Deathcrush

Last updated

Deathcrush
Deathcrush.jpg
EP by
ReleasedAugust 1987
RecordedFebruary–March 1987 at Creative Studios, Kolbotn, Norway
Genre
Length17:28
Label Posercorpse Music
Producer Mayhem, Erik Avnskog
Mayhem chronology
Deathcrush
(1987)
Live in Leipzig
(1993)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Kerrang! Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]

Deathcrush is the debut EP and overall first commercial release by Norwegian black metal band Mayhem. It was released in August 1987 by Posercorpse Music.

Contents

Background

Though influential to black metal, its lyrics and sound were largely influenced by thrash metal bands. After vocalist Dead joined the group, the band adopted darker lyrical topics and guitarist Euronymous (Øystein Aarseth) started rejecting most other metal bands as their lyrics turned towards "social awareness" [3] and "normal" topics [4] instead of death worship; [3] he "wanted things to be more serious and extreme". [4] Dead stated that the lyrics "aren't bad at all, but they are later what would become gore and trendy". [3]

The opening track "Silvester Anfang" was provided to the band by German electronic music composer Conrad Schnitzler, after Euronymous found Schnitzler's home address and sat outside his house until he was eventually invited in. [5] Euronymous then asked Schnitzler to compose an intro for the album; rather than record a new composition Schnitzler gave Euronymous a random piece from his archives, which would later become known as "Silvester Anfang".

Drummer Kjetil Manheim later stated that the band's sound was "something that [the studio technician] did not know how to record (...) so he just set the settings and we recorded". He also noted that there was "no mix, before or after" and "no overdubs: bass, drums, guitar are live and then we recorded the vocals after". [6]

In 2008, Daniel Ekeroth wrote, "The two visionaries [Aarseth and Per 'Dead' Ohlin] pushed each other further into darkness, and sometime in 1990 they finally adopted the Satanic image that would become so crucial for the genre [...] It's well documented that Øystein initially was very into death metal and grindcore". [7]

According to Dead, most, but not all of the lyrics were written by bassist Necrobutcher. [3] [8]

Maniac performed vocals on all of the tracks except "Pure Fucking Armageddon", which was sung by Messiah. The Venom cover "Witching Hour" was sung by Messiah and Maniac. [9] Manheim played piano on "(Weird) Manheim". [9]

Reception and legacy

Despite its limited print run, the mini-album appeared in the top 20 on Kerrang! magazine's album charts. [5]

"Chainsaw Gutsfuck" was voted "Most Gruesome Lyrics Ever" by Blender in 2006. [10]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Mayhem (Maniac, Euronymous, Necrobutcher, Manheim), except as noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Silvester Anfang" (instrumental) Conrad Schnitzler 1:56
2."Deathcrush" 3:33
3."Chainsaw Gutsfuck" 3:33
4."Witching Hour" (Venom cover)Venom1:49
5."Necrolust" 3:37
6."(Weird) Manheim" (instrumental) 0:48
7."Pure Fucking Armageddon" 2:09
Total length:17:28

LP Bonus track

No.TitleLength
8.Untitled1:09
Total length:18:34

Note: Some versions have "(Weird) Manheim" and "Pure Fucking Armageddon" on the same track.

Personnel

Mayhem

Session members

Related Research Articles

Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw (lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an emphasis on atmosphere. Artists often appear in corpse paint and adopt pseudonyms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dead (musician)</span> Swedish black metal vocalist (1969–1991)

Per Yngve "Pelle" Ohlin, better known by his stage name Dead, was a Swedish musician who was best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the Norwegian black metal band Mayhem from 1988 until his death in 1991. Prior to Mayhem, he performed as the vocalist in the Swedish death/thrash band Morbid. Dead was a popular figure of the Norwegian black metal scene, and his legacy persists in the genre to this day. Roadrunner Records ranked him No. 48 out of 50 of The Greatest Metal Front-Men of All Time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Euronymous</span> Norwegian black metal musician (1968–1993)

Øystein Aarseth, better known by his stage name Euronymous, was a Norwegian musician and a founder of and central figure in the early Norwegian black metal scene. He was a co-founder and guitarist of the Norwegian black metal band Mayhem and was the only constant member from the band's formation in 1984 until his death in 1993. He was also founder and owner of the extreme metal record label Deathlike Silence Productions and record shop Helvete.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mayhem (band)</span> Norwegian black metal band

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dissection (band)</span> Swedish extreme metal band

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The early Norwegian black metal scene of the 1990s is credited with creating the modern black metal genre and produced some of the most acclaimed and influential artists in extreme metal. It attracted massive media attention when it was revealed that its members had been responsible for three murders, a suicide, and a wave of church burnings in Norway.

