History Music / Mayhem

Forming in the mid-1980's and taking their name from a song by the band Music/{{Venom}} (who also coined the term BlackMetal), the Norwegian band's original line-up consisted of guitarist Euronymous (Øystein Aarseth), bassist Necrobutcher [[note]] Not to be confused with the pro wrestler. That Wrestling/NecroButcher is two words, Mayhem's Necrobutcher is just one. Know the difference, it could save your life. Seriously, black metal fans can be scary, especially some of the ones whose favorite band is Mayhem, and deathmatch wrestling fans are even worse! [[/note]] (Jørn Stubberud) and drummer Kjetil Manheim. When the group was originally formed, Euronymous also sang, before being replaced by [[MeaningfulName Maniac]] (Sven Erik Kristiansen) on vocals (who was [[HilariousInHindsight placed in a mental institution]] after the recording of the infamous ''Deathcrush'' EP) [[note]] No word on whether the two events were at all connected [[/note]]. Manheim also left the band that time. The band found replacements in drummer Hellhammer (Jan Axel Blomberg) and the Swedish vocalist Per Yngve Ohlin, nicknamed "[[PropheticName Dead]]" (previously of obscure cult-act "Morbid"), for his love of, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin surprise, surprise, death]]: He would wear clothes people had been buried in months before, cut himself on stage (one point he cut himself so much on stage he had to be sent to the hospital in bad need of a transfusion), and kept a dead crow in a jar because he liked "the stench of death". Despite these amusing quirks, for some reason everyone who met him had ill feelings about him and always said that he looked like he hated being alive. These folks would ultimately be proven correct when one day, Euronymous entered the house that Dead was staying in and found him, appropriately enough, dead, a [[TheresNoKillLikeOverkill shotgun round through his head (and his entire brain lying on the floor) and his wrists cut open]] (Dead just wanted to be sure).

* NobodyLovesTheBassist: {{Enforced|trope}} in ''De mysteriis Dom Sathanas''. Prior to the release of this album, the bassist, Varg Vikernes, murdered the guitarist, Euronymous. In response to complaints from Euronymous' family, Hellhammer responded by promising to replace Vikernes' contributions to the album, but ultimately settled for lowering them in the mix.

* ''Hellhammer (Jan Axel Blomberg)'' - drums (1998-1993, 1995-present) [[note]]The band was inactive between 1993 to 1995[[/note]]

* ''Ghul (Charles Hedger)'' - guitar (2012 - present)

* LargeHam: Attila is perhaps the most notorious example of this among BlackMetal vocalists, [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic not that anyone is complaining]]. His [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible unorthodox]] [[ManOfAThousandVoices amalgamation]] of [[GutturalGrowler guttural growls]] and operatic wailing is known for its theatrical qualities as well as being, well, [[{{Understatement}} highly emphatic]]. Maniac and Dead can also get pretty hammy; Maniac's spoken-word passages on ''Grand Declaration of War'' are particularly hammy.

Forming in the mid-1980's and taking their name from a song by the band Music/{{Venom}} (who also coined the term BlackMetal), the Norwegian band's original line-up consisted of guitarist Euronymous (Øystein Aarseth), bassist Necrobutcher [[note]] Not to be confused with the pro wrestler. That Wrestling/NecroButcher is two words, Mayhem's Necrobutcher is just one. Know the difference, it could save your life. Seriously, black metal fans can be scary, especially some of the ones whose favorite band is Mayhem. [[/note]] (Jørn Stubberud) and drummer Kjetil Manheim. When the group was originally formed, Euronymous also sang, before being replaced by [[MeaningfulName Maniac]] (Sven Erik Kristiansen) on vocals (who was [[HilariousInHindsight placed in a mental institution]] after the recording of the infamous ''Deathcrush'' EP) [[note]] No word on whether the two events were at all connected [[/note]]. Manheim also left the band that time. The band found replacements in drummer Hellhammer (Jan Axel Blomberg) and the Swedish vocalist Per Yngve Ohlin, nicknamed "[[PropheticName Dead]]" (previously of obscure cult-act "Morbid"), for his love of, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin surprise, surprise, death]]: He would wear clothes people had been buried in months before, cut himself on stage (one point he cut himself so much on stage he had to be sent to the hospital in bad need of a transfusion), and kept a dead crow in a jar because he liked "the stench of death". Despite these amusing quirks, for some reason everyone who met him had ill feelings about him and always said that he looked like he hated being alive. These folks would ultimately be proven correct when one day, Euronymous entered the house that Dead was staying in and found him, appropriately enough, dead, a [[TheresNoKillLikeOverkill shotgun round through his head (and his entire brain lying on the floor) and his wrists cut open]] (Dead just wanted to be sure).

