still alive. You all know by now about what happened to the 25 years old Euronymous (Øystein Aarseth) on August 10th, 1993 and the suicide of the former vocalist Dead (Per Yngve Ohlin) two years earlier. The bass on this album were originally played by Burzum's Varg but out of respect to the family of Euronymous, Necrobutcher deleted his parts and they replaced them with re-recorded bass parts. Some reviewers have called this one of the most overrated albums in the history of metal but I must say that I fully and completely disagree with them. Following up their slightly modest but worthy debut album "Deathcrush" from 1987 it has now passed six years and Mayhem have grown to become one of the most important forces in the forming of Norway's now so famous black metal scene. They worked really hard to reach the top and on "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas" it all pays off. Every single element of their music work together towards the same target - to create the cold, harsh atmosphere that made Mayhem and this album unique at the time. Not only was the album unique back in those days but it also stands strong compared to most old-school black metal releases since then. Even though Mayhem show that they know how to play fast it is not all about speed on this album. It is more of an epic and atmospheric black metal release which still contains lots of raw power and intensity. It is impossible not to be gripped by the classics "Funeral Fog", "Freezing Moon" and "Pagan Fears", all of which have been covered by well-known bands in later days. The unmistakable Mayhem sound rips through your soul like a razor right from the very start and by the time they are finished with it nothing but a bleeding black hole remains. The intense epic sound created by a thick guitar wall backed up by powerful bass lines together with the precise and convincing drums from Hellhammer will give you an experience that you will not forget about easily. Perhaps the vocals from Attila Csihar of Hungary's Tormentor (currently vocalist of Italy's Aborym could have been better but they often fit the atmosphere even though his voice is not that great. It is not technically advanced and those of you who know any piece of music theory will probably find a lot to complain about but there is something magical in the atmosphere of this recording, not because of the non-music events that took place in the early 90s but simply because of the music itself. "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas" is an exceptional and essential album for any fan of extreme music in general and black metal in particular.
| Tracklist |
| 1. Funeral Fog |
| 2. Freezing Moon |
| 3. Cursed In Eternity |
| 4. Pagan Fears |
| 5. Life Eternal |
| 6. From The Dark Past |
| 7. Buried In Time And Dust |
| 8. De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas |
: 46.03
| Buy other Mayhem albums |
