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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Believe the hype. Deservedly a classic, April 16, 2006
OK, so it looks like people are severely divided over this album.
Some see it as a pile of mediocre [...] that has been outshone by many others before and since. These people usually come from a traditional Metal background and base their assessment -- as traditional Metal usually does -- on the technical merits of the album. ("Euronymous wasn't the best guitarist in the world", "Attila's vocals suck", etc., etc.) Or they may be into bands with more of a keyboard-oriented sound like Dimmu Borgir or Emperor.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum others who are more specifically into the guitar-based side of the Black Metal genre revere this album as a kind of unholy grail of Black Metal. These people usually look at the album more as a whole, and are able to appreciate it for its overall atmosphere rather than nit-picking apart its merits of musical virtuousity.
As for me, I belong to the ones who consider it one of the best Metal albums of all time. I grew up hating traditional mainstream Metal (except for Sabbath), so it came as kind of a shock to me when I heard this thing called "Black Metal" and discovered I loved it. No boring-as-hell squealy 20-minute Jimmy Page guitar solos here. The aesthetic here was much closer to the Punk that I grew up loving, but with a much, much heavier, harder Metal edge, and a heart of blackest darkness.
It is this darkness that I feel best defines this album, and it comes out in the overall sound of the band. If Darkthrone's sound can be described as a kind of drone, I would call Mayhem's sound more of a throb, kind of like the throb of a powerful engine. This guitar throb forms the basis of the music, with the solos naturally flowing in and out.
And what really sets this band apart from the pack for me is Hellhammer's brilliant drumming, so inventive and unlike the boring style popular with many bands these days that is so fast and repetetive that it sounds almost machine-generated (--Dark Funeral anyone?). He truly deserves the title of best drummer in all of Black Metal. Add to this Varg's bass which nimbly climbs in and out around the guitar and drums (check out "Freezing Moon" for a good example of this).
And over top of all of this is Attila Csihar's vocals. Now, I realize they're not for everyone and even I didn't appreciate them at first. But after listening a few times I found that on the initial track "Funeral Fog" his voice reminded me of a hissing, slimy little Peter Lorre/Gollum type of character. After that he breaks into more of a scream on the other songs, and with his Hungarian accent Attila's voice almost sounds like a freaked-out Bela Lugosi risen from the grave to haunt us with an evil message from beyond. -- Perfect for Black Metal!
This is one of the very few albums I own that I can listen to over and over and never get sick of. The songs just have this tremendous energy and power to them that create a flow through the entire album. That, for me, is the sign of a truly great album.
So this album is not for everyone. If you're a Metal traditionalist or if you like keyboards in your Black Metal, you probably won't be too impressed. But if you're into heavy, atmospheric, guitar-driven Black Metal and have the imagination necessary to cope with Attila's unconventional vocal style, you just might be able to understand why so many of us rate this album so highly.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Every time this year the dark fog will appear up from the tombs it comes, to take another life that can be near . . ., May 10, 2006
Some of you innocents might not know it, but there are some feelings most humans cannot even relate to and can never describe accurately as they are too obscure and unwelcoming to define. That is exactly why this album gets so much shallow feedback. If you like the woods and the night, fine, but this is music for people who TRULY HATE EVERY THING that interacts with life in a non-combative way. People hear the notoriety of this rigidly hateful music and somehow expect something definable, most people don't understand because they are too warm or too human to ever feel the way this album IS. There is no excuse for listening to this while being in a good mood as this captures all the fun loving attitudes of a snuff film. I must comment on the perfect job Attila has done on these vocals, stand out tracks include: "Cursed to Eternity", "Life Eternal", and most definately "Buried by time & Dust" but once again a stranger to demonology or death rattle wouldn't know what a triumph this is. This might be the sickest music possible, it's more like a frequency for the misanthrope to vibrate along to. Obscure, Compelling, Not for humans. I like Bathory and Immortal too but come on, get over it. The fact that the album's writer's are both dead and the legacy left behind is one of remorseless bloodshed is no coincidence. Accidents don't just happen, something purposeful makes them happen and the human brain can only torture itself asking why. Allow this album to possess you and you'll feel why these dark things happen. De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas is an experience beyond critisism.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
De mysteriis dom MayheM, February 1, 2006
This is the best black metal album, period. Superb, brutal and dark.
Hellhammer is the best drummer in the world, The guitar of Euronymous is perfect in "life eternal", the bass of Grishnack is very cold and have an incredible rythm, Attila's voice is great in special in "funeral fog" .
This CD is just amazing, a must have for any black metal fan !!!
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by Mayhem 
