Mayhem at First Avenue (29 Mar 2025)

We’re coming to the midway point of the Decibel Magazine Tour of 2025. W♥M was out on Saturday night, March 29th in Minneapolis at the historic First Avenue thoroughly enjoying the four bands.

New Skeletal Faces formed in 2017 but their music and aesthetic seem to pay homage to the classic metal bands from the 80’s and 90’s. The first sounds emitting from the stage were strong drums while the first action viewed were the luscious locks of the drummer’s hair blown by a fan like in the music videos of that time. Thunderous guitars, expertly tuned, beats almost pop catchy at times. They didn’t speak but took a picture of the crowd at the end of their set, passing out their setlist and what looked to be flyers for their upcoming shows. Check out their 2024 release “Until the Night.”

Imperial Triumphant came to the stage in their iconic gold masks. I wondered if they helped with the vocals, if the vibrations from of the growls formed an echo. Background videos were interesting to watch ranging from flappers to fencers, a cartoon skeleton smoking a cigarette with a “Smoke Kills” warning. Bassist Steve Blanco was able to garner crowd participation without a word, motioning sections of the audience to lift their arms up, creating a blocky wave of sorts. Not sure what the trombone tube was symbolic of, but it was entertaining to watch him play the guitar with it. Goldstar was just released a week ago on March 21st to glowing reviews.

Mortiis left the screen up while their crew, presumably from Norway as well, prepared the scenic stage. I actually liked watching them work, it’s kind of “inside baseball” but also builds up the anticipation. Although he is known as a solo artist, he was accompanied on stage by Tim Van Horn on drums that sounded almost tribal in nature. Mortiis’ mask and makeup didn’t overshadow the music, but added to the artistry. His sound has been described as electronic metal so although not typical of metal with heavy guitars, the industrial synthy sound translated well to soothing the soul. There is a Venn diagram out there that includes a group of metalheads that also meditate. Highly recommended for those who might need a few calming songs.

Norwegian black metal band Mayhem took to the stage after a brief video played detailing their epic 40-year anniversary as a band starting in 1984. The set honored their extensive catalog, kicking off with selections from 1997 to present, then revisiting their iconic De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas album, and ending with selections primarily from their early 90s era. The aptly named Hellhammer thundering through a nearly two hour set on drums, joined by Necrobutcher on bass, Ghul and Teloch on guitars, and Atilla Csihar on vocals. That is, with one very notable exception. Atilla exited the stage just prior to the start of Funeral Fog. The guest vocalist would be the much-admired Dead, Per “Pelle” Ohlin, raised from his grave to sing via backing track… fans lifting devil horns in his honor. Attila then rejoined the band for a four-song 1990-1984 set. After 40 years, Mayhem is still here… blast beat drums, tremolo-infused distorted guitars, screeching wraith vocals and all. And one can’t help but stand in awe that the band that worked so hard to eschew the mainstream and derail Norwegian Black Metal from mass consumption, still wails on today, uncompromising and unmatched.

Remaining Tour Dates:

 

ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF KRIS