Mayhem has kept us waiting for seven years.
There have been a few releases, of course, but it wasn’t until 2026 that Necrobutcher (bass), Hellhammer (drums, Arcturus, The Kovenant, ex-Dimmu Borgir…), Attila Csihar (vocals, Sinsaenum, Tormentor…), Teloch (guitar, Nidingr, The Konsortium), and Ghul (guitar, The Kovenant, Veile, ex-Cradle of Filth) finally unveiled Liturgy of Death, their seventh album.
Ephemerial Eternity slowly opens the doors to this album with a distant and haunting sound that draws closer, finally allowing the first riffs to envelop us along with the choirs before bursting into flames as expected, accompanying Attila‘s macabre growls. Kristoffer “Garm” Rygg (Ulver, ex-Arcturus, ex-Borknagar) also features on this majestic but oppressive first track, which slows down to become a little more dissonant before speeding up again to join Despair, where the sound thickens to give birth to new ethereal choirs before returning to raw violence. There are icy harmonics on this track, as well as terrifying passages where voices come out of nowhere, and theatrical flights of fancy from the vocalist, before Weep For Nothing confronts us with old-school brutality coupled with piercing leads that are almost sparkling in comparison to the furious rhythm section. The rhythm calms down a little while remaining threatening, then gives way to Aeon’s End, which is more imposing and reminds us of the most suffocating tracks in their discography, even offering a few dark melodies before letting Funeral of Existence begin with a more melancholic touch. It never completely disappears, but retreats into cold harmonics to let the violence express itself through riffs and screams, leading us to Realm of Endless Misery, which literally explodes in one fell swoop and abandons itself to the darkest mysteries. Roars from the depths accompany the band, which suddenly slows down to better captivate us before returning to its cruising speed, but Propitious Death follows suit with a very jerky, slightly crazy and catchy approach that allows it to venture into slowness, but also into much more virulent passages. We continue in the same vein with The Sentence of Absolution and its scathing leads that collide with an impenetrable base where blasts and riffs respond to each other while clouding our minds in their unhealthy dance that eventually loses itself and encounters ritualistic percussion that gradually brings the album to a close.
As if we hadn’t had enough darkness, some limited physical versions of the album close with the track Life Is a Corpse You Drag, a song with visceral screams that doesn’t hesitate to envelop us in its darkness without our consent and squeeze us with all its might before disappearing into nothingness.
Although the band is mainly known for its flagship tracks and tortured history, Liturgy of Death knows how to deliver imposing and sometimes even surprising compositions. Mayhem may have celebrated its 40th anniversary, but the band is still going strong!
80/100