Album Review: Mayhem - Liturgy of Death (2026, Century Media)
- Stuart Ball
- 7 hours ago
- 5 min read
Written: 1st February 2026
Being among the bands that lay some of the first pillars of genre must be both a blessing and a curse. As partial architects of black metal’s language, Mayhem are afforded a certain amount of respect; yet that same origin-story imposes relentless expectations. Their work is measured not just against peers but against the myth they created. Nevertheless, guitarist Ghul feels the band is stronger than even, especially in the live environment. “We’ve been playing so long together we’re absolutely a machine. The past few years have had so many high points for us like playing places like Nepal, China, going back to Dubai. Playing festivals like Wacken last year, which was one of my all-time best festival experiences. The show was great, playing a perfect set to an enormous amount of people.” Another important element for the band is a line-up that has remained unchanged since 2012. “For the first time in a long time, we felt again like a unit, musically,” opines drummer Hellhammer. “That’s something we haven’t felt in a long time, and that shows in the live setting.”
Liturgy of Death - Mayhem’s first album since 2019’s Daemon – is laced with catacombic atmosphere and a sense of dread. Opening track Ephemeral Entity begins with the distant rumble of solemn floor toms and ominous synths. Taking its time to build over the first two minutes, deep choral like vocals bring further tension to the introduction. When the main riff attacks, it combines with rapid blast beats which demonstrate Hellhammer has lost none of his technicality or power. Ephemeral Entity is a twisting labyrinth of tempo and time signature changes that enhance its uneasiness and unpredictability. Slower moments envelop the listener with a hypnotic maleficence, while fast guitar arpeggios surge with baleful intent. A grandiose opener, it sets the tone for the rest of the album with confident pacing, imposing soundscapes and a clear statement of thematic intent. Lyrically, it explores existence being temporary and meaningless and describes resurrection not as salvation but as destructive force.
Very similar in length to Ephemeral Entity, Despair – already released as a single – adopts an altogether more relentless approach across its seven minutes. Chromatic rushes, almost continual blast beats and scything riffs abound as Mayhem deliver a more familiar black‑metal formula, albeit one executed with a brooding self-confidence. However, for all its aggression, bleak lyrical subject and saturnine aura, this well-trodden path makes for a far less interesting track on repeated listens, offering little development within the ideas.
Another single, Weep For Nothing, which creeps towards eight minutes, has, for the most part, a similar persistent and umbral attack to Despair but the chthonic evolution throughout makes for a far more interesting prospect. Necrobutcher’s abyssal bass rampages with growling anger and Attila’s vocals range from banshee screams to choral majesty. Though the track writhes and contorts, shadowy and melodically mournful musical threads coil beneath. In philosophical reflection, Weep For Nothing suggests that death is not frightening but only the natural end of suffering and since death harms no one who no longer exists, mourning is pointless. No god to decree false horror tales / The infection was implanted in our minds / Death is the end of every pain / Back into the ancient stillness.
Aeon’s End mirrors Despair in its all out black metal salvos but the vocals feel more alive here. It erupts with towering cascades of tremolo riffs, Hellhammer’s frenetic, pulverising drums and the feeling of monolithic power. Aeon’s End – unlike Despair, does not outstay its welcome – and becomes a track that demonstrates everything that fans love about black metal, complete with a stunningly scorching and spectral guitar solo. Ramping up the glacial, isolating feel for which black metal is known, Funeral of Existence - one of the best songs here - wonderfully illustrates the evil darkness that pervades the album. For all its portentous weight, there is a clear sense of control and technical command in the way it unfolds, drawing the listener in rather than pushing them away.
Just when we think Hellhammer cannot raise his game any further, we are presented with Realm of Endless Misery during which he drives the song at breakneck, torrential speed – thunderous and punishing. Mayhem bend the track’s heartbeat with jagged shapes and shifting patterns. This imbues the track with a sense of sepulchral dread, as heard in the slower central segment. Penultimate track Propitious Death delves into themes of spiritual decay, religious ruin and the thought that death is a desired or favourable thing. Entomb me now / Lightning shall complete my rite / Delight and misery / I bury them equally. As the album moves towards its conclusion, Mayhem do not allow the tenebrous aura they have created to dissipate, integrating some death metal embellishments into the overall sound.
The Sentence of Absolution, the final - and longest - track, is another strong contender for the best on the record. It develops slowly and naturally with shifts that feel unforced as Mayhem elaborately guide the piece forward from the funereal gloom of its opening. Throughout, Teloch and Ghul twist and interweave their guitars with ferocity, while the synths deepen the atmosphere with a steady, shadowed pulse. Attila delivers a powerful vocal performance that lyrically describes life as deceptive and pointless and that choosing death becomes an act of clarity. As the track reaches its conclusion, the emergence of tribal drumming and eerie female vocalisations provide a surprisingly haunting turn.
Liturgy of Death stands as evidence that Mayhem remain driven by purpose rather than legacy. They are intent on demonstrating that four decades after their formation, they still have something potent to contribute to the black metal landscape. On the whole, for an album of this genre, the production levels are excellent; however, there are times where the vocals seem to be clouded within the mix. At almost fifty-five minutes long, it is not without its weaker moments and there are points where the intensity presses heavily on the listener. However, as Ghul states, “There’s been absolutely zero compromise. We really have never compromised and I never see that happening simply to try and sell records. The music is extreme. The people are extreme. Pleasing others has never been on the agenda and that’s quite apparent when you listen to our stuff or see us live. There is something there for people to grab onto and experience, but it’s not supposed to be a pleasant experience or an easy experience. It’s Mayhem.”
That ethos is unmistakable and across its demanding run time, the album reveals moments of striking quality, with Hellhammer delivering a performance that borders on the superhuman. Although not every idea lands with authority, it is a stronger and more absorbing record than Daemon and a solidly compelling addition to their catalogue - the work of a band who refuse to soften their edges simply to make the journey easier.
Liturgy of Death is released on 6th February 2026.
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