Search - Mayhem :: Ordo Ad Chao

Transcends mere brilliance

A. Stutheit | Denver, CO USA | 08/11/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mayhem's history is, to say the least, a very long, storied, and complex one. It seems like some sort of deep controversy has surrounded them since day one, and it has snowballed greatly in two plus decades. Therefore, it would not be an overstatement to say that they have long been one of the most infamously evil, feared, reviled, and outrageous groups in the history of music! In fact, some think Mayhem represents everything that's bad about heavy metal; others, however, would argue the exact opposite. (Of course, your own stance on that depends on if you're a fan of said genre, are conservative or religious, and if you have a strong stomach or not.)



Mayhem began stirring up attention in the heavy music underground with a full-length debut, 1987's "Deathcrush" (which was seminal in the black metal scene at the time), as well as overt Satanism, taboo subject matter, and terrifying live shows. And soon thereafter, the band members graduated to unspeakable things (including, but not limited to, murder, suicide, self-mutilation, arson, plans to blow up a church, and talk of cannibalism.) Some might have even forgotten that these four Norwegians even made music if not for the release of "De Mysterious Dom Sathanas" in 1994. This album would soon become legendary, and a standard bearer for extreme metal. It also proved to be incredibly influential, as it would go on to inspire a truly infinite number of black metal merchants to come (most of them blatant rip-offs and/or imitators). Unfortunately, various other controversies, lineup shifts, and record label jumps prohibited the band from releasing new music for quite some time.



So, a full six years after the landmark release of the above-mentioned "De Mysterious Dom Sathanas," Mayhem finally returned with a new full-length. But this recording, "Grand Declaration of War," which had strong progressive and avant-garde influences, was widely panned by fans and black metal purists for being too experimental. Then, in 2004, came "Chimera," a much heavier and more "back-to-basics" effort by the band. But even though this record was quite a bit better than its predecessor, and it met with a generally favorable response, no one can argue that Mayhem got to be where they are today by playing it safe. Well, that is definitely not the case anymore - just one listen to "Ordo Ad Chao," and you'll be sure of that.



Listeners who come to this 2007 recording looking for a memorable melody would probably have better luck tracking down a piece of ex-frontman Dead's skull. Also know not to expect any groove to speak of, catchy parts, keyboards, or "Freezing Moon" sequel. In other words, don't expect anything that isn't pure, 110%, uneasy listening black metal through and through. The new album is easily the band's most experimental work to date. It is also a standout in their discography, and it just might be the crown jewel in their career. Jan Axel Blomberg (a.k.a. Hellhammer) described its production as "necro as (heck)" - meaning it sounds about as raw, dirty, thin, and low-fi as you can get. The production also has a lot of treble, and a really bass-heavy mix, so it seems intent on emphasizing atmosphere over sheer heaviness. Other experimental aspects you will find here include spots of eerie chanting, death grunts, and even clean vocals.



Fear not, though, longtime fans, because this is still Mayhem, after all. Thus, "Ordo Ad Chao" is extremely dissonant, sinister, and brutal. And also on the more familiar side, the songs are chock full of brilliantly epic, unpredictable songwriting and mindblowing musicianship. The star performer is the aforementioned Hellhammer. He is a true living legend among drummers, and his performance here is nothing short of very diverse, organic, devastating, and just plain godly.



The phrase "all killer, no filler" is most appropriate in describing these eight songs. And listening to them is less like listening to an album, and more like a captivating, out-of-this-world experience. The breathtaking opening soundscape, "A Wise Birthgiver," with its discordant, crashing chords, ominous feedback, cascading drums, and positively doomy atmosphere, could send chills up a dead man's spine. "Wall Of Water" opens with some of the same chords, but they are soon smashed to tiny pieces by a furious wall of sound. The guitars race by like a black tornado while frontman Attila Csihar lays down creepy, snarling, spoken-word vocals, and Hellhammer pummels away on his trapkit to create seizure-inducing, inhuman-sounding blast beats that almost trample the guitar lead. But the end of "Wall Of Water" throws the listener for a loop, with a stop-on-a-dime pause, crawling tempo, and creeping guitar noise that makes your skin crawl.



"Great Work Of Ages" works similarly, and also features great dynamics -- it intersperses doomy, haunting, and sometimes nearly silent passages with lightning fast blitzkriegs of thrashy guitar whooshes, and thunderous drums. Also of note in this song are the vocals, which include awesomely evil gasps and lengthy, memorable, glass-shattering shrieks. Next up, "Deconsecrate" features more wicked vocals from Csihar, who sounds like a fairy being suffocated. For the most part, though, this song is Hellhammer's show -- he unleashes wave after wave of cracking, stop-start black metal blasts at truly blistering speeds.



At nearly ten minutes in length, "Illuminate Eliminate," is not only a highpoint for the album, but is also easily Mayhem's finest, and most complex, accomplished, and stunning piece of work to date. It begins on a terrifically spooky note with a rolling, marching beat, ponderous, ambient chords, gloomy feedback, ghoulish, gravelly growls, and a deep, filthy-sounding bass line. But around the 4:10 point, the song adopts a totally unexpected tempo change, and lets rip with breakneck speed, blasting chords, and pounding skins. Track six, "Psychic Horns," is a very foreboding tune with sludgy, endlessly droning guitars anchored by raw, jackhammer-fast drumming.



"Key To The Storms" is another great mood-enhancer, and is highlighted by indescribably wicked, schizophrenic, gore-soaked, lung-stretching vocals that seem intent on haunting your dreams for years to come. Finally, "Ordo Ad Chao" closes with "Anti," a ripping and uncompromisingly brutal number that reeks of desperation. This track finds Hellhammer again taking over the spotlight, and putting on a virtual drum clinic full of truly insane and mind-boggling hyper-kinetic blast beats and inventive, head-spinning fills fhat steamroll over the listener's eardrums like a friggin' tank!



"Ordo Ad Chao" is absolutely a must-hear. Not only is it in the top three metal albums of 2007, and easily that year's best black metal record, but it is also one of the genre's best and most memorable and innovative releases of all tine. After all, it might be true that controversies have sometimes overshadowed the band's actual music. But the fact remains that in the world of hellishly evil, nightmarishly dark, and mercilessly brutal black metal, Mayhem are, and will always be, simply untouchable. "Ordo Ad Chao" is further proof of this. What else do you need to know?!"

A Haunting and dreadful triumph

Jack | North Carolina | 10/10/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Seems like I'm listening to a journey into the abyss. Wall of Water is just a cold and brutal masterpiece. Then right there in the middle is Illuminate Eliminate - an obvious monster of a song. Psychic Horns and Anti are good as well. I can see what others complain about as the sound is dulled and mudded (is that a word?) in comparison to other Mayhem releases. As an album its no where near their best (early works) but it is impressive if uneven in terms of quality.





"

Metal the way it's supposed to be

Jimzilla | The Twin Towns of Terror- aka Mpls/St. Paul MN | 10/29/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm gonna make this short, so I'm not wasting your time or mine. This is metal, REAL metal, TRUE metal. It's shocking, it's disturbing, it's almost painful. If you like Slipknot, Disturbed, Korn, Limp Bizkit, Godsmack, or any of that crap, then Mayhem is not for you."