\n<\/p>\n
The band\u2019s taste in experimentation can be traced as far back as its 1987 EP, \u201cDeathcrush,\u201d which kicks off with the hypnotic, funereal \u201cSilvester Anfang\u201d<\/a> by the Krautrock pioneer Conrad Schnitzler, a member of Tangerine Dream and Kluster who donated that instrumental after Euronymous tracked him down.<\/p>\n Mayhem has only released six proper full-length studio records \u2014 the latest, \u201cDaemon,\u201d came out in 2019 \u2014 but each has a distinct flair. The songs acquire extra dimensions live, when Csihar, one of rock\u2019s most spectacular vocalists, unleashes ear-bending sounds closer to Diamanda Gal\u00e1s\u2019s<\/a> experimentations than to cookie-cutter growling.<\/p>\n The anniversary show explores this entire arc, the four-decade period held together by subject matter that always draws from the grim or occult, but also possesses a twisted kind of cathartic power.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not dealing with love songs or the countryside,\u201d Necrobutcher said. \u201cWe are dealing with the dark, aggressive, bad. But there is tragedy and sadness as well, which is also beautiful. A lot of people have told me over the years that our music had helped them through some rough times. I know what they\u2019re talking about because I also use music for therapy.\u201d<\/p>\n Csihar, for his part, is happy that the band can now play the same extreme music without the costs exacted in the old days. \u201cI remember in the early \u201990s when all the stuff happened, the churches and murders \u2014 that was almost too much for me when the murder happened in the band,\u201d he said, laughing. \u201cIt\u2019s strange how we could go this long together. Maybe we do less crazy things, but the love for music and art is the same, or even more.\u201d<\/p>\n Necrobutcher, genial behind his video chat screen, did not feel ready to let go, either.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I see a possibility for a 50th anniversary dangling in front of me,\u201d he said, chuckling, \u201cI\u2019m going to go the extra yard to get there.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n