For forty years, the name Mayhem has been synonymous with a chaos so profound it has repeatedly threatened to consume its creators. It is a name tied inextricably to the genesis of Norwegian black metal, a history written in literal blood, suicide, and murder. Yet, from the ashes of its own mythos, the band has endured, evolving from a volatile, anti-establishment force into something once thought impossible: an institution.

It is from this position of improbable longevity that Mayhem has announced its seventh studio album, ‘Liturgy of Death,’ scheduled for release on February 6, 2026, through Century Media Records. Arriving six years after their critically acclaimed 2019 album ‘Daemon,’ the announcement signals not just new music, but a deliberate, culminating act in a four-decade saga.

The title itself suggests a profound shift in perspective. A “liturgy” is a formal, prescribed ritual, a structured rite of public worship. For a band whose entire existence is steeped in the visceral and unpredictable reality of death, this framing implies a conscious, almost scholarly codification of their foundational theme. It presents a central paradox that defines the modern incarnation of Mayhem: a band born from nihilistic rebellion now meticulously plans album cycles, offers lavish deluxe box sets complete with tarot cards and alternate artwork, and embarks on globally coordinated tours.

‘Liturgy of Death’ is therefore more than an album announcement; it is the catalyst for examining how a force of pure, destructive chaos survives to become its own church, performing a requiem for a history that refuses to die.

Mayhem: From Chaos, A Declaration (1984-1994)

The story of Mayhem begins in Oslo in 1984, founded by guitarist Øystein “Euronymous” Aarseth, bassist Jørn “Necrobutcher” Stubberud, and drummer Kjetil Manheim. Their initial sound, captured on demos and the 1987 EP ‘Deathcrush,’ was a raw and primitive assault, drawing heavily from the first wave of black metal pioneers like Venom and Bathory, as well as the unrefined aggression of punk.

The themes of this early work were more aligned with the gore and violence of death metal than the sophisticated anti-Christian ideology that would later define them, with tracks like ‘Chainsaw Gutsfuck’ reveling in crude, visceral horror.

The band’s transformation from a raw metal act into a totalizing artistic entity began in 1988 with the arrival of Swedish vocalist Per “Dead” Ohlin. Dead’s influence was not merely musical but existential. He was the first to adopt the now-ubiquitous corpse paint, not as a theatrical gimmick, but as a genuine attempt to embody death.

According to Necrobutcher, “Dead actually wanted to look like a corpse. He did not do it to look cool.”¹ He would bury his stage clothes for weeks to achieve a scent of the grave and was known to inhale from a bag containing a dead crow before performances. His tenure established a new standard of extremity, where the performance was an authentic ritual of self-destruction.

This period of intense creativity laid the groundwork for their seminal 1994 album, ‘De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas,’ a record widely credited with defining the musical template of second-wave black metal². However, its creation was overshadowed by the events that would permanently cement the band’s notoriety.

On April 8, 1991, Dead committed suicide. Euronymous discovered his body but, before alerting authorities, photographed the scene, later using one of the images for the cover of a bootleg album. Euronymous exploited the tragedy to cultivate the band’s “evil” image, a move that deeply disturbed Necrobutcher and led to his departure from the band.

This act was a key catalyst in the formation of the so-called “Black Circle,” a group of musicians who congregated at Euronymous’s Oslo record shop, Helvete, and who were responsible for a wave of church arsons across Norway. The band’s foundational decade reached its violent climax on August 10, 1993, when guest bassist Varg Vikernes murdered Euronymous, effectively ending the first chapter of Mayhem³.

The Wars of Reinvention (1995-2019)

Following the death of its primary creative force, Mayhem could have easily dissolved into history. Instead, in 1995, drummer Jan Axel “Hellhammer” Blomberg, a returning Necrobutcher, and former vocalist Sven Erik “Maniac” Kristiansen reformed the band, recruiting guitarist Rune “Blasphemer” Eriksen as the new principal songwriter.

This decision marked the beginning of Mayhem’s second life, one defined by a relentless drive for artistic reinvention. Their first major statement was 2000’s ‘Grand Declaration of War,’ an album that deliberately subverted black metal orthodoxy. It was a polarizing, avant-garde work that incorporated elements of industrial music, trip-hop, and spoken-word passages, alienating purists but proving the band would not be creatively confined by its own past.

What followed was a series of stylistic cycles, each album a reaction to the last. ‘Chimera’ (2004) saw a return to a more direct and aggressive black metal sound, albeit with a cleaner production. The subsequent return of vocalist Attila Csihar, who had performed on ‘De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas,’ heralded another shift with 2007’s ‘Ordo Ad Chao.’ This album was a dense, dissonant, and challenging deconstruction of the genre, pushing the boundaries of sonic extremity once again.

The stabilization of the current lineup—with Necrobutcher, Hellhammer, and Csihar joined by guitarists Morten “Teloch” Iversen and Charles “Ghul” Hedger—led to 2019’s ‘Daemon,’ an album that masterfully synthesized the band’s disparate eras into a cohesive and powerful whole.

The long intervals between these releases were not a sign of inactivity but a core component of their creative philosophy. In a 2025 interview, Necrobutcher explained the necessity of this space. “It is better for everyone that there is some space between the albums,” he stated, “because if you release albums too close to each other, it tends to be maybe just a repetition of your last album… there is no time to get new inspiration in between.”

