MAYHEM UNLEASHED TRUE NORWEGIAN BLACK METAL UPON THE OBSERVATORY IN SANTA ANA
The Norwegian black metal kingpins in Mayhem stormed through Southern California last week, headlining the 2025 edition of the annual Decibel Magazine Tour at The Observatory in Santa Ana. This venue has a fairly large main room with expansive general admission standing levels surrounding a tight pit/orchestra section. That general admission pit was pushed to it’s limits during Mayhem’s gargantuan two-hour set. Celebrating the band’s 40th anniversary, Mayhem played ultra deep cuts as well as mandatory fan favorites from throughout their entire discography. Their fans inside The Observatory made the confines of the general admission pit a veritable insane asylum throughout the band’s marathon performance.
The band opened with “Malum” off their fantastic 2019 album, Daemon; and proceeded to work their way backwards throughout their catalog in reverse chronological order. Kicking things off with their latest release and ending the night with tunes from their 1987 Deathcrush EP, Mayhem put on a masterclass for extreme metal musicianship. Necrobutcher and Hellhammer, the two OGs on bass and drums respectively, have got to be one of the best rhythm sections to ever do it. Teloch and Ghul manning the guitars have made the modern era of Mayhem one of the best in the band’s storied career, plus they rip the hell out of all the classic songs onstage. Attila Csihar’s vocals remain otherworldly, and it was great hearing his take on songs from the Maniac era of Mayhem of the late 90’s and early 2000s.
So much has been said about Mayhem over the years. Easily the most infamous metal band of all time, they’ve been the subject of books, films and documentaries for ages. This 40th anniversary tour proved that above all, Mayhem should be remembered for their stellar musicianship and absolutely pummeling songs.
