Following an experimental period which culminated in a return to De Mysteriis-style darkness on 2019's Daemon, it's perhaps not altogether surprising that Norwegian godfathers of grimness Mayhem have stumbled ever so slightly with a follow-up. Say what you will about the band's discography so far, they've remained interesting and seemed incapable of repeating themselves with each new opus - Liturgy of Death, for better or worse, truly feels like a follow-up album to Daemon, and perhaps the first time that they have stayed in the same place too long. This is despite the first things you hear on near seven-minute opener Ephemeral Eternity being echoing ambience and guest vocalist Kristoffer "Garm" Rygg of Ulver fame working his lilting vocal magic! And although the band's by-now usual spine-chillingly sinister metallic sturm und drang follows soon after, that and finale Sentence of Absolution with slightly shoehorned in tribal percussion and chanting are the most out-there moments on the album.

The problem comes rather with what lies between, the mid-section of the album holding more than enough ammunition for the guns of those who would claim this to be one of the duller Mayhem outings. It's something of a concept album about death (let's ignore the fact that Marduk arguably did this better three years ago with Memento Mori!) and on the face of it has plenty of violent, dark impact, particularly in the likes of Despair and Aeon's End with a doom-tinged tone as they gallop excitingly along in the true Mayhemic fashion. Yet even in the best moments here such as Weep for Nothing's intense maelstrom - Attila's grandiose growls and groans keeping your focus even as the storm swirls around you in one of his best performances thus far - there's something of a sense of repeated highlights from the past being returned to again and again. The riffs on otherwise highlight Realm of Endless Misery feel very much like a retread of past glories, a greatest hits reel rotting in the tapedeck. Even that aforementioned tribal outro to Sentence of Absolution feels secondary to the sort of experimentation that Dimmu Borgir were including on 2018's Eonian!

You could argue that Mayhem have drifted a little in relevance since Blasphemer left the band and took away the more dissonant, avant-garde influences that made Ordo Ad Chao the masterpiece it was! The band made an inspired choice to return to their past for the De Mysteriis sequel that Daemon was, yet where do they go from there? More of the same as base with a little experimentation here and there, apparently. And although Mayhem are more than talented musicians, capable of creating and expelling toxic black breath into your ears with as much impact as ever, it does feel like Liturgy of Death is a step sideways rather than a step forwards. A mood record, where the vibes may be correct yet the structural integrity and, if you believe in it, the 1990s darkness and extremity has long since faded into dried blood on the page. And although black metal in 2026 is practically an industry in itself, it's not strange that we miss the Mayhem that challenged boundaries instead of resting on its laurels. An intense, excellent album for sure, a black gleaming gem in the year that will survive many listens yet and jostles alongside the likes of Esoteric Warfare in the Mayhem discography in terms of unmistakable quality, yet those who want more than another reflection of the void will feel slightly let-down.