Pioneering black metal outfit Mayhem‘s “Live In Marseille 2000” album is set to receive a special 25th anniversary edition on June 26th. That live performance will be made available on 2×12″ red and black splatter vinyl, complete with a full color poster and an embroidered patch. You can pre-order that edition now through redirect.season-of-mist.com/mayhemliveinmarseille25. Then guitarist Blasphemer has newly stated of that performance:
“‘Live in Marseille‘ was filmed and recorded during the final performance of our European tour in support of ‘Grand Declaration of War‘ in 2000. It marked out first extensive tour since ‘the return…’, and it proved to be an intense yet highly successful journey”, Mayhem guitarist Blasphemer remembers.
At that time, we were moving toward something distinctly different – what I consider a truly groundbreaking direction, reflective of the shifting landscape of the early 2000s. Whether embraced or challenged, this evolution represented a necessary expansion of our sound, not only for the band but for the genre as a whole.
As a raw, vile, and chaotic as this recording may be, it stands as a crucial and defining chapter in the band’s history and enduring legacy”.
Maniac, their vocalist at the time, offered his own reflections as well:
“‘Live in Marseille‘ was recorded at the end of a long tour. It was a band of worn out rebels hitting the stage in Marseille that evening. Somehow, maybe the loneliness of the long distance runners fused that night into a raging fire and pulled out whatever hidden strength and hatred was left in the combined machinery of Mayhem. We pulled off a great gig, the last stand of a long tour manifested in the rage of a hour-headed beast!”