Founded as early as 1984 in Oslo, Norway by the late guitarist Øystein Aarseth aka Euronymous, bassist Jørn "Necrobutcher" Stubberud, and Kjetil "Manheim" Haraldsson on drums, the band took its name from the VENOM song "Mayhem with Mercy". Continuing and renewing the Black Metal style heralded by the latter English trio, MAYHEM soon became the instigators of the so called second wave and were at the heart of every controversy surrounding that genre.
The suicide of misanthropic frontman Per Yngve "Dead" Ohlin, the murder of Euronymous by guest bass player "Count Grishnakh" alias of the notorious Varg Vikernes, church burnings, drugs and prison sentences – MAYHEM were always at the center of the storm. Yet not even death couldn't stop the Norwegians, who released one musical milestone after another....