Following Dead's suicide, Dead was replaced by Hungarian vocalist Attila Csihar, and Necrobutcher left the band and was temporarily replaced by Varg "Count Grishnakh" Vikernes, sole member of Bergen-based group Music/{{Burzum}}. During the recording of the band's first full-length album, ''De mysteriis Dom Sathanas'', tensions rose between Euronymous and Vikernes, which later resulted in Vikernes murdering Euronymous in his Oslo apartment, stabbing him a total of 21 times. Due to complaints from Euronymous' family, Hellhammer promised to remove Vikernes' basslines and record them himself, but this didn't happen. The explanation is either him feeling it was fitting that killer and victim should perform on the same album, or simply (and more likely) not having the time and money to go back and replace them, not to mention not knowing how to play bass. Vikernes' bass parts were, however, lowered in the mix (although some vinyl editions have them raised again, most likely owing to the remastering process for vinyl).

Following Dead's suicide, Dead was replaced by Hungarian vocalist Attila Csihar, and Necrobutcher left the band and was temporarily replaced by Varg "Count Grishnakh" Vikernes, sole member of Bergen-based group Music/{{Burzum}}. During the recording of the band's first full-length album, ''De mysteriis Dom Sathanas'', tensions rose between Euronymous and Vikernes, which later resulted in Vikernes killing Euronymous, stabbing him a total of 21 times. Due to complaints from Euronymous' family, Hellhammer promised to remove Vikernes' basslines and record them himself, but this didn't happen. The explanation is either him feeling it was fitting that killer and victim should perform on the same album, or simply (and more likely) not having the time and money to go back and replace them, not to mention not knowing how to play bass. Vikernes' bass parts were, however, lowered in the mix (although some vinyl editions have them raised again, most likely owing to the remastering process for vinyl).

A suicide note was left that said "[[DeadpanSnarker Excuse all the blood]]". Euronymous, [[SarcasmMode doing what any of us might have done when faced with such a difficult situation]], took a disposable camera, moved some objects around, and took a picture of the corpse, head wound and exposed brain included; the photo eventually wound up used as the infamous '''cover art''' of the live bootleg album "Dawn of the Black Hearts". He was also said to have kept pieces of Dead's brain, which he used as ingredients in a stew, and some shards of his skull, which he sent as gifts to "worthy" bands within the Black Metal scene (kind of like the True Cross, but more brutal). Guitarist Morgan S. Hakansson of Sweden's Music/{{Marduk}} is said to treasure one to this day. Euronymous admitted to taking shards of the skull, but not any of the brain (because ''that'' would just be sick), though he did say that he wanted to.

