Mayhem have always been a step ahead of all the other black metal bands; for this reason, this can be considered an experimental band that has always experimented with new sounds. They were pioneers of modern black metal in the late 80's, but then they have always made something different, which has led them to be an avant-gard band.
This is true also for the new album Esoteric Warfare. Ten songs on the normal edition of the album for a total playtime of 47 minutes of total insanity; I do not know how else to define the music on this album. A major reason of interest was the important change in the line-up of the band, as guitarist Blasphemer left the band and was replaced by a couple of guitarists: Teloch and Charles Hedger. This album also sees the return of bassist Necrobutcher, who left the band after Chimera (2004); Blasphemer took actually care of both the bass and the guitar on the following album Ordo ad Chao (2007). But it seems that the band has not in the least been affected by these major line-up changes.
The riffing is generally convoluted and complicated, but often there is no real riffing at all but single long notes that blend with the other instruments for several beats or entire bars. In this way, the new couple of guitarists has broken the classical geometry of the riff and they did a great job. A good example in this regard is “Posthuman”. They also used a lot of rests, with moments of silence that increase insane atmosphere of the album. Examples of this way of using rests are “Throne of Time” and “Corpse of Care”. “Watcher” and “Psywar” are real bombs. Excellent performance of Attila, who surpasses himself by producing an incredible variety of screams, cries, sounds, voices, all in the sign of insanity. His guttural scratch at the beginning of “MILAB” sounds inspired by the horror film The Grudge. The rhythm section of bassist Necrobutcher and drummer Hellhammmer is outstanding; but here there is no need to talk about this: Hellhammer probably triggered his drums but he is stratospheric and his creativity knows no bounds.
As the title may suggest, the leitmotif of the lyrics of Esoteric Warfare is war: not only war in the traditional, strict sense of the word, but also anything that can be conceived of as war in a broader sense, such as mind control mechanisms. I believe that Attila drew a big deal of inspiration from science fiction. For example “Watcher” is about a race war through DNA-design with alien genes. “Psywar” is about psychological warfare: “The battlefield is our minds” goes a line from the text. But I think that the most insane description of what a war can be, maybe in an imaginary future, is “Throne of Time” whose final line gives the title to album; perhaps just an insane mind as Attila could produce so insane verses, to the extent that it is impossible to quote just a few lines and this time I will exceptionally quote the entire text:
“Hypnotic radio waves
To conquer all minds
Turning on the coils
Antenna of delta time
All psy-kids are linked
The throne is lighting up
Brain waves in hyperspace
Transmitting fear
Total mass manipulation
Endless tears
Millions of children caged under the ground
Nerve drugged into psy-trance
Sexual cultivation of creative force
Satanic ritual abuse
Psychotic master mind
Behind the false memories
The will of man is broken
Esoteric warfare”
The musicians can change but the final product never changes: in spite of everything Mayhem remains a big band and Esoteric Warfare is definitely a masterpiece of total insanity.
Notes:
Esoteric Warfare was released on June 6, 2014 on Season of Mist. Some editions include the bonus tracks listed below.
This is true also for the new album Esoteric Warfare. Ten songs on the normal edition of the album for a total playtime of 47 minutes of total insanity; I do not know how else to define the music on this album. A major reason of interest was the important change in the line-up of the band, as guitarist Blasphemer left the band and was replaced by a couple of guitarists: Teloch and Charles Hedger. This album also sees the return of bassist Necrobutcher, who left the band after Chimera (2004); Blasphemer took actually care of both the bass and the guitar on the following album Ordo ad Chao (2007). But it seems that the band has not in the least been affected by these major line-up changes.
The riffing is generally convoluted and complicated, but often there is no real riffing at all but single long notes that blend with the other instruments for several beats or entire bars. In this way, the new couple of guitarists has broken the classical geometry of the riff and they did a great job. A good example in this regard is “Posthuman”. They also used a lot of rests, with moments of silence that increase insane atmosphere of the album. Examples of this way of using rests are “Throne of Time” and “Corpse of Care”. “Watcher” and “Psywar” are real bombs. Excellent performance of Attila, who surpasses himself by producing an incredible variety of screams, cries, sounds, voices, all in the sign of insanity. His guttural scratch at the beginning of “MILAB” sounds inspired by the horror film The Grudge. The rhythm section of bassist Necrobutcher and drummer Hellhammmer is outstanding; but here there is no need to talk about this: Hellhammer probably triggered his drums but he is stratospheric and his creativity knows no bounds.
As the title may suggest, the leitmotif of the lyrics of Esoteric Warfare is war: not only war in the traditional, strict sense of the word, but also anything that can be conceived of as war in a broader sense, such as mind control mechanisms. I believe that Attila drew a big deal of inspiration from science fiction. For example “Watcher” is about a race war through DNA-design with alien genes. “Psywar” is about psychological warfare: “The battlefield is our minds” goes a line from the text. But I think that the most insane description of what a war can be, maybe in an imaginary future, is “Throne of Time” whose final line gives the title to album; perhaps just an insane mind as Attila could produce so insane verses, to the extent that it is impossible to quote just a few lines and this time I will exceptionally quote the entire text:
“Hypnotic radio waves
To conquer all minds
Turning on the coils
Antenna of delta time
All psy-kids are linked
The throne is lighting up
Brain waves in hyperspace
Transmitting fear
Total mass manipulation
Endless tears
Millions of children caged under the ground
Nerve drugged into psy-trance
Sexual cultivation of creative force
Satanic ritual abuse
Psychotic master mind
Behind the false memories
The will of man is broken
Esoteric warfare”
The musicians can change but the final product never changes: in spite of everything Mayhem remains a big band and Esoteric Warfare is definitely a masterpiece of total insanity.
Notes:
Esoteric Warfare was released on June 6, 2014 on Season of Mist. Some editions include the bonus tracks listed below.
| Tracklist: 1. Watchers 2. Psywar 3. Trinity 4. Pandaemon 5. MILAB 6. VI.Sec. 7. Throne of Time 8. Corpse of Care 9. Posthuman 10. Aion Suntelia 11. Into the Lifeless (bonustrack) 12. From beyond the Event Horizon (bonustrack) | 06:19 03:31 03:58 02:53 06:03 04:12 04:06 04:06 06:55 05:25 03:39 04:33 55:45 |
Personnel:
Attila Csihar - Vocals
Charles Hedger - Guitars
Teloch - Guitars
Necrobutcher - Bass
Hellhammer - Drums
Attila Csihar - Vocals
Charles Hedger - Guitars
Teloch - Guitars
Necrobutcher - Bass
Hellhammer - Drums
Text by Herjann
herjann@unholyblackmetal.com
herjann@unholyblackmetal.com