The touring announcements for the upcoming 2017 year have started to manifest and I’m going to do my best to keep you informed about the most crushing ones of the batch. The winter months of January and February are going to get much, much colder thanks to the True Mayhem who will be trekking here in honor of their Black Metal masterpiece “De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas”. Read the full press release below and then I’ll close up with some more thoughts.

The Press Release:
MAYHEM announce “De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas” North American Tour. MAYHEM, metal’s most controversial band, have announced a new North American tour. The black metal pioneers are set to embark on the “De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas” tour, performing the band’s landmark debut album in full. The tour begins on Jan 20 in Montreal, and travels throughout the US and Canada before concluding on February 19. Support on this tour comes from Season of Mist label-mates INQUISITION and BLACK ANVIL. A full list of confirmed tour dates can be found below.

Regarding the tour, MAYHEM vocalist Attila comments, “The first time I heard from Mayhem was in ’91-’92 when I received a letter from Euronymous. I did not know that letter was gonna change my whole life… They were looking for a new vocalist for their debut record to replace Dead, who had passed away. Of course I said yes to their offer and in 1993 we recorded the album called ‘De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas’ one of the most magical recordings of all time. The music opened some altered dimensions that we were simply not able to handle anymore and it unleashed a complete Chaos, which ended up at burning churches and eventually a murder within the band. It was almost impossible to release that record but finally when it came out under the Sun in ’94, it made a strong impact on the whole Heavy Metal scene… The so-called “2nd Wave of Black Metal” born in the cold and dark underground of Oslo. At the same time Mayhem collapsed and got burned down as well. From those ashes the band had to rise once again, when they reunited Mayhem with some old and new members. But that album was always so strong and so unique that even after my reunion with Mayhem in 2004, we were still not comfortable to present it live as a whole thing. Time passed and the whole band got stronger and more experienced. So now in 2016 suddenly we felt it was the time to play that whole record finally, to release That Beast after more than two decades. So ‘De Mysteriis Dom Sathans’ finally becomes Alive!”

MAYHEM previously released critically-acclaimed new album, ‘Esoteric Warfare’. ‘Esoteric Warfare’ has been called “an adventurous and energetic record built on stylistic explorations and enthusiastic shifts” (Pitchfork), “a magnificent black metal album” (Metal Injection), and “a fantastic display of progressive black metal” (Sputnik Music), and is streaming here. ‘Esoteric Warfare’ is available as a CD, Limited Edition box set, and various Lp formats here. The cover and track list can be found below.
MAYHEM is available for interviews upon request. To speak with the band, please contact Enrique Sagarnaga via email or phone (215-625-8400). Updated MAYHEM news and tour information will be made available through the Season of Mist website, and the MAYHEM Facebook page.

The Tour Dates:
Jan. 20: Montreal, QC @ Club Soda
Jan. 21: Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Theater (tickets)
Jan. 22: Cleveland, OH @ Agora Ballroom (tickets)
Jan. 23: Chicago, [email protected] Metro (tickets)
Jan. 24: Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall Ballroom (tickets)
Jan. 25: Minneapolis, MN @ Mill City Nights (tickets)
Jan. 27: Denver, CO @ Gothic Theater
Jan. 28: Sat Lake City, UT @ The Complex (tickets)
Jan. 30: Calgary, AB @ Marquee (tickets)
Jan. 31: Edmonton, AB @Starlite Room (tickets)
Feb. 2: Seattle, [email protected] El Corazon
Feb. 3: Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw (tickets)
Feb. 4: Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theater
Feb. 6: San Francisco, [email protected] Social Hall SF
Feb. 7: Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory (tickets)
Feb. 8: Phoenix, AZ @ Club Red (tickets)
Feb. 10: San Antonio, TX @Alamo Music Hall (tickets)
Feb. 11: Dallas, TX @ Trees
Feb. 13: Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
Feb. 14: Wilmington, NC @ Thorne Theater (tickets)
Feb. 15: Washington, DC @ The Howard Theater (tickets)
Feb. 16: Philadelphia, PA @ Theater of the Living Arts (tickets)
Feb. 17: Poughkeepsie, NY @ The Chance Theater (tickets)
Feb. 18: Boston, MA @ Royale
Feb. 19: New York, NY @ Gramercy Theater

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PiercingMetal Thoughts: Way back when this historic slab of Metal was released I was in no way supporting any Black Metal sounds but that has changed over the years and especially with my doing the music scribe stuff. Now there is a lot of it that I recognize as important and this piece of music was ground-breaking for the genre and the band that sired it. Their own history is as chaotic as the sounds that would come out of their creative minds and to find Mayhem playing this album in full along with other selections is going to be one hell of a start to the new year. The support acts of Inquisition and Black Anvil are fine choices as well so make sure you arrive early if you plan on attending the show nearest you. So let me know what you think of this tour in the comments section below. See you next time.

Official Websites:
Mayhem – https://www.thetruemayhem.com/
Inquisition – https://inquisitionbm.bandcamp.com/
Black Anvil – https://www.facebook.com/BlackAnvil/