''Daemon'' is the sixth full-length studio album by

Norwegian black metal Much has been learned about early music in Norway from physical artifacts found during archaeological digs. These include instruments such as the lur. Viking and medieval sagas also describe musical activity, as do the accounts of priests and ...

band

Mayhem Mayhem most commonly refers to: * Mayhem (crime), a type of crime Mayhem may also refer to: People * Monica Mayhem (born 1978), Australian pornographic actress * Jason "Mayhem" Miller, American mixed martial arts fighter * Mayhem Miller (dr ...

. Their

major label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and t ...

debut, it was released by

Century Media Records Century Media Records is a German heavy metal record label with offices in Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom. In August 2015, Century Media was acquired by Sony Music for US$17 million. Background Century Media was founded by R ...

on 25 October 2019 in digital formats while a manufacturing problem delayed the physical release until 8 November 2019.

Background and promotion

The band went into the studio not long after the ''De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas Alive'' anniversary tour in which the band played the iconic debut album in its entirety for various dates around the world. Many critics suggested the tour was highly influential to the sound of ''Daemon'' with many comparing it to that album. The album was also released on the back of the '' Lords of Chaos'' semi- biopic movie, giving the band a boost in popularity and interest. During promotional interviews for the album,

Necrobutcher Jørn Stubberud (born 13 April 1968) is a Norwegian musician best known as the bassist in the black metal band Mayhem under the stage name Necrobutcher. He is one of Mayhem's founding members, along with Euronymous and Manheim. He is the band' ...

claimed he was "On isway to kill

Euronymous Øystein Aarseth (22 March 1968 – 10 August 1993), better known by his stage name Euronymous, was a Norwegian musician and a founder of and central figure in the early Norwegian black metal scene. He was a co-founder and guitarist of the No ...

but Varg beat imto it", and also claimed that the Norwegian Police were aware of Vikernes' plot to kill Euronymous, stating: "But little did I know that the Norwegian police already knew that Count Grishnackh argwas going down also to kill him. Because they bugged his phone, and he actually talked about this killing before he went to Bergen so the cops already knew that he was coming, so they probably were thinking to themselves, ‘We didn’t nail this guy for the church burnings, so let’s nail him for murder, and get rid of this f–king guy in Oslo the same time.’ So that’s basically what happened." The bonus disc for the album features a cover of "Disgusting Semla" from former vocalist

Dead Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sho ...

's pre-Mayhem band

Morbid A disease is a particular abnormal condition that adversely affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism and is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that are asso ...

Reception

''Daemon'' was met with favorable reviews by critics upon release.

Loudersound ''Classic Rock'' is a British magazine and website dedicated to rock music, owned and published by Future. It was launched in October 1998 and is based in London. The magazine publishes 13 editions a year, mainly covering rock bands from the 196 ...

awarded it 4.5 out of 5 and strongly compared it to the band's debut album ''

De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas ''De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas'' is the debut studio album by Norwegian black metal band Mayhem. Songwriting began in 1987, but due to the suicide of vocalist Per "Dead" Ohlin and the murder of guitarist Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth, the album's ...

''.

Metal Storm Metal Storm Limited was a research and development company based in Brisbane, Australia, that specialized in electronically initiated superposed load weapons technology and owned the proprietary rights to the electronic ballistics technology ...

awarded it a 7.8 out of 10 calling it a return to form and "leaving behind the experimental and dissonant sound" of earlier releases.

Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. History ''Consequence of Sound'' was founded in Septem ...

awarded the album an A− calling it a "return to form".

Blabbermouth.net ''Blabbermouth.net'' is a website dedicated to metal and rock news, as well as album and music DVD reviews. It is run by the website's founder Borivoj Krgin. The first version of the website was launched in March 2001. In October 2001, the rec ...

awarded it a 9 out of 10. Sputnikmusic were more critical, awarding it only 3.0 out of 5, stating "''Daemon'' is a solid dose of

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with tr ...

, and not much else".

Track listing

Limited Edition CD bonus tracks Limited Edition Vinyl bonus disc

Personnel

Mayhem *

Attila Attila ( or ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in early 453. He was also the leader of an empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Gepids, among others, in Central Europe, C ...

– vocals *

Ghul In folklore, a ghoul (from , ') is a demon-like being or Monster, monstrous humanoid, often associated with graveyards and the consumption of human flesh. In the legends or tales in which they appear, a ghoul is far more ill-mannered and foul t ...

– guitars *

Hellhammer Hellhammer was a Swiss extreme metal band from Nürensdorf, active from 1982 to 1984. Although the band's sound and style were heavily criticized and poorly reviewed during their active years, they have been widely praised in retrospect and are ...

– drums *

– bass *

Teloch Morten Bergeton Iversen (born 19 November 1974), better known by his stage name Teloch ( ), is a Norwegian musician. He is a guitarist for black metal bands Mayhem and Nidingr, and fronts the eponymous electronic solo project Bergeton. Ivers ...

– guitars Additional personnel * Tore Stjerna – producer, mixing, engineering *

– producer *Marco Salluzzo – co-engineering *Thomas Johansson – mastering *Daniel Valeriani – artworks and layout *Ester Segarra – photos

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2019 albums Mayhem (band) albums