For over 40 years, no other extreme metal band has had a storied career or pushed boundaries like that of Norway's own Mayhem. Church burning’s, murder, and suicide are just some of the storied lore of this band. More importantly is their storied discography of unrelenting bludgeoning black metal, and to be honest, they are the undisputed kings of black metal, forging extreme music as we know it today.
I remember fondly in middle school being handed a dubbed cassette tape of Mayhem's “De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas” by a fellow metal head, and it changed my life forever, sending me on a path of discovering various types of extreme music. On March 27th 2025, Mayhem brought their 40th anniversary tour to Detroit at the Majestic Theater, reminding the audience in attendance just why they are the kings of black metal.
I’ve had the chance to witness this band live on multiple occasions, and photograph them on several occasions, but this evening was different. The air was different, there was a feeling that we all were about to witness something spectacular. It was about to be as one of their songs from "Death Crush" is aptly titled, "Pure Fucking Armageddon".
The evening started with New Skeletal Faces from California, a band sound that can be described as a mesh of death rock, goth, and early black metal. The stage was donned in an eerie blue light with fog, soon 4 figures took to the stage that looked like they crawled up from the gutters of L.A. donning leather and spikes and teased hair. For 30 minutes they captivated the crowd in Detroit with a relentless beating of death rock and goth toned melodies.
Next up was a band that I recently have been infatuated with and that's an understatement. They have been on a constant rotation on my Spotify and every time I listen to them, I discover something new in their songs and albums.
New York based Imperial Triumphant, who is a mix of avant garde jazz and death metal, blew the roof off the venue. They hearken to the golden age of New York with their artwork and stage outfits of Artdeco themed lore. This band is not to be taken lightly. For almost an hour myself and the fans in attendance were treated to the blistering sound of Imperial Triumphant. Blast beats and distorted Jazz Bass and horns reverberated through all of us, the death metal style guitars and growls were omnipresent and cut through you like an axe. I highly suggest checking out their new album Goldstar which is out now. And if you can make a show, I would highly suggest it.
After the beating and multi sensory domination of Imperial Triumphant, the mood shifted a bit, as up next was Mortiis. Mortiis delivered a dark ambient dungeon synth laden performance that mentally took you on a journey through the hills and valleys of Norway, plunging us into the cold darkness of Norway. His synthesizers rang through my ears for a few days, and the drums that were provided pounded in my ears and chest.
After Mortiis, the stage was cleared as crews were setting the scene for utter carnage that was to come. Fog engulfed the stage, the anticipation was intense enough to see in the air and feel. Suddenly, the house lights went down, and the video screen behind the stage flickered to life, playing audio and video cuts from Mayhem's 40 year career, and Videos and pictures of Per Yngve "Pelle" Ohlin, the original Mayhem Vocalist who subcummed to suicide in 1991, and founding guitarist as well as the father of Norwegian black metal Øystein Aarseth, who was murdered in 1993.
The Band then took the stage and ripped into Malum from their last studio album, Daemon. For almost two hours the band played songs from every album from their storied history, literally going back in time with each album. It was a complete audio and visual destruction of the senses. And all of us in attendance couldn't get enough.
From beginning to end this was a pure master class on Norwegian Black Metal. Hellhammer's drumming was exquisite, laying down the foundation for Morten Bergeton Iversen and Charles Hedger's guitar work, rounding that out was Necrobutcher's monstrous buzz saw bass tone. Attila Csihar's vocals cut through the fog and tones of the band like a banshie, his screams echoing and reverberating through the venue and downtown Detroit. The highlight of the evening came from the mini set of "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas" when Attila left the stage and the Vocals of Per Yngve "Pelle" Ohlin, played with the band during "Funeral Fog". The ghost of Per Yngve "Pelle" Ohlin was definitely with us on this evening watching on as his memory was acknowledged by the band and all in attendance. I could only think he looked on in approval, knowing the past is definitely alive.
At 40 years in, this band shows no sign of slowing down. Older attendees in the show were taken back to the older days of extreme metal, and the newer audience were introduced to what everyone else already knew, that Mayhem are the undisputed kings
of Black Metal, and leaving every one in a state of "Pure Fucking Armageddeon".