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De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas is the debut studio album by Norwegian black metal band Mayhem. Songwriting began in 1987, but due to the suicide of vocalist Per "Dead" Ohlin and the murder of guitarist Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth, the album's release was delayed until May 1994. De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas is widely regarded one of the most influential black metal albums of all time. It is the band's only studio album to feature Aarseth and Varg "Count Grishnackh" Vikernes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conrad Schnitzler</span> German experimental musician (1937–2011)

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<i>Dark Endless</i> 1992 studio album by Marduk

Dark Endless is the debut studio album by Swedish black metal band Marduk. It was recorded and mixed at Hellspawn Studios during four days in June 1992 and released that December by No Fashion Records. Like many early black metal albums, it mixes black metal vocals with predominantly death metal stylings. Dark Endless is the only Marduk studio album to feature Andreas Axelsson on vocals and Rikard Kalm on bass, as by Marduk's second album Those of the Unlight, they had been replaced by Joakim Göthberg and B. War respectively.

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<i>Live in Leipzig</i> 1993 live album by Mayhem

Live in Leipzig is a live album by the Norwegian black metal band Mayhem. It was recorded at the Eiskeller club in Leipzig, Germany on 26 November 1990 but not released until 1993. The songs performed during the concert were from the Pure Fucking Armageddon demo (1986), the Deathcrush EP (1987) and the as-yet-unrecorded album De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas (1994). It is one of the band's few official releases with Dead as vocalist, albeit posthumous.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Necrobutcher</span> Norwegian bassist (born 1968)

Jørn Stubberud is a Norwegian musician best known as the bassist in the black metal band Mayhem under the stage name Necrobutcher. He is one of Mayhem's founding members, along with Euronymous and Manheim. He is the band's only remaining original member, as Messiah and Manheim left Mayhem, respectively, in 1986 and 1988, and Euronymous was murdered in 1993. He has also played in other bands, including L.E.G.O., Kvikksølvguttene, Bloodthorn, and Checker Patrol.

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Lords of Chaos is a 2018 biographical horror crime film directed and co-written by Jonas Åkerlund. Adapted from the 1998 book of the same name, the film is a historical fiction account of the early 1990s Norwegian black metal scene told from the perspective of Mayhem co-founder Euronymous. It stars Rory Culkin as Euronymous, Emory Cohen as Varg Vikernes, Jack Kilmer as Dead, and Sky Ferreira as Ann-Marit.

References

  1. Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Deathcrush – Mayhem". AllMusic . Retrieved 16 September 2012.
  2. Ruskell, Nick (November 2011). "Mayhem: Deathcrush". Kerrang!: 666 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die!. Bauer Media Group. p. 71.
  3. 1 2 3 4 The True Mayhem. In: Metalion: Metalion: The Slayer Mag Diaries. Brooklyn, NY: Bazillion Points Books 2011, p. 209.
  4. 1 2 Kristiansen, Jon: Metalion: The Slayer Mag Diaries. Brooklyn, NY: Bazillion Points Books 2011, p. 221.
  5. 1 2 Black Metal: Evolution of the Cult, Dayal Patterson, p. 135.
  6. Black Metal: Evolution of the Cult, Dayal Patterson, p. 136.
  7. Ekeroth, Daniel: Swedish Death Metal. Brooklyn, NY: Bazillion Points Books 2008, pp. 245–246.
  8. "Cooking with Satan – The Mayhem Archive Part II: Dead Interview". cookingwithsatan.com. 11 July 2010. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
  9. 1 2 "Mayhem - Deathcrush - Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives". metal-archives.com. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  10. "Blabbermouth.net – Slayer, Slipknot, Cannibal Corpse Among 'Most Gruesome Lyrics... Ever'". Blabbermouth.net . 24 October 2006. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
  11. Listed as session member on back cover