De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas

De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas
Studio album by Mayhem
Released	May 24, 1994
Recorded	1992–1993 at the Grieg Hall in Bergen, Norway
Genre	Black metal
Length	46:01
Label	Deathlike Silence Century Black
Producer	Pytten Euronymous Jan Axel Blomberg
Mayhem chronology
Live in Leipzig (1993) De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas (1994) Dawn of the Black Hearts (1995)

De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas is an album by Norwegian black metal band Mayhem. Songwriting began as early as 1987,^[1] but due to the suicide of vocalist Dead (Per Yngve Ohlin) and murder of guitarist Euronymous (Øystein Aarseth), the album's release was delayed until May 1994. De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas is widely considered one of the most influential black metal albums of all time.

Background and recording

Mayhem began writing songs for the album in 1987, with vocalist Dead composing the lyrics. In 1991, studio versions of the songs "Freezing Moon" and "Carnage" appeared on the CBR Records compilation album Projections of a Stained Mind.^[2] However, in April 1991, Dead committed suicide and bassist Necrobutcher left the band as a result. Mayhem were now in need of a vocalist and bassist to record the album. In May 1991,^{[citation needed]} Euronymous recruited Attila Csihar (who performed with Tormentor) as vocalist and Varg Vikernes (who performed solo as Burzum) as bassist. In 1992, Vikernes was allegedly behind three church arsons in Norway. Blackthorn (who performed solo as Thorns) claimed to have written some of the riffs for the album and to have finished some of Dead's song lyrics.^[3] This lineup recorded much of the album during the first half of 1993 at Grieghallen in Bergen.

On 10 August 1993, Vikernes and Blackthorn travelled to Euronymous' home in Oslo. Upon their arrival a confrontation began, which ended when Vikernes fatally stabbed Euronymous. His body was found outside the apartment with twenty-three cut wounds – two to the head, five to the neck, and sixteen to the back.^[4] Vikernes defends that most of Euronymous's cut wounds were caused by broken glass he had fallen on during the struggle.^[5] He was arrested within days and sentenced to 21 years in prison for both the murder and the church burnings.^[5]

During Vikernes' trial, police stated that they had found explosives and ammunition in Vikernes's home. According to the media, Euronymous and Vikernes had conspired to blow up Nidaros Cathedral, which appears on the album cover. Vikernes denied this allegation in a 2009 interview, stating "I was getting [the explosives and ammunition] in order to defend Norway if we were attacked any time. During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union could have decided to attack us".^[6]

After Vikernes was arrested for the murder, Euronymous's parents requested that Vikernes's bass tracks be removed. Hellhammer allegedly agreed to remove the tracks and re-record them himself, but he did not know how to play bass and as a result, Vikernes's contributions remained in the final mix.

The album was eventually released in May 1994, shortly before Vikernes was imprisoned. It features the last lyrics written by Dead before his suicide, and the last songs recorded by Euronymous before his murder.

Title and artwork

The title De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas is a Latin phrase which Euronymous translates (and intended to be translated) as Lord Satan's Secret Rites,^[7] but the phrase translates more literally as Of Lord Satan Mysteries/Of Lord Satan Secrets/Of Lord Satan Secret Rites.^[8][7] The album cover shows the east side of Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, Norway.^[9] The original release of the album on DSP featured no lyrics in the booklet and the cathedral on the front was coloured a shade of blue. A second pressing on DSP contained lyrics in the booklet and the color of the cathedral was purple, the color that was originally intended. A third pressing on DSP also contained lyrics, but the building was blue again. The more common reissue on Century Black does not feature lyrics and the cathedral is blue.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[10]
Metal Reviews	(Classic Status) [11]

De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas is widely acclaimed as one of the masterpieces of the black metal genre, and its bleak aesthetics and lyrics have often been cited as an inspiration by other black metal groups.^{[citation needed]}

While Mayhem's previous vocalist had been Swedish, Attila Csihar was from Hungary.^[12] His style is somewhat atypical for black metal, and has provoked a mixed reception from fans; for example, Metal Reviews gave him the nickname "Attila 'Fingernails' Csihar" (although a subsequent review by the website praised his later, Ordo Ad Chao-era performances). The song "Freezing Moon" was included on Kerrang!'s 25 Extreme Metal Anthems. The track "Freezing Moon" has been covered live and in studio by such bands as Behemoth, Vader, Enslaved, Cradle of Filth and Darkmoon. "Funeral Fog" was covered by Emperor with Csihar on vocals.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Mayhem. 

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Funeral Fog"	5:47
2.	"Freezing Moon"	6:22
3.	"Cursed in Eternity"	5:10
4.	"Pagan Fears"	6:21
5.	"Life Eternal"	6:57
6.	"From the Dark Past"	5:27
7.	"Buried By Time and Dust"	3:34
8.	"De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas"	6:22

Additional Info

• The track "From the Dark Past" was originally titled "Materialized In Stone",^{[citation needed]} but was changed upon the album's release. The title was later used by Swedish black metal band Marduk on their album Opus Nocturne the following month.
• The lyrics of "Life Eternal" song was a gift made by vocalist Dead to Mauricio Montolla "Bull Metal" owner of the underground label Warmaster Records in Colombia who was a pen pal friend of him and Euronymous and who have made the first release of the Dawn of the Black Hearts album. "Bull Metal" would use this lyrics later on a theme of his band Typhon in 1995.

Credits

• Attila Csihar – vocals
• Euronymous (Øystein Aarseth) – electric guitar
• Count Grishnackh (Varg Vikernes) – bass guitar
• Hellhammer (Jan Axel Blomberg) – drums
• Blackthorn (Snorre Ruch) – wrote some of the lyrics and guitar riffs^[3]
• Dead (Per Yngve Ohlin) – wrote most of the lyrics

Samples

See also

• Mayhem discography

References

1. ^ Lahdenpera, Esa. "Interview with Euronymous". Kill Yourself! Magazine. http://www.fmp666.com/moonlight/mayhem.html. Retrieved 25 August 2009 
2. ^ Various - Projections of a Stained Mind. Discogs.
3. ^ ^{a b} Interview with Thorns. Voices from the Darkside (zine).
4. ^ Steinke, Darcey. "Satan's Cheerleaders" SPIN Magazine, February 1996.
5. ^ ^{a b} Varg Vikernes - A Burzum Story: Part II - Euronymous
6. ^ Midtskogen, Rune (4 July 2009). ""Greven" angrer ingenting ["The Count" regrets nothing]" (in Norwegian). http://www.dagbladet.no/2009/07/04/magasinet/innenriks/kriminalomsorg/kirkebrann/drapsdom/7051663/. Retrieved 25 August 2009. 
7. ^ ^{a b} De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas. Encyclopaedia Metallum. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
8. ^ Web blog about the use of latin in heavy metal lyrics.
9. ^ Campion, Chris (2005-02-20). "In the face of death". The Observer (Guardian Unlimited). http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,11710,1419364,00.html. Retrieved 2007-10-06. 
10. ^ De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas at Allmusic
11. ^ Metal Reviews Review
12. ^ Christe, Ian (2003). Sound of the Beast: the Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal. New York, New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc.. p. 275.