Metal Reviews

I'm not a big Mayhem fan. As a matter of fact i think most of their stuff blows, but this album is brilliant.

The riffing is killer, the drumming is killer and the atmosphere is very bizarre and dark. And Attila Csihar does some of the most unique and downright sick BM vocals ever. The dude sounds like he's mentally ill!

I disagree with the reviewer on a couple of things:
1. I can't find a single weak track on the album. Maybe you should try actually listening to the other tracks besides Freezing Moon?
2. It wouldn't be better if Dead was singing on it. Attila's vocals contribute a lot to the album's unique atmosphere.

well, imo attila's vocals are absolutely hilarious...not evil at all!

I don't find them evil either, more like weird and disturbed. The dude sounds mental.

I quess it's a "you either love 'em or hate 'em" kinda thing.

This review is a lot less professional than my recent stuff, because I wrote it a while ago.

By now I pretty much like most of the tracks on that album a lot, except for Pagan Fears and Life Eternal.

Yes, Attila's vocals are an acquired taste, but not something I can really acquire. After listening to Out From the Dark, I can say for sure that Dead would have been better on this album.

Opinions, opinions.

Indeed.

It was recorded on a 4 track, so yeah you can expect bad production, but it only adds to the raw sound. Transilvanian Hunger is liked so much, because it is the most raw sound black metal has to offer.

Have you heard Ildjarn then?

Hahaha, or like a 5000 other bands that are far fucking rawer than dark throne?

TH is not even close to being raw in my opinion. But it sure kicks the ass of all the 5000 rawer bands and albums.

TH is raw but definitely not the rawest Black Metal has to offer

Maybe the ass of 3 or 4 thousand...

Had to chime in on this one...

It was my intro to Black Metal (all 5 months ago)... and really only based on it being in the classics section here.

The atmosphere, the drifting guitar, the relentless drumming...

It has paved the way to many other forays into this genre I once avoided like the plague.

Yeah, the album is utterly evil.

My friend recently became a Mayhem fan, but still hasn't played me any! Is this the best introduction to Mayhem, or should I check out anything else first?

Of their three full lengths this is the only recommended one.

Can't comment on EP's, etc, I'm just not grym enough.

Chimaira's deserves a lot more credit than it gets, in my opinion. Well worth listening to.

Indeed, I still think the new Mayhem (Wolf's Lair Abyss and on) is really quite superior to the old.

Grand Declaration of War has some really twisted, inventive riffs, as well. Too bad the vocals are such a major downside.

You kidding me? Those vox are awesome. Bit goofy at times, that's it.

Chimera is terrible, but Wolfs Lair Abyss and Grand Declaration are both monstrous releases. They're manic and unrestrainedly creative, tis what I like most about em.

Man, I'd take Chimaira over GDoW any day. Not that I don't enjoy the latter, but on Chimaira there's more variety, and the same hyperactive riffs without the goofy spoken parts. (I find them goofy throughout the whole record) I love "You Must Fail" so much... Those bendy guitar harmony lines are hypnotic!

I think the spoken parts sound better on WLA, although I only have a few mp3s, not the whole album. But I love Mayhem: They have a really warped "arthouse" feel to their later stuff that you can't find anywhere else.