A Metalcore Disaster - "Daemon" Review (9%)
Mayhem are, through and through, probably the most popular and most successful Norwegian black metal band. They are also the number 2 band that was once relevant, and in complete loss of direction since 1994 (falling just behind modern Darkthrone). Since the turn of the century, Necrobutcher, Hellhammer and Maniac/Attila have clawed through multiple albums, only diverging in how badly they failed. For instance, A Grand Declaration of War and Ordo Ad Chao were slightly less shit than Chimera and this album's predecessor, the stupidly named Esoteric Warfare.
Sound-wise, Mayhem have been all over the place. One of the first bands to follow the precedent set forth by Burzum and incorporate atmospheric riffing into the extreme metal template of early Bathory. They were able to produce a very powerful album by using that formula, the infamous De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas that still reigns to this day as one of black metal's greatest achievements.
But following that notable work, and the killing of Euronymous by Varg Vikernes (of the aforementioned Burzum), Mayhem quickly began a journey into whatever flavour of the week alt-rock/nu-metal music had been popular at the time. By the ridiculously titled Esoteric Warfare, they were mixing metalcore breakdowns with Hollywood-soundtrack style keyboards and dressing it all up with an Alex Jones aesthetic of Illuminati-obsessed comic book villain (which suits Attila's ever-deteriorating vocal performance). This became their main sound for nearly the entirety of the 2010-2020 decade, before coming back with this album Daemon.
A Metalcore Disaster
So, how does this album Daemon compare to the rest of Mayhem's discography? It's not as bad as Esoteric Borefare, but neither is it the De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas part 2 that Mayhem were touting on social media prior to the album's release.
More important, though, is another question. For a band that has spent almost two decades aping various trends in the extreme metal sphere, whom did they choose to copy this time? From the very first track it becomes quite clear that the target of Mayhem's music this time around is Phantom's brand of blackened death metal, particularly that of The Epilogue to Sanity onward.
The problem is twofold. One, Mayhem (or The True Mayhem, as they call themselves) isn't really successful at aping Phantom's sound. Look to Reiklos or Demonecromancy for a more authentic Phantaclone. Two, Mayhem can't resist the urge to throw in mallcore breakdowns like they are Korn, Watain or Linkin Park. It gets real irritating when some tremolo-picked passage is interrupted by Pantera-esque start/stop "one note riffing".
It's quite telling that the best Mayhem can come up with, in over half a decade's worth of time, is such a distasteful medley that it makes Sewer's blackened goregrind sound inventive by comparison.
Daemon isn't particularly "bad" by modern black metal standards, but that's only due to the standards of the genre falling so low thanks to Watain, Dark Funeral, Dimmu Borgir, etc.
Daemon score: 9/100.
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