Wolf's Lair Abyss

Wolf's Lair Abyss
Extended play by Mayhem
Publication (s)	1997
Label (s)	Misanthropy Records
Format (s)	CD, LP
Genre (s)	Black metal
Title (number)	5
running time	24 min 41 s
occupation	Singing : Sven Erik Kristiansen (Maniac) Electric guitar : Rune Eriksen (blasphemer) Bass : Jørn Stubberud (Necrobutcher) Drums : Hellhammer (Jan Axel Blomberg)
production	Kristoffer Rygg
Studio (s)	Studio Studio, Far Out Studio Jester Studio ( Mix )
chronology De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas (1994) Wolf's Lair Abyss Grand Declaration of War (2000)

Wolf's Lair Abyss is an EP by the Norwegian metal band Mayhem and the first part of the concept album Grand Declaration of War .

background

The EP is Mayhem's first release with her then new guitarist Blasphemer and without the guitarist Euronymous , who was murdered in 1993 by bassist Varg Vikernes , who can be heard on De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas . In addition, Maniac is the band's singer again for the first time since the first EP Deathcrush . The band describes the EP as a new beginning after the death of Euronymous, Wolf's Lair Abyss is the first part of an overall concept that was continued with the Grand Declaration of War .

The recordings turned out to be difficult. They had to be ended after the first two pieces The Vortex Void of Inhumanity and I Am Thy Labyrinth because the songs Blasphemer were not played fast enough and Symbols of Bloodswords was not yet finished. Drummer Hellhammer first traveled to Germany to take part in recordings with Covenant . Upon his return, Ancient Skin was recorded, and finally the two missing pieces. The EP was produced by Kristoffer "Garm" Rygg , the head of the band Ulver .

Track list

1. The Vortex Void of Inhumanity - 2:21
2. I Am Thy Labyrinth - 5:26
3. Fall of Seraphs - 6:02
4. Ancient Skin - 5:28
5. Symbols of Bloodswords - 5:24

Style and texts

Wolf's Lair Abyss is stylistically a departure from classic Black Metal , to which the band only partially orientated itself on the album Ordo Ad Chao , released in 2008 ; the music “simply cannot be compared to other bands in this genre, but also not to the other works of Mayhem (least of all with" Grand Declaration Of War ")." The music was written by Blasphemer, the lyrics by Maniac. These are occult and anti-Christian and deal with dark elements. Wolf's Lair Abyss experiments with electronic sounds and drum tracks, which were already heard in this way in the intro New Year's Eve, composed by Conrad Schnitzler , at the beginning of the Deathcrush EP. The intro The Vortex Void of Inhumanity "consists on the one hand of some fanfare sounds, on the other hand of cosmic sounds, which are accompanied towards the end with clear vocals and then rough vocals." Maniac repeats the sentence here several times: "Militant men in peaceful times attack themselves." ".

Maniac's singing style differs significantly from that on the Deathcrush EP; Lars Christiansen from The Metal Crypt describes it as in places comparable to the Tibetan monks, according to him it gives the sound additional dynamics and the EP an eerie atmosphere.

In the song I Am Thy Labyrinth , humanity is described as abandoned and subject to the speaker who has solved the riddle of eternal life:

"For what is humanity
If not forlorn
And crawling to my hands
When the moment sings

For I have read the signs
And I have solved the riddle
of eternal life"

"For what is humanity
If not forsaken
And crawling to my hands
When the moment sings

Because I've read the signs
And I've solved the riddle of eternal life"

- Mayhem : I Am Thy Labyrinth

The song Fall of Seraphs refers to the fall of man who gave life to a sour taste. Christianity is described as repulsive and the fall of the seraphim is proclaimed.

In the song Ancient Skin , the speaker looks beyond the fearful faces of the others into the ghosts hidden behind and thus lives the lie of the weak. He turns to pure anger and finds himself in an abyss. After he has thus attained abundance, he sends to earth a race of demons that have been denied by humans for ages and walks on the dying ground. Atrocities become beauties and instruments of torture become art. The speaker is outside the cities and cries at dawn.

In Symbols of Bloodswords , the stars in the north and human morale are gone. One war is still to be fought, namely total war . With Symbols of Bloodswords , the speed of the guitar playing is slowed down every now and then, which highlights the dissonances . The final reef was also used as the first reef on the Grand Declaration of War .

reception

The EP was often criticized by fans of the first works; a member of the band Negator criticized that the band had “tried to copy themselves with Wolf's Lair Abyss - it didn't work out. After that it was over. ”A von Armagedda stopped listening to Mayhem after Wolf's Lair Abyss . Wolf-Rüdiger Mühlmann from Rock Hard characterizes the EP as "[e] klig, evil, full of tearing tension, mostly produced at high speed with pithy-simple riffs and gossip". For wot4N from the Bloodchamber Webzine, the EP was “in no way inferior to the old material. It was chic to just like old Mayhem but for me that was never an option. "WLA" and also "Mediolanum Capta Est" offered deeply vicious music despite or maybe because of the circumstances that accompanied the band. "For ploetzinho from Metalglory Magazine , Wolf's Lair Abyss is " simply the album of the Norwegians [...] because the raw one Brutality, aggressiveness and strength of the 4 spawned from hell can simply convince ”.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ news. Archived from the original on June 17, 2007 ; accessed on December 4, 2009 . 
2. ↑ ^{a b} Scott Hefflon: The True Mayhem, The Black Metal Legends. 2000, accessed December 8, 2009 . 
3. ↑ Götz Kühnemund: Incredible development. Interview with Mayhem . In: Rock Hard . No. 159 .
4. ↑ Mayhem: An Interview With Hellhammer By Abbas. Teufel's Tomb, accessed December 18, 2009 . 
5. ↑ ^{a b c} ploetzinho: Mayhem Wolf's Lair Abyss. METALGLORY Magazine, March 3, 2002, accessed December 19, 2009 . 
6. ↑ Knut Steen: Maniac: 13 years with Norway's most notorious band (Part 1). June 5, 2005, accessed January 8, 2010 . 
7. ↑ Knut Steen: Maniac: 13 år med Norges mest beryktede band. January 21, 2005, accessed January 8, 2010 (Norwegian). 
8. ^ ^{A b} Lars Christiansen: Mayhem - Wolf's Lair Abyss Review. The Metal Crypt, September 19, 2007, accessed December 19, 2009 . 
9. ↑ Sash: AS NEGATOR interview. (No longer available online.) 2004, formerly in the original ; Retrieved December 19, 2009 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.    
10. ↑ Frank Stöver: ARMAGEDDA. Voices from the Darkside, accessed December 19, 2009 . 
11. ↑ Wolf-Rüdiger Mühlmann: Review of Wolf's Lair Abyss . In: Rock Hard . No. 128 .
12. ↑ wot4N: Mayhem - Grand Declaration Of War. Bloodchamber.de, July 22, 2002, accessed December 19, 2009 .