This deliberate rejection of repetition reframes their entire post-Euronymous history as a conscious artistic journey. It also sets a clear expectation for ‘Liturgy Of Death’: it will not be a simple successor to ‘Daemon,’ but another distinct and considered chapter in their continuing evolution.

A First Sermon from the Liturgy

The first piece of new music to emerge from this new era will be the single ‘Weep for Nothing,’ scheduled for release on November 4. While the track remains unheard, it will serve as the first sermon from the band’s new liturgy, offering crucial clues to the album’s sonic and thematic direction.

The central question is how it will navigate the band’s vast sonic history. Will the guitars of Teloch and Ghul conjure the freezing, treble-heavy riffs of ‘De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas,’ or will they favor the dense, suffocating dissonance of ‘Ordo Ad Chao’? Will Hellhammer’s drumming be a relentless blast of pure velocity, or will it explore the more spacious, groove-oriented feel he has recently been pushed towards?

At the heart of the song will be the performance of Attila Csihar, a vocalist who treats his craft not merely as singing but as a profound spiritual and physical endeavor. He has described his approach as a “mind and body experiment,” a ritualistic search for a “transcendent feeling” where the borders of the self dissolve.

His delivery on ‘Weep for Nothing’ will be a key indicator of the album’s atmosphere—whether it will be the operatic, theatrical incantations of his debut performance or the more guttural, abstract textures of his later work. This first offering will set the tone for the entire album, providing the primary evidence for what this new, formalized ritual of death will ultimately sound and feel like.

The Scripture of the Damned: ‘Liturgy of Death’

All available information indicates ‘Liturgy Of Death’ is a highly conceptual and meticulously crafted artistic work. The album’s eight-song tracklist reads like the scripture for a dark ceremony, presented here in full: ‘Ephemeral Eternity,’ ‘Despair,’ ‘Weep for Nothing,’ ‘Aeon’s End,’ ‘Funeral of Existence,’ ‘Realm of Endless Misery,’ ‘Propitious Death,’ and ‘The Sentence of Absolution.’

The titles suggest a clear narrative progression, a journey that moves from the recognition of transient existence through profound suffering and finally to a decisive, absolute end.

The physical editions of the album further emphasize its status as a significant cultural artifact. Special editions will include two bonus tracks, ‘Life Is a Corpse You Drag’ and ‘Sancta Mendacia,’ titles that deepen the album’s bleak thematic core.

A deluxe box set offers an even more immersive experience, featuring alternate cover artwork, a 12-page booklet, art prints, a metal pin in the shape of the band’s inverted cross, and a custom tarot card bearing the album’s name.

This level of detailed presentation reinforces the album’s framing as a formal liturgy, a complete and collectible work intended to be engaged with on multiple levels. It is the ultimate expression of the band’s transformation into a professional entity, capable of packaging its chaotic essence into a polished, resonant, and complete artistic object.

The Death Over Europe Tour

The album’s release will be immediately followed by the Death Over Europe tour, a month-long campaign beginning in early February 2026 that will bring the new liturgy to live audiences across the continent.

The tour is scheduled to begin in the Netherlands on February 5 and will traverse Germany, Belgium, the United Kingdom, France, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Latvia, and Finland before concluding in Sweden on February 28. This extensive run is more than a promotional exercise; it is a significant cultural event, largely due to the tour’s carefully curated lineup.

Mayhem will be joined by special guests Marduk and main support from Immolation. This package represents a powerful convergence of extreme metal history. Mayhem stands as the origin point of the influential Norwegian second-wave black metal scene. Marduk, from Sweden, represents the hyper-aggressive, militaristic apex of a parallel scene that developed its own distinct identity. Immolation, hailing from New York, are long-standing pillars of the dark and influential American death metal scene.

Uniting these three distinct but equally respected bands is a deliberate move. It positions Mayhem not merely as a legacy black metal act, but as elder statesmen of the entire global extreme metal scene, capable of convening a summit of the genre’s most enduring and uncompromising forces. The tour itself is a declaration of their far-reaching influence and undisputed status.

The Lasting Shadow

Mayhem’s forty-year journey presents one of the most compelling paradoxes in modern music: how does a band defined by nihilism, anti-commercialism, and a literal body count survive to become a professional, globally recognized institution? The answer may be that their ultimate legacy is not just their foundational musical contributions, but their very survival.

They have outlasted their own violent mythos, transforming from a dangerous, unpredictable force into a durable and potent artistic entity that continues to create vital, challenging work.

Mayhem’s journey presents a fascinating conflict between their raw, violent origins and their current status as established, professional artists. How do you, as a listener, reconcile the band’s chaotic history with the deliberate and mature artistic statements of their modern era, and what are your expectations for how ‘Liturgy Of Death’ will navigate this legacy?

References:

1. Stubberud, Jørn. ‘The Death Archives: Mayhem 1984-94.’ London: Ecstatic Peace Library, 2015. ↩︎
2. Patterson, Dayal. ‘Black Metal: Evolution of the Cult.’ Port Townsend, WA: Feral House, 2013. ↩︎
3. Moynihan, Michael, and Didrik Søderlind. ‘Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground.’ New Edition. Port Townsend, WA: Feral House, 2003. ↩︎