Mayhem
Deathcrush

THE REVIEW

It's 1987, the year of the release of "Deathcrush," the first mini-album (excluding the demo "Pure Fucking Armageddon") by the Norwegians Mayhem, led by the charismatic guitarist Euronymous; a record that would serve as a prelude to the release, six years later, of "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas," considered by many to be "the best black metal album in history," and the subsequent consecration of the band in the field of extreme music.

Despite its short length (a little over a quarter of an hour) and poor recording, "Deathcrush" is a piece of history of a movement that would be born and flourish a few years later among the vast lands of Norway. Indeed, it was not yet possible to talk about Black Metal. The sound of the album was more comparable to an extreme and crazed Thrash metal, with an attitude clearly devoted to rawness and violence, both sonic and otherwise. Even from this album, Euronymous's killer riffs are evident, accompanied (at that time) by Manheim's drums, Necro Butcher's bass, and Maniac's vocals (before Dead joined the band and then, after his suicide, Attila Csihar), which with his painful scream (it seems as if he is singing under torture) gives an extra touch of madness to the album. A total of seven songs: from the initial instrumental Silvester Anfang, which introduces the delirious title track Deathcrush, to the final Pure Fucking Armageddon (introduced by the acoustic (Weird) Manheim); passing through Chainsaw Gutsfuck, Witching Hour (a cover of the Venom song), and the killer Necrolust.

Even though the music still lacks precise coordinates and is very far from the dark sounds of "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas," the historical value of this album is indisputable. A gem to have for fans of the genre and this group of lunatics.