Artist: Mayhem
Label: Necropolis Records
Release Date: 5/22/00
Average Rating: 3.4
Go to Judgment Committee Reviews of this Album
|
|
Title: Grand Declaration of War Artist: Mayhem Label: Necropolis Records Release Date: 5/22/00 |
There are currently 5 Reader Reviews of this album.
Average Rating: 3.4 Go to Judgment Committee Reviews of this Album |
|
|
||
Submitted by Evil John on 8/7/00:
Two words, pure genius. The album is all about wiping out Christendom from the face of the planet and recreating. First off, you have to love that. Then, the music, so fast, so precise, and so fucking tight. It's about the equivalent of having a tractor back over your balls and then coming back for your skull. The vocals are a bit on the strange side, I will admit, but it does get rather addicting. But, if you see them on this tour, all of the spoken vocals are done in the maniacal (no pun intended) scream. Well worth your cash and time. "Have I been understood?!!!!"
Submitted by Morbid Mario on 6/10/00:
The feverishly anticipated album by Black Metal Generals "the True" Mayhem is finally here. It is an album that will make Metal history and has already sparked many a heated debate among the Metal legions all over the world. Some listeners will embrace it as a work of pure Metallic art and genius while others will undoubtedly shy away in disappointment over it. I must admit that Grand Declaration of War is Mayhem's most unorthodox piece of material ever recorded, but I do consider it a worthy piece of work and am quite glad to have it in my collection of Metallic weaponry.The album begins with the riff which ended the track "Symbols of Bloodswords," the final song off Wolf's Lair Abyss. One also notices that the album is divided into two parts, those being part 2 and part 3. Those of you who attain this on vinyl should have part 2 on side A and part 3 on side B. Apparently it is a continuation of their work on Wolf's Lair Abyss with that mini album apparently being part 1. However, there are musical differences between the two.
Where Wolf's Lair Abyss was very traditional Mayhem with their sped up black metal assault and the blissfully screeching vocals of Maniac, Grand Declaration of War takes off into a different direction for the band. There are many instances of traditional Mayhem with blast beats, demonic riffage and screeching vocals, there are also instances of spoken word, slow tempos, and electronic sounds as well. No doubt Helhammer's involvement in the Kovenant has brought about some of these elements. Perhaps some Mayhem listeners will be disappointed with the band's injection of new musical elements, but this will come from those who give the album only one listen, and with a closed mind. If one listens to it with an open mind and an appreciation for new ideas, they should be able to see that it is a good piece of work.
Old school Metal heads will appreciate this comparison. Back in 1987 Celtic Frost put out an album entitled Into the Pandemonium. Many Frost fanatics did not like the album and wrote the band off then and there, yet many others praised that album as being thier greatest achievement. However, the following album entitled Cold Lake was a complete and utter fag out flop and ended up being the genesis of the band's downfall and demise. Grand Declaration of War is Mayhem's Into the Pandemonium album. Some will not think too highly of it while others will praise it endlessly. We can only hope that the band continues writing with integrity and conviction and avoids having their music fall into a Cold Lake.
Best track: A Bloodsword and a Colder Sun
Submitted by Pestilence on 6/9/00:
Okay, so the Judgment Committee didn't like this one. I am going to go out on a limb here and say that I don't think any of them gave it enough time. This album certainly is experimental, but it's not bad at all. You want hectic crazy black metal? Try track 3. Sure it's short, but god does it smoke! And, yes there is more insanity to be found interspersed throughout! I also see no similarities between this band and Kovenant's newer material. Similar elements do not necessarily convey singular intent. The albums are nothing alike! I see no reason to slam a band (except Metallica of course) just because their vision may be different than what you expect from them. If you have an open mind and like black metal, I say pick it up. This album gets better for me at each listen... so much so that my rating of 4 may jump to a 5 later on. Bang it baby!
Submitted by Malignus on 6/9/00:
This album is total crap. Whatever dignity Mayhem still had is completely out the window now. The clean vocals on this album sound like Jerry Lewis getting gangraped by a "horde" (or do Mayhem not prefer to use that word anymore since it is too "black metal" and limiting?) of horny elephants. The guitar sounds about as heavy as silverchair, and the drums liken to the Kovenant. Anyone hoping that Mayhem would come out with the most extreme, over the top black metal album ever will be extremely dissapointed. This album is actually so below par I'm suprised they still have a record deal (or not on MTV anyway.)
Submitted by brad the impaler on 6/9/00:
So this cd doesn't sound like De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas. So it doesn't even sound much like Wolf's Lair Abyss. So fucking what? Like their Norse brothers Satyricon, black metal gods Mayhem appear to have ingested large amounts of Dimension Hatross/Nothingface-era VoiVod with a side order of Skinny Puppy before recording this album. Grand Declaration of War comes out of left field... way out of left field. The good news: Mayhem has finally gotten good production (not credited on my cd), Blasphemer's guitar work and Hellhammer's drums sound excellent, and many of the songs are headbangingly catchy. The bad news: some of Mayhem's experimentation is unsuccessful. The industrial track is out of place and sounds forced. Maniac's vocal attack is varied, but he relies heavily on a spoken word delivery that would have been more effective if used sparingly. I wish I could reference song names, but the track listing on the digipack is kinda screwy (don't get me started on the evil of digipacks). However, all things considered, Mayhem has put out a good album. Grand Declaration of War is experimental black metal, something needed to keep the genre from stagnating. Recommended if you liked Satyricon's Rebel Extravaganza.
[- Metal Judgment Home -] [- Email Metal Judgment -]
©1999 Metal Judgment. All rights reserved.