This is the only CD ever recorded with Mayhem’s most famous line-up, Dead on vocals, Euronymous on guitar, Hellhammer on drums, and Necro-butcher on bass, and for that reason alone every Mayhem fan should buy this disc, even though the sound quality sucks… This is a band that certainly puts a lot of energy into their live show, though, and for that I respect them greatly and I think that they deserve all the hype that used to surround them. Every instrument is played well here and I have noticed no mistakes at all, very good for a live show. The crowd REALLY didn’t get exited though, they’re usually very silent (except when they laugh at Dead… more on that later), there also really isn’t anything special about the way Dead sang, except for the fact that he sounds a lot like a mix between Nocturnal Cult of Darkthrone and Abbath of Immortal. I would have actually preferred Attila’s vocals (from ‘De Mysteriis…’) as they were more original and once you get used to them they fucking rule, Dead is more generic, at least in my opinion… You know, I really don’t see what all the fuss is about, but it’s just fucking typical… as soon as someone dies they instantly become cool, nobody on the Norwegian scene even knew who Dead was when he was alive, nobody cared, and as soon as he killed himself they start complimenting him and praising him and such… same thing happened with that homosexual/communist Euronymous (yes, both claims are proven…), and even though I give much respect to Euronymous for giving Black Metal it’s identity, nobody even liked him before he died, as he owed a LOT of people a LOT of money and his ultra-evil appearance and statements were only an act… many people realized this and hated him because of it. - A few days/weeks after his death, of course, some mindless people started calling him ‘the king of Black Metal’ and such similar names... Fucking typical.

Pros – Perfect line-up, energetic performance, …After finishing one song Dead said ‘Come on…what are you, dead!?!?!’ because the crowd was obviously bored and he tried to liven them up a bit… the funny thing is that even AFTER he said that the crowd stayed COMPLETELY silent, they didn’t even talk!!! After about 4 seconds of total silence you can hear somebody yell at Dead ‘Get off the stage, you fuck!’, which struck me as hilarious….. ; ]
Cons – Bad sound, good vocals (that counts as a con because with all the hype surrounding Dead I expected LEGENDARY fucking vocals!!!)
Style of Music – Black Metal, of course…
Will likely appeal to – Mayhem fans, Anybody interested in Black Metal (Hey, these guys played a very large role in inventing the genre…)

Overall – Great – 9/10

© 2000 sauron anarazel