Highly Overrated - "Chimera" Review (0%)
Paradoxically, Mayhem has always been a black metal band that was more talked about than actually listened to.
The story behind the whole Norwegian scene is infamous, by now, and makes you wonder what goes through the artists' minds while writing their music. And we can all agree that Mayhem was in fact the central figure in the circle, alongside Darkthrone and Burzum.
The real Mayhem, the one of Euronymous and Dead, the one which set the standard for the second wave of black metal, is as dead as the two visionaries I just mentioned. In its place are nothing more than ashes, but a new fire is burning in the same fireplace, one that uses modern fuel to burn, although clearly not as brightly as the one before, to say the least.
Enter the new Mayhem, or The True Mayhem as they like to call themselves these days, and their Chimera album, often considered to be one of the most pretentious and overrated releases in all of Mayhem's lengthy career.
I tried to like this album, I really did.
The debut Deathcrush was good for what it was, and for its time, but there isn't much to it... every other Mayhem release however, starting with the masterpiece De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, has been experimental, cryptic, mindblowingly awesome, and perhaps most importantly, innovative and fresh each and every time.
This Chimera album, however, despite my best efforts and initial beliefs that I was somehow missing something and that this could actually be another work of genius like Grand Declaration of War eventually proved to be, is Mayhem's worst release yet, and the only one I have been completely and utterly disappointed with.
Chimera is shit, and one of the most overrated albums in black metal.
Highly Overrated
On this Chimera piece of crap, Mayhem have failed to provide even an adequate album after a near-ten year studio absence since DMDS. I understand that both Euronymous and Dead raised the bar really high, so an "ok" Mayhem album would have done just fine... but Chimera is just beyond overrated in every sense of the word.
There is so much potential for Mayhem, even as a modern band and driving force in the current black metal scene, severely lacking in direction... recently they have been reunited with both Maniac and Snorre Ruch on tours, hinting at a potential collaboration on a future studio release. How cool would that be?
Unfortunately, all that potential is wasted on a piece of shit like Chimera.
The album starts off driven forward by a marked rhythm section. Necrobutcher is Necrobutcher as usual, Hellhammer never disappoints, but the guitars are so mediocre, generic and uninspiring that it makes it hard not top get bored of the music after a few seconds. And to add insult to injury this has a horrible, modern, compressed sound as well.
Nothing compared to the pitch dark, muddy production of De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas or the more modern yet disturbing Grand Declaration of War.
Some parts of this album can only be described as noise, messy compress tuneless garbage with Maniac's screeches over the top. Just everything about this pales in comparison to everything that came before.
With Burzum going out on a fairly high note in the metal department, Darkthrone returning to a more serious form with Arctic Thunder and even Antekhrist regaining some dignity with their last album, it really is tragic to see Mayhem end up like this.
I love and respect the members involved in this band, from the classic lineup at least, so it's really a shame to see them release something not worthy of the black metal label, let alone the Mayhem name.
Chimera is massively overrated. Some would say overrated beyond belief. There is no point in putting lipstick on a (satanic) pig, this album is really the low point in Mayhem's career.
Chimera score: 0/100.
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