Forming in the mid-1980's and taking their name from a song by the band Music/{{Venom}} (who also coined the term BlackMetal), the Norwegian band's original line-up consisted of guitarist Euronymous (Øystein Aarseth), bassist Necrobutcher [[note]] Not to be confused with the pro wrestler. That Wrestling/NecroButcher is two words, Mayhem's Necrobutcher is just one. Know the difference, it could save your life. Seriously, black metal fans can be scary, especially some of the ones whose favorite band is Mayhem. [[/note]] (Jørn Stubberud) and drummer Kjetil Manheim. When the group was originally formed, Euronymous also sang, before being replaced by [[MeaningfulName Maniac]] (Sven Erik Kristiansen) on vocals (who was [[HilariousInHindsight placed in a mental institution]] after the recording of the infamous ''Deathcrush'' EP) [[note]] No word on whether the two events were at all connected [[/note]]. Manheim also left the band that time. The band found replacements in drummer Hellhammer (Jan Axel Blomberg) and the Swedish vocalist Per Yngve Ohlin, nicknamed "[[PropheticName Dead]]" (previously of obscure cult-act "Morbid"), for his love of, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin surprise, surprise, death]]: He would wear clothes people had been buried in months before, cut himself on stage (one point he cut himself so much on stage he had to be sent to the hospital in bad need of a transfusion), and kept a dead crow in a jar because he liked "the stench of death". Despite these amusing quirks, for some reason everyone who met him had ill feelings about him and always said that he looked like he hated being alive. These folks would ultimately be proven correct when one day, Euronymous entered the house that Dead was staying in and found him, appropriately enough, dead, a [[TheresNoKillLikeOverkill shotgun round through his head (and brain lying on the floor) and his wrists cut open]] (Dead just wanted to be sure).

A suicide note was left that said "[[DeadpanSnarker Excuse all the blood]]". Euronymous, [[SarcasmMode doing what any of us might have done when faced with such a difficult situation]], took a disposable camera, moved some objects around, and took a picture of the corpse; the photo eventually wound up used as the infamous '''cover art''' of the live bootleg album "Dawn of the Black Hearts". He was also said to have kept pieces of Dead's brain, which he used as ingredients in a stew, and some shards of his skull, which he sent as gifts to "worthy" bands within the Black Metal scene (kind of like the True Cross, but more brutal). Guitarist Morgan S. Hakansson of Sweden's Music/{{Marduk}} is said to treasure one to this day. Euronymous admitted to taking shards of the skull, but not any of the brain (because ''that'' would just be sick), though he did say that he wanted to.

A suicide note was left that said "[[DeadpanSnarker Excuse all the blood]]". Euronymous, [[SarcasmMode doing what any of us might have done when faced with such a difficult situation]], took a disposable camera, moved some objects around, and took a picture of the corpse; the photo eventually wound up used as the infamous cover art of the live bootleg album "Dawn of the Black Hearts". He was also said to have kept pieces of Dead's brain, which he used as ingredients in a stew, and some shards of his skull, which he sent as gifts to "worthy" bands within the Black Metal scene (kind of like the True Cross, but more brutal). Guitarist Morgan S. Hakansson of Sweden's Music/{{Marduk}} is said to treasure one to this day. Euronymous admitted to taking shards of the skull, but not any of the brain (because ''that'' would just be sick), though he did say that he wanted to.

A suicide note was left that said "[[DeadpanSnarker Excuse all the blood]]". Euronymous, [[SarcasmMode doing what any of us might have done when faced with such a difficult situation]], took a disposable camera, moved some objects around, and took a picture of the corpse, the photo eventually winding up on the cover of the infamous bootleg "Dawn of the Black Hearts". He was also said to have kept pieces of Dead's brain, which he used as ingredients in a stew, and some shards of his skull, which he sent as gifts to "worthy" bands within the Black Metal scene (kind of like the True Cross, but more brutal). Guitarist Morgan S. Hakansson of Sweden's Music/{{Marduk}} is said to treasure one to this day. Euronymous admitted to taking shards of the skull, but not any of the brain (because ''that'' would just be sick), though he did say that he wanted to.

TL;DR version: One singer was legitimately insane, another singer committed suicide, the guitarist was murdered, the first bassist walked out in disgust, the second bassist spent a decade and a half in prison ''for'' the murder, the first bassist came back, and the band's still going because of the drummer. Don't you love black metal?

* ContemptibleCover: ''Dawn of the Black Hearts'', one version of which has an actual photo of Dead's corpse for the cover.

* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: Solid 10 on average. A few songs are 9 ("Completion in Science of Agony (Part I of II)" is a good example) or climb UpToEleven, and they also have a few {{Surprisingly Gentle Song}}s, listed below.

* SubduedSection: The lengthy instrumental and a cappella break on "Completion in Science of Agony (Part I of II)" is a large part of the reason the song can't qualify for a 10 on the Mohs Scale.

