When its cold; and when its dark--

The Freezing Moon can obsess you.

I was surprised to find that ex-vocalist (actually, chronologically speaking the third, I believe) vocalist Attila Csihar returned to the Mayhem fold after giving original ex-ex-vocalist(who was it, Maniac? The beer-belly mullet guy. Did ANYBODY like him?) the boot.

I was even more surprised that to discover that, man, I really did enjoy their newest effort, "Ordo Ad Chao," which is Latin for "A Solid Foundation." Although far from toppling their '92 masterpiece, "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas" which is Latin for "Satan's Magical Mystery Tour," Ordo Ad Chao is a SIGNIFICANT improvement over anything that they've done since then. Firstly, the production is excellent. While probably an expensive undertaking, its intentionally sabotaged sound (a cliché by now, but it works in this case) produces that eerie, dissonant aesthetic that makes this post-92 album really stand out. To paraphrase drummer Hellhammer: "its necro as fuck."

Additionally, part of the necrotizing process involved untriggering the drums, which further helps create a more organic sound which is so important in creating a good black metal album. (A note on triggering: people are often quick to discredit its use in any case, arguing that its cheating on the drummers part. Drum triggers are sensors that produce a pre-programmed tone that allow the drummer to play as fast as possible without having to worry about the noise of one part of the drum drowning out the other. It seems pretty necessary for blast-aholic bands like Nile or Cryptopsy to employ them: however I think Mr. (Hell)Hammer made the right choice in doing away with them).

Of course, what really made the album was the reintroduction of Attila--who was only supposed to be a session vocalist following the death of semi-original ex-vocalist Dead. A prolific gent, Attila even worked with psychedelic folk musician David Tibet of Current 93 fame.

http://brainwashed.com/c93/
http://www.myspace.com/davidtibet

(I'm loving the juxtaposition under the "musician's Tibet has worked with" heading on his webpages by the way. Some guy from Neil Diamond--and Attila. Nyuck.)

In any case, you can judge for yourself. The following from a show in Nottingham a few days ago: