Mayhem Brings A Night Of Metal Madness To The Fillmore Charlotte
In the annals of metal history, there is perhaps no band with a more notorious past than that of the Norwegian black metal band Mayhem. Murder, suicide, and a series of church burnings marred the band’s early years which have been chronicled in books and movies over the years. The Mayhem of today is a very different band with bass guitarist Necrobutcher being the only remaining original member. They recently made a stop in the Queen City on The Sanguine Sodomy of North America tour with black/speed metal outfit Midnight opening up the show. Watain was a part of the tour package but was unable to make it into the United States due to VISA issues.
The line of metalheads wrapped around the block before the doors to the Underground officially opened for business and much to my pleasant surprise, there were almost as many Midnight tee shirts as there were Mayhem tee shirts. Midnight is a one-man band with Athenar delivering a mixture of black and speed metal with some tidbits of punk thrown in for good measure. The band’s fifth album Let There Be Witchery was released earlier this year and is simply the best thing Athenar has come up with yet. For the tour, Athenar has enlisted Commandor Vanik on guitar and Secret Steel on drums for what amounts to one hell of a live performance. Midnight hit the stage dressed in signature black hooded masks and kicked off with “Lust Filth and Sleaze” off the Satanic Royalty album and it was on.
Running at warp speed, the shredding guitars, punishing basslines, and bombastic drums set the tone as fans jumped and pumped their fists in the air. Midnight was on fire and fans were eating it up. The set was short but filthy, obnoxious, and in your face, just the way we wanted it. Topping it off was the closer “Who Gives a F*ck?” an anthemic show-stopper that is sort of my motto because in the end, who really does?
After Midnight sufficiently got everyone in an uproar, it was time for Mayhem to take us on a mystical journey into the bowels of metal hell and beyond. The stage was dark and smoke-filled as the band walked on, quietly taking their spots. It wasn’t until lead vocalist Attila Csihar appeared cloaked in a hooded robe with a painted face that the audience erupted and Act 1 of the show began. The set traveled through time with selections from Mayhem’s eponymous debut De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas to 2021’s Atavistic Black Disorder/Kommando EP. The music is a brutal assault on both body and mind as Attila Csihar commands an unworldly presence over the venue.
Blinding strobes accentuated the gut punch of the guitars and it was easy to lose yourself for a moment as your senses became overcome. Necrobutcher was putting on a master class on metal bass guitar and proves to be a central figure in the music, the fans, and Mayhem. Act III began with a recording of “Silvester Anfang” as the band reappeared to deliver more crushing blows with “Deathcrush” and “Chainsaw Gutsf*ck.” Closing out the set was “Pure F*cking Armageddon” both in song choice and delivery. Everyone was on their feet, pumping their metal horns in the air in a final salute to the band that began it all.
As the evening continued, it became clear that Mayhem was at the top of their game, a formidable force as the forefathers of black metal, but still completely relevant to the genre more than 25 years into their career. This is a band that you simply must experience at least once in your lifetime. The names and faces may have changed but the music remains the same and so it shall be until the end of days.
