MAYHEM Chimera LP (2004)

By 2004, Mayhem had already survived more than most bands could invent in fiction, and Chimera was the sound of a band that had absolutely nothing left to prove and was still going anyway, which in its own way is the most black metal thing possible.

Coming after the polarising Grand Declaration of War, Chimera pulled back toward a rawer, more visceral approach without pretending the experimental detour never happened. Attila Csihar returned to vocals, which matters, because his presence turns any Mayhem record into something closer to ritual than performance. The guitar work from Blasphemer sits in that uncomfortable space between melody and violence that the best Norwegian black metal always occupied. This is not a record for people who are new to the genre and that's part of why it belongs in a collection. It rewards the committed.

LP format. Originally released 2004 on Season of Mist. For turntable-owning devotees of black metal, gothic, and dark aesthetic vinyl.

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