Mayhem, the Norwegian pioneers responsible for invigorating a global scene alongside originators such as Venom, Celtic Frost & Bathory, formed in 1984, and with a long history of tragedy, intrigue and infamy have become truly revered legends of black metal, with a large part of their legacy established in the late 80’s & early 90’s, notably when guitarist Euronymous and bassist Necrobutcher welcomed Hellhammer on drums and Dead on vocals, to help shape a new and inspired era of darkness.
Preceding this more notorious period, Mayhem ’s formative years were spent honing a selection of tracks of pure brutality, eventually leading to 1987’s iconic Deathcrush EP release - considered the launching point for the band onto the global map. Prior to this though, came 1986’s Pure Fucking Armageddon demo, featuring the trio of Manheim, Necrobutcher and Euronymous.
Command For Blood, Command For War initially included in the recent Pure Fucking Armageddon vinyl boxset, contains two early Mayhem rehearsals from Neccrobutcher’s own archive in all of their raw glory from back in 1986, recorded on the lead up to the eventual Pure Fucking Armageddon demo sessions.
The release features early versions of tracks which would remain a staple of Mayhem’s live set throughout the years, such as "Pure Fucking Armageddon" itself, and "Carnage". The title also includes cover songs of tracks originally written and performed by genre godfathers, Venom.
Pre-order here.
The longest-running heavy metal tour in North America returns with its boldest lineup ever this year. The Decibel Magazine Tour resumes this spring with Norwegian black metal godfathers, Mayhem, headlining Decibel's 12th continental expedition of the extreme.
Tour support comes from countrymate and dungeon synth progenitor Mortiis, New York City cinematic death metal chaos wielders Imperial Triumphant and San Diego death rock night-bringers New Skeletal Faces.
"Following the success of last year's tour with the legendary Cannibal Corpse, we are really looking forward to returning to North America to once again headline the renowned Decibel Tour, also hitting some cities we haven't visited in a very long time," Mayhem says collectively. "We can't wait to kick off the next chapter of Mayhem with our North American fans. See you all soon!"
Presented by Century Media, and sponsored by Peaceville Records, Out of Season, EMG Pickups, Perfect World Productions, and the Requiem Metal Podcast, tickets for the 2025 Decibel Magazine Tour can be found here.
Tour dates:
March
17 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade (Heaven)
18 - Nashville, TN - Brooklyn Bowl
19 - Indianapolis, IN - The Vogue
20 - Chicago, IL - House of Blues
22 - Worcester, MA - The Palladium
23 - Reading, PA - Reverb
24 - New York, NY - Irving Plaza
25 - Montreal, QC - Théâtre Beanfield
26 - Toronto, ON - The Concert Hall
27 - Detroit, MI - The Majestic Theatre
29 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
31 - Denver, CO - Summit
April
3 - Calgary, AB - The Palace Theatre
4 - Edmonton, AB - Union Hall
6 - Vancouver, BC - Rickshaw Theatre
7 - Tacoma, WA - Temple Theatre
9 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
10 - Anaheim, CA - House of Blues
11 - Los Angeles, CA - The Belasco
12 - San Diego, CA - House of Blues
13 - Las Vegas, NV - House of Blues
14 - Mesa, AZ - The Nile
16 - Dallas, TX - The Echo Lounge & Music Hall
17 - Austin, TX - Mohawk
