Mayhem have one of extreme metal’s most *ahem* colorful histories. With that notoriety along with their groundbreaking and phenomenal album, De Myseriis Dom Sathanas, Mayhem has always been the black metal band to check out when you first discover the genre.

 

It’s hard to imagine that Mayhem has managed to survive in one form or another for nearly forty years. Daemonic Rites (Century Media Records) does its best to capture some of the band’s greatest songs together in a live setting. The album perfectly captures the band’s fury, intensity, and insanity. At times it’s even hard to distinguish that this is a live recording outside the crowd’s cheers.

 

Daemonic Rites jams in seventeen of Mayhem’s greatest songs from “To Damien,” “Freezing Moon,” “Dethdcrush” and ending with my personal favorite “Pure Fucking Armageddon” God damn! Any Mayhem fan attending this show must have been in pure Heaven (errr… Hell) with this banging setlist. New fans checking out this recording are going to count down the days until they can see the band live.

 

Even after all these years the band is as tight and nasty as ever. How Hellhammer can still deliver that type of fury and intensity behind the drum kit after these years, I will never know. Necrobutcher does a perfect job holding down the low end. Ghul and Teloch balance just the right amount of technicality to full-blown chaos with their twin guitar attack. Atilla sounds phenomenal on this recording expertly pulling off several different eras of the band together.

 

 

With all of the Mayhem’s rawness, savagery and huge blackened imagery perfectly showcased here, this is one helluva of a recording. This is one of those albums that must be enjoyed in its entirety from start to finish. When the band goes from “Voces Ab Alta” to “Freezing Moon”, I get chills. This is a must-have for old and new fans alike.

 

Buy the album here:

https://mayhemband.lnk.to/DaemonicRites-Live

 

9 / 10

ANDREW RISCH