Mayhem - Esoteric Warfare
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Published July 03 2014
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*=Staff's pick
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Watchers*
PsyWar*
Trinity
Pandaemon
MILAB
VI.Sec.*
Throne Of Time
Corpse Of Care
Posthuman
Aion Suntelia
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Genre |
Black Metal |
Attila Csihar
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Vocals
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Tracks |
10 |
Teloch
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Guitar
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Running time |
47 Min. |
-
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Guitar
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Label |
Season
Of Mist |
Necrobutcher
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Bass
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Release |
06 June 2014 |
Hellhammer
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Drums
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Country |
Norway |
-
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Keyboard
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Producer |
Attila Csihar, Teloch |
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Similar artists |
Gorgoroth,
Satyricon |
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Esoteric Warfare is the long-awaited new album from one
of the black metal scene's most legendary bands, Mayhem. Seven years
have passed since the release of Ordo Ad Chao, a completely unique album
which pushed the boundaries of the genre. Esoteric Warfare is a safer
and less ground-breaking album that I initially was rather intrigued
by but as time has passed I mainly feel rather indifferent towards it.
Beginning with the sound, the production is rather clean
and accessible. The first seconds of Watchers actually remind me of
the guitar sound from Satyricon's latest album - the song Phoenix from
it in particular. In a way, some similarities from Ordo Ad Chao remain
in the production and although it's not taken to such extremes this
time around, there is still a kind of dull sound - as if there's a wall
of water, nudge nudge, between the music and the listener.
Most of the album is written by Teloch who's only been
in the band since 2011 and while he does have experience from acts such
as Nidingr, 1349 and Gorgoroth, there's just something missing in the
songs. Basically, the album are fragmented into two parts as Teloch
wrote the first four songs with Mayhem in mind and the last six from
a more independent perspective. This fragmentation is quite tangible
with the first four songs sounding rather typical and the rest being
very experimental. Sadly, the songs are just not that good. Why such
a new member has been given such enormous creative space is beyond me.
Of course, it's always a joy to hear new material from
one of the world's best black metal vocalists. And of course, Hellhammer
is a very skilled drummer but there is more to black metal drumming
than pure skill, which he has shown in previous albums. His surgically
precise drumming on Esoteric Warfare, where every hit is absolutely
on mark by the millisecond, would fit better on an industrial metal
album than here.
One thing that I appreciate is how a song such as PsyWar
- which didn't impress me at all when released as a single - works a
lot better in the context of an album. Still, it's not a fantastic song
and the fact that it stands out as one of the strongest of the album
says something about the overall quality. Ultimately, I think Esoteric
Warfare is an album that promises more than it keeps. It's has its qualities
but after waiting for seven years, it's a disappointment and I don't
think it will stand the test of time or be remembered as a great Mayhem
album.
Performance
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Originality
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Production
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Vocals
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Songwriting
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Summary
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