Mayhem's early career was marked by controversy, primarily due to their notorious live performances, the 1991 suicide of vocalist Per Yngve Ohlin ("Dead"), and the 1993 murder of guitarist Øystein Aarseth ("Euronymous") by former member Varg Vikernes ("Count Grishnackh") of Burzum.

The group released a demo and an EP that were highly influential, amassing a devoted following through sporadic and notorious live performances while attracting further attention due to their connections with the series of Norwegian church burnings and the incidents of violence surrounding them.

Mayhem temporarily disbanded following Aarseth's murder, shortly before the release of their debut album, De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, which is regarded as a classic of the black metal genre.

Surviving former members Jan Axel Blomberg ("Hellhammer"), Jørn Stubberud ("Necrobutcher"), and Sven Erik Kristiansen ("Maniac") reformed the band in 1995, with Rune Eriksen ("Blasphemer") replacing Aarseth.

Mayhem was founded in 1984[2] by guitarist Øystein Aarseth (initially known as "Destructor",[3] later "Euronymous"), bassist and vocalist Jørn Stubberud ("Necrobutcher"), and drummer Kjetil Manheim.

[5] Once they began to write their own music, their major influences were Venom, Motörhead, Black Sabbath, Slayer, Bathory, Celtic Frost,[6] Sarcófago,[7] Parabellum,[8] Hellhammer, Amebix, GBH, the Exploited, Discharge, the Misfits,[9] Dead Kennedys,[10] Sodom, Destruction,[11] Tormentor,[12] Tangerine Dream, Pink Floyd and Marillion.

After its release, Aarseth and Stubberud, during the studio rehearsals for the first demo, recruited two session members, Eirik Norheim ("Messiah") and Sven Erik Kristiansen ("Maniac"), in 1986 and 1987.

It was later reissued in 1993 by the newly renamed Deathlike Silence Productions in collaboration with Euronymous' Oslo specialist record shop Helvete[14] (Norwegian for "Hell").

From the outset of his career, Dead was known for wearing "corpse paint", involving the application of black and white makeup to achieve a ghastly appearance.

Mayhem bassist Necrobutcher noted that, after living together for a time, Dead and Euronymous "got on each other's nerves a lot" and "weren't really friends at the end.

"[31] In a 2019 interview with Loudwire and Consequence of Sound, Necrobutcher stated he had contemplated killing Euronymous due to his treatment of Dead, but that Vikernes "beat [him] to it."

[32] Dead's suicide and Euronymous's actions following it profoundly affected Necrobutcher, prompting him to leave Mayhem, which reduced the band to two members.

The group rehearsed briefly thereafter with Occultus, who joined with plans to begin recording vocal and bass tracks for Mayhem's debut album, De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas.

In late 1992, recording for Mayhem's upcoming album resumed, leading Aarseth to enlist three additional session musicians: Burzum's Varg Vikernes (stage name "Count Grishnackh"), Thorns' Snorre W. Ruch ("Blackthorn"), who handled bass guitar and rhythm guitar respectively, and vocalist Attila Csihar, of the Hungarian black metal band Tormentor.

Due to complaints from his parents, Euronymous closed his central record shop, Helvete, citing adverse media and police attention as reasons.

In a video interview with Consequence of Sound on 15 October 2019, Necrobutcher discussed his lingering bitterness toward Euronymous after being replaced in the band by Varg Vikernes prior to the recording of De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas.

Its release had been postponed due to objections raised by Euronymous's parents, who protested the inclusion of bass guitar parts performed by Vikernes.

Despite its bootleg status, the album is sometimes considered one of the band's main releases, primarily due to the notoriety surrounding its cover art, which features one of the aforementioned photographs of Dead shortly after he died by suicide.

Despite generating some controversy[39] and skepticism[40] over the decision to reform without founding member Euronymous, the group returned with the 1997 Wolf's Lair Abyss EP.

In this new phase, statements from Hellhammer (who expressed views against race mixing and foreigners in Norway)[41] and the use of Nazi imagery, such as swastika flags in the rehearsal room,[42] the Totenkopf emblem[43][44] and band merchandise featuring the symbol of the military branch of Nasjonal Samling led to controversy and accusations of neo-Nazism.

[citation needed] Additionally, Hellhammer stated that no member of the new line-up identified as a Satanist,[45] and that the "Satanic stuff […] isn't what I feel Mayhem is about today.

Mayhem made headlines in 2003 when fan Per Kristian Hagen suffered a fractured skull after being struck by a severed sheep's head that had been thrown into the audience from the stage.

[47][48][49] The band released Chimera in 2004, marking a return to their initial raw sound while incorporating higher production value and a progressive edge.

[20] Necrobutcher explained that due to this tendency, a violent altercation between the singer and Blasphemer led to the guitarist kicking Maniac down a flight of stairs, resulting in injury.

Ordo ad Chao featured a much rawer sound compared to the band's recent work; the drums were not equalized, and the mix was notably bass-heavy, deviating from black metal conventions.

In several interviews, the two argued that the film presented a one-sided perspective of the story, particularly criticizing its failure to depict the deteriorating relationship between Euronymous and Dead in the year leading up to the latter's suicide in April 1991.

The album is characterized by a return to the more traditional style of black metal reminiscent of De Mysteriis, containing 10 new songs along with two bonus tracks and several covers, including a tribute to Dead's former band Morbid.

A music video for "Falsified and Hated" was released on 7 November and features imagery of what appears to be a shaking tent ritual, including a scene of a heart being cut open.

"[63] Mayhem also announced a 2022 United States tour, titled The Sanguine Sodomy of North America, which began on March 7 with a show in San Francisco, California, and was projected to conclude on April 3 after a performance in Joliet, Illinois.

[64] However, on March 4, Watain announced that they would not be able to participate in the tour due to a United States embassy "decid[ing] to launch an additional, undisclosed 'administrative process' in relation to [their] visa applications.