Mayhem to tour with Ludicra, Tombs, Krallice
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| Photo by Askar Ibragimov Text by Cosmo Lee |
Mayhem will tour the US this spring, with support from Ludicra, Tombs, and Krallice.
No official announcement has been made yet. But the Internet has been batting this ball around, so I figured I’d give it a good whack.
“Mayhem” is still the most loaded word in black metal. No one would make black metal documentaries if it weren’t for Mayhem. I find it sad that people still fixate on events from so long ago, which paled in scope next to truly newsworthy things like wars and natural disasters. For black metal to grow up, it must leave teenage work behind.
Key to the Storms (from Ordo Ad Chao)
I find later Mayhem more interesting — the inconsistent albums, the return of vocalist Attila Csihar, the fantastic Ordo Ad Chao
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Curiously, none of the support bands on this upcoming tour are black metal. They’re black metal-influenced, but they’ve branched out and found their own sounds. Selecting them is a gesture by Mayhem of passing on the torch.
The contrast is not just sonic, but also visual. Mayhem are heavily theatrical, especially vocalist Attila Csihar, who is known for his wide range of costumes. The support bands are average Joes and Janes who wear t-shirts and jeans onstage. I asked Ludicra drummer Aesop Dekker what he thought about Csihar. He said,
“Well, he’s like a diva. He’s like a showman. I have the utmost respect for that. Mayhem — they have this huge history, this huge legend behind them. As much as they’re obligated to do it, I think they love it. It befits what they do. That’s going to be a really strange juxtaposition when you think about the bands that are going on that tour. It’s going to be these very modest and plain-looking folks playing metal. Which is cool, because [Mayhem] are the draw. They’re the show. They have this rich history. I can honestly say that if it wasn’t for Mayhem, there’d be no Ludicra.“
One date is confirmed so far — Seattle on April 21.
