De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas

About

“De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas” is the debut studio album by the Norwegian black metal band Mayhem. Songwriting for the album began in 1987, although its release was delayed until May 1994 due to a series of events including the suicide of vocalist Per “Dead” Ohlin and the murder of guitarist Øystein “Euronymous” Aarseth. It is widely regarded as one of the most influential black metal albums of all time and is the only studio album by Mayhem to feature Aarseth and bassist Varg “Count Grishnackh” Vikerne. Work on the album began in the late 1980, with sources differing on whether this occurred in late 1987 or early 1988. Dead joined the band in 1988 and contributed lyrics to several song. Early studio recordings of “The Freezing Moon” and “Carnage” were completed in 1990 and later appeared on the compilation “Projections of a Stained Mind.” At the time, drummer Jan Axel “Hellhammer” Blomberg stated that the lyrics of “Freezing Moon” were intended to be disturbing in nature, while Dead had already written lyrics for several key songs including “Funeral Fog,” “Freezing Moon,” “Buried by Time and Dust,” and “Pagan Fear.” These songs were later featured in live form on the recording “Live in Leipzig,” released in 1993. In 1991, Dead and Euronymous lived in a rural house near Kråkstad used for rehearsal. On 8 April 1991, Dead died by suicide at the residence. Euronymous discovered the body and took photographs before contacting authoritie, one of which later circulated on the bootleg release “The Dawn of the Black Heart.” Following these event, Euronymous recruited Attila Csihar of the Hungarian band Tormentor as vocalist and Varg Vikerne, known for his solo project Burzum, as bassist. Together with Hellhammer and Snorre “Blackthorn” Ruch, this lineup recorded the album in late 1992 and early 1993 at Grieg Hall in Bergen. According to Csihar, the album was recorded over a period of approximately three day. The recording process involved contributions from multiple member, with disputed accounts regarding the extent of songwriting input from Necrobutcher, Blackthorn, Vikerne, and Euronymou. On 10 August 1993, Euronymous was murdered by Vikernes in Oslo. Vikernes was later arrested, convicted, and sentenced to 21 years in prison, while Blackthorn received an eight-year sentence as an accomplice. Vikernes has claimed the act was committed in self-defence. During his trial, allegations were made that Vikernes and Euronymous had planned to destroy Nidaros Cathedral, which appears on the album cover, though Vikernes denied this claim. After Euronymous’s death, Hellhammer and Necrobutcher completed preparations for the album’s release. Requests from Euronymous’s family to remove Vikernes’s bass recordings were refused, and the final release retained his contribution. The album was issued in May 1994, featuring some of the last lyrical work by Dead and the final recordings involving Euronymou. The album title “De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas” is a Latin-derived phrase commonly interpreted as referring to “the mysteries of Lord Satan,” though its precise grammatical construction is disputed. The cover artwork features a monochrome image of Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, Norway. Musically, the album is characterized by fast, aggressive compositions and harsh vocal delivery, with an atmosphere often described as austere and intense. It has been credited with helping define the Norwegian black metal sound. .

via Last.fm

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