Mayhem has left Black Metal fans divided for decades. Still followed and revered by legions, there are plenty that swear the band died with the murder of Øystein “Euronymous” Aarseth, with the suicide of Per Yngve “Dead” Ohlin or with the departure of Rune “Blasphemer” Eriksen. While the band certainly was never the same after Dead and Euronymous met an early end, you can argue that Mayhem was never a band to stay the same in the first place. Or better phrased, none of their recordings are the same, often in terms of line-up but certainly also in terms of style.
While Jørn “Necrobutcher” Stubberud and Jan Axel “Hellhammer” Blomberg have been the common denominators on nearly all the band’s recorded work, the post-Euronymous era of the band was just as much marked by the typical fast picking guitar style of Blasphemer. Whether or not the band should remain to be compared to their monumental ‘Deathcrush’ and ‘De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas’ releases is a different question, but I personally could appreciate the albums after these legendary releases for what they were. And a lot had to do with Blasphemer’s guitar work. In my opinion, the band became but a shell of itself since he left in 2008 after the release of ‘Ordo Ad Chao’.
Fast-forward to 2023, with the public arrival of Ruïm on the scene. You guessed it, the new band of Blasphemer that in a lot of ways, sounds like a spiritual successor to his last work with Mayhem. In Ruïm, Blasphemer shares the stage with Portuguese drummer César Vesvre who is also active in Thagirion and as live drummer of Arkhon Infaustus and Agressor. In this entity that formed in 2020, Blasphemer not only provides the guitars but also the bass and vocals. In some previous projects like MeZZerschmitt he also performed the vocals but in Ruïm they are on a whole different quality level, admirably shrieking, chanting and hissing his way through the tracks in a Maniac meets Attila Csihar type of fashion. While they may not quite match the unique extremities of the sound of these legends, the vocals certainly are impressive and fit perfectly with the style. And that style on the debut ‘Black Royal Spiritism – I – O Sino De Igreja’ is, no matter how hard you try not to compare Ruïm to Mayhem, a lot like in particular ‘Ordo Ad Chao’. In other words, a lot of typical fast riffing, rapid shifting, dissonant and chaotic Black Metal.
Ruïm offers more than just a spiritual successor to aforementioned album though. For one, the drums are more restrained. That is by no means a disqualification of César Vesvre, as they are still creative, explosive and organic. You could even say that a somewhat more dynamic approach is exactly what’s needed as there is much more room for long spun slower atmospheric sections, of which the title track is the prime example. Especially when the band uses extensive calmer sections to build a brooding atmosphere, such as in the opener ‘Blood.Sacrifice.Enthronement‘, the band sets itself apart from the main reference. And as a whole, the music has a more ritualistic and esoteric nature than most of Blasphemer’s work with Mayhem. Having said that, a track like ‘The Black House’ and ‘Evig Dissonans’ are exactly as frantic, dissonant and shifting as the prime material on ‘Ordo Ad Chao’ and contain some of the most sensational morphing riffs that Blasphemer has ever produced.
Blasphemer is so much more than Mayhem and so is Ruïm, but it’s undeniable: ‘Black Royal Spiritism – I – O Sino De Igreja’’ has the Mayhem sound written all over it. And that is something we should embrace. Moving beyond the restrains of the past, Ruïm offers a more atmospheric and meditative angle that violently merges with furious dissonance in a downright impressive manner. If you thought that the last few Mayhem albums without Blasphemer were disappointing or in general can’t get enough of his trademark riffing madness, don’t let this one go by unnoticed.
Peaceville Records
- Country: United Kingdom
- Style: Black Metal, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Thrash Metal, Other
- Links: Homepage, Facebook, Instagram, Bandcamp, Youtube
