Mayhem
Live in Leipzig

What I am about to write will not be a true review, indeed... let's say that I will tell you a scary little bedtime story, and it will be quite long. So if horror stories scare you, just skip this one :-)
Ah, I will be a bit irreverent, please no offense!

Once upon a time, there was a band. Their name was Mayhem. Now they no longer exist. At least not with the lineup that composed this live recorded in 1990 in Leipzig. But who were these Mayhem, and why am I about to review this live? They are considered the "fathers" of black metal (I know there are Venom and Bathory before them, but whatever...) and they have a quite original story. You could call it a dark fairy tale (or blood-red) worthy of Poe, with the only exception that what I am about to tell you (more or less) actually happened. I must clarify that it's not my intention to be rigorous!

Let's introduce the main characters:
Per Yngve Ohlin aka Dead (and never a name was more fitting!). The guy grew up quite introverted, detached, often wandering with a candle through the woods, telling of strange hallucinations, of not being from this world (read the lyrics of “Life Eternal” for example), not to mention what he did at concerts! He loved to cut his arms with a knife, keep dead animals in decomposition in a bag and then display them at concerts, among many other charming things. Who knows what was going through his mind, too crazy or too sensitive?
A question hard to answer because on April 3, 1991, he cut his arms for the last time (at wrist vein level) and, to leave no doubt, shot himself in the mouth with a shotgun. His last message? Excuse all the blood (sorry for the blood, funny guy...).
This is how the life of what was the voice of Live in Leipzig ends.

The story of finding Dead's body is also peculiar, but before talking about this, I have to introduce the second character of the story:
Øystein Aarseth aka Euronymous. Our man is the historical guitarist of the band, a central figure in the black metal scene, and head of the infamous “Inner Circle” of which everything and its opposite (meaning nothing) has been said. Owner of a little record store called Helvete (=Hell), he also founded his own record label.
But let's go back to that April 3rd. Our guitarist returns home and finds poor Dead… dead (pun intended). Blood and pieces of brain everywhere (apparently the suicide's posthumous apologies were needed). What to do? Run away in disgust? Call the Police? Faint? None of the above! Our Euronymous thought it best to take several photos of the disaster (they will be the cover of the bootleg “Dawn Of The Blackhearts”, see to believe), keep a piece of the skull as a talisman, and just to try it all, scoop up some of Dead's dead brain, put it in the fridge, and eat it a few days later.
Our guitarist will follow his mate a few years later (August 10, 1993), stabbed in the back by Varg Vikernes (known as Burzum). Reason? According to the murderer, it was a “preventive murder”, as Euronymous intended to kill him as well.
This is how the life of what was the guitar of Live in Leipzig ends.

Nothing to say about the live bass player Necrobutcher.
As for the drummer, Hellhammer, it's only noteworthy that he is one of the best "skin beaters" in the extreme metal scene.

In conclusion, with such characters, could an ordinary live album ever come out? NO, and this Live in Leipzig is proof of that. It is the Made in Japan of black metal.
"Come on Leipzig. Come on!!! Join us pure fucking Armageddon!!!"
We want to remember them this way, still alive and with a pig head impaled on the microphone stand!