* SurprisinglyGentleSong: The AlbumIntroTrack "The Vortex Void of Inhumanity" probably comes in at about a 7 on the Mohs Scale, and even that's only because of the HarshVocals at the end; without them it would be around a 4. "Completion in Science of Agony (Part II of II)" is around a 5 or 6, probably. "A Bloodsword and a Colder Sun", a TripHop song on an album otherwise filled with blasting metal, is also probably around a 4 or 5.

** This ended up [[HoistByHisOwnPetard blowing up in his face]] after Vikernes' (first) arrest, where he closed down his metal shop to avoid bringing unwanted attention to him and his family, and then publicly ''[[PaperTiger apologized on behalf of the entire Black Metal community]]'', making himself the laughingstock of the entire scene.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItTc8jXbRD8 When you do an interview with Necrobutcher, while he's drunk]], things can get [[{{Understatement}} a little weird.]]

* DrivenToSuicide: Dead in a tragic real life example.

* EveryoneHasStandards: Necrobutcher was disgusted with Euronymous's reaction to Dead's death and ended their friendship over it.
* TheFriendNoOneLikes: Before his death, this was where Euronymous was at. While it was his drive and marketing savvy that got the Norwegian black metal scene off the ground and brought it to international attention, he had long since worn out his welcome, and by the end of his life, most people saw him as a pretentious, ego-tripping bully and inveterate scene cop who cared a whole lot about image and not much else.

* ImAHumanitarian: Euronymous was rumored to have removed part of Dead's brain, and made a stew with it. He denied this, but he did remove several shards of his skull.

* KnightOfCerebus: While it would be unfair to call Dead a villain, Mayhem got a lot darker once he joined. It was around then that they changed from a run-of-the-mill death metal band to the TropeCodifier for the DarkerAndEdgier strain of black metal best known today, and that Euronymous [[TookALevelInJerkass took several levels in jerkass]], driving Dead to suicide and used his death as part of the band's image, as explained under the page quote.

* OnlySaneMan:
** ''Necrobutcher''. In comparison to Euronymous, Dead, Maniac and Hellhammer, Jørn is the '''only''' member of the original lineup who seems fairly normal (aside from swearing like a maniac) and didn't engage in any criminal acts. Though more recently, he claimed that he had plans to kill Euronymous himself. [[AssholeVictim Not that many could blame him]].
** Blasphemer, Teloch, and Ghul can be seen as this too, being the fairly new/past members who aside from being in Mayhem, were fairly calm guys. Attila can ''also'' count despite his theatrics of outfits.
* RealMenEatMeat: Inverted in the case of Attila Csihar, a longtime vegetarian.

* TookALevelInJerkass: Euronymous. At the start, he was generally considered a fun person to hang out and jam or blast music with, but once Dead joined and Mayhem became a more serious band, his ego went through the roof, and he treated Dead like absolute shit and also regularly encouraged all of his most troubling and unhealthy behaviors, up to [[LeaveBehindAPistol effectively engineering his suicide]] solely to further their image, while also egging on the church burnings and relentlessly playing "scene cop" with anyone who he felt wasn't sufficiently committed, often by threatening them with physical harm. By the end of his life, he was almost universally despised and the only reason people still associated with him was because he had valuable connections, and when he was murdered, few, if any people mourned him, and even the few who did still call him a friend mostly saw it as him fucking around and finding out.

->''"There exist no death metal bands today, only "life metal" bands. If a band cultivates and worship death than it's death metal, no matter what kind of metal they play. And "cultivating" death doesn't mean to think it's funny or being into gore, but I mean being able to kill just because you hate life. It's people who enjoys to see wars because a lot of people get killed. And I know no "death" metal bands in this way. There's an abyss between us and the rest: Be careful and avoid being "open-minded". The HC pigs have correctly made themselves guardians of morality: We'll become guardians of anti-morality."''

* CoverVersion: Especially in their earlier years, they would often cover songs {{Music/Venom}} and Music/CelticFrost. Sped-up covers of Venom's "Black Metal" and "Witching Hour" appear on ''Pure Fucking Armageddon'' demo and ''Deathcrush'' EP respectively.