Mayhem

Notorious Norwegians Mayhem were one of the driving forces behind the creation of black metal in the early ’90s, but they're better known for controversy than music thanks to their bloody live gigs, their connections to a series of church burnings, and their high death count: vocalist Death committed suicide in 1991, and bassist Varg Vikernes (also of Burzum) fatally stabbed guitarist Euronymous in 1993. The current Mayhem line-up – Necrobutcher, Hellhammer, Attila Csihar and Teloch – is relatively tame, thankfully. They play a rare London gig tonight in support of their new album 'Esoteric Warfare'.