From the punky days of 'Deathcrush', to the cold wastes of 'De Mysteriis...', Mayhem have remained warlords of their chosen field, but to take the genre of black metal to new extremes was something to behold when 'Grand...' emerged like some megaforce from the sky. To call 'Grand...' black metal would be a terrible injuestice, because what the band achieved here is beyond the chasm of evil, taking the complex sharpness of '80s thrash metal acts such as Voivod, wielding it with a staggering arrogance that Slayer lost in the early '90s, and a craftmanship and professionalism that puts the record out on its own. Forget the thrashy boomings of Immortal, the flowing raids of Emperor and the crisp rage of Satyricon, 'Grand..' has turned the black metal world on its head, and vocalist Maniac is at the helm, marching his invincible troops through the tundra as tanks score the soil and militant drums are triggered by his commands. This is Mayhem how you've never heard them before, beyond arrogance and self-belief, beyond supremacy, beyond black metal with complex, creeping, ominous, potent injections of quality metal that at times defy genre, although possibly belong to the warped sections roamed by Celtic Frost, Coroner, at times Kreator, and other European gods of metal.
Lyrically, 'Grand...' distances itself and alienates, a spiky, rock 'n' roll armageddon is upon us, Mayhem lead us beyond light and dark, Blasphemer and Hellhammer produce musicianship of self-pride but also self-indulgent genius, defying the grimness that once walked before to stir new lands and lost horizons to claim as their own. There is an air of discordance, in turn triggering highly complex arrangements, but forget the raw and primal satanica and simply become overwhelmed by the striding, hateful 'View From Nihil' that preaches to the perverted before rushing into something resembling the jerky thrash notions of Atheist and so many other incomprehensible thrash acts, Maniac finally dropping into rasping evil, but actually appearing more threatening as marauding commander. Disturbing stuff, mind-blowing in its velocity, and bemusing in its confidence and ability to dazzle yet create something so refreshing yet remote. how the band has managed to incorporate cyber-effects into their at times industrial whisperings can only be commended, but this tricky network of exaggerations, complications and emotion is way beyond anything the genre of black metal will ever equal, and as a heavy metal record, it stands alone, like some sharp-edged monolith blocking out the sun.
8.5/10
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