Mayhem, the Norwegian pioneers responsible for invigorating a global scene alongside originators such as Venom, Celtic Frost & Bathory, formed in 1984, and with a long history of tragedy, intrigue and infamy have become truly revered legends of black metal, with a large part of their legacy established in the late 80’s & early 90’s, notably when guitarist Euronymous and bassist Necrobutcher welcomed Hellhammer on drums and Dead on vocals, to help shape a new and inspired era of darkness.
Preceding this more notorious period, Mayhem ’s formative years were spent honing a selection of tracks of pure brutality, eventually leading to 1987’s iconic Deathcrush EP release - considered the launching point for the band onto the global map. Prior to this though, came 1986’s Pure Fucking Armageddon demo, featuring the trio of Manheim, Necrobutcher and Euronymous.
Command For Blood, Command For War initially included in the recent Pure Fucking Armageddon vinyl boxset, contains two early Mayhem rehearsals from Neccrobutcher’s own archive in all of their raw glory from back in 1986, recorded on the lead up to the eventual Pure Fucking Armageddon demo sessions.
The release features early versions of tracks which would remain a staple of Mayhem’s live set throughout the years, such as "Pure Fucking Armageddon" itself, and "Carnage". The title also includes cover songs of tracks originally written and performed by genre godfathers, Venom.
Disc 1 - Pure Fucking Armageddon - Rehearsal Session A
1. Ghoul 03:44
2. Ghoul 03:56
3. Ghoul 02:03
4. Intro 07:56
5. Carnage 02:19
6. Black Metal (Venom cover) 02:56
7. Pure Fucking Armageddon 03:02
8. Oi 03:18
9. Witching Hour (Venom cover) 02:11
10. Carnage 01:20
11. Carnage 02:54
12. Carnage 05:10
13. Intro 02:38
14. Outro 02:28
Disc 2 - Pure Fucking Armageddon - Rehearsal Session B
1. Ghoul 03:45
2. Ghoul 02:01
3. Ghoul 03:53
4. Pure Fucking Armageddon 01:54
5. Pure Fucking Armageddon 03:41
6. Black Metal (Venom cover) 02:24
7. Carnage 03:12
8. Carnage 02:40
9. Carnage 04:25
10. Ghoul 02:04
11. Black Metal (Venom cover) 02:17
12. Pure Fucking Armageddon 03:31
13. Black Metal (Venom cover) 02:49
14. Black Metal (Venom cover) 03:06
The longest-running heavy metal tour in North America returns with its boldest lineup ever this year. The Decibel Magazine Tour resumes this spring with Norwegian black metal godfathers, Mayhem, headlining Decibel's 12th continental expedition of the extreme.
Tour support comes from countrymate and dungeon synth progenitor Mortiis, New York City cinematic death metal chaos wielders Imperial Triumphant and San Diego death rock night-bringers New Skeletal Faces.
"Following the success of last year's tour with the legendary Cannibal Corpse, we are really looking forward to returning to North America to once again headline the renowned Decibel Tour, also hitting some cities we haven't visited in a very long time," Mayhem says collectively. "We can't wait to kick off the next chapter of Mayhem with our North American fans. See you all soon!"
Presented by Century Media, and sponsored by Peaceville Records, Out of Season, EMG Pickups, Perfect World Productions, and the Requiem Metal Podcast, tickets for the 2025 Decibel Magazine Tour can be found here.