Forty years. It seems like almost a lifetime ago that Norwegian black metal institution Mayhem popped onto the scene, birthing the genre’s raw, frostbitten sound while also becoming the poster boys of the genre’s less-than-wholesome offstage antics (which included arson, suicide, and murder). Yet, against all odds, Mayhem survived. Over the past four decades, they’ve evolved from their primitive origins to a band that is now as professionally-run and business-minded as that tax office down the street from you. Albums like De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas (1994) set the standard for second-wave black metal, while later releases—such as Ordo Ad Chao (2007) and Daemon (2019)—proved they could still summon extremity with a sophisticated layer of technical finesse.

Through countless lineup changes, scandals, and enough controversy to warrant a Hollywood adaptation of their early years (2019’s Lords Of Chaos movie), Mayhem remains the one true example of black metal’s ability to outlive even its most infamous legends. Tonight the band brought a special two-hour, 40th anniversary performance to a packed house in Toronto as part of the Decibel Magazine Tour 2025, which also included Norwegian dungeon-synth goblin Mortiis, avant-garde blackened dissonant jazz trio Imperial Triumphant, and Los Angeles-based death rock trio New Skeletal Faces.

NEW SKELETAL FACES
Having carved a niche in the Southern California music scene by blending elements of gothic rock, punk, and metal, drawing inspiration from bands like Christian Death and Bathory, Los Angeles death rockers New Skeletal Faces certainly managed to perplex some of the early attendees in Toronto. Scanning the room, I saw many looks of confusion and bewilderment, as this is not the band most would expect to open for a band like Mayhem. To their credit, New Skeletal Faces managed to win over the crowd with a performance that was raw, intense, and absolutely electrifying. Their unique blend of death rock, gothic overtones, and post-punk rhythms can induce an almost trance-like state with ease. If I had to sum up what I witnessed from this incredibly talented band, I would compare it to W.A.S.P. meets Christian Death meets The Stooges meets Celtic Frost. A fantastic start to the night!

IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT
Unlike their last visit to Toronto this past May when they opened for Abbath and played only songs from their 2018 album, Vile Luxury, Imperial Triumphant treated tonight’s rabid audience to seven tracks that spanned their entire discography, including one song from their just-released album, Goldstar. Bedecked in their bizarre golden costumes, the guys, as always, were a spectacle to witness. They moved with both grace and violent convulsions. One thing to note: the venue’s sound system really brought out the crushing, down-picked rhythms. When they took this route, it felt as though the whole building might collapse beneath our feet.

Setlist
‘Theme from A Clockwork Orange (song played from tape)’, ‘Lexington Delirium’, ‘Lower World’, ‘Cosmopolis’, ‘Chernobyl Blues’, ‘Black Psychedelia’, ‘Swarming Opulence’, ‘Atomic Age’

MORTIIS

Next up was Mortiis, the former bassist of the legendary Nordic black metal band Emperor, who is now best known for pioneering the dungeon synth genre and later evolving into industrial and electronic rock. Tonight, the goblin-masked one would dedicate the entirety of his set to his early dungeon synth days. For those unfamiliar, this era of Mortiis spans from 1993 to the turn of the century, during which time three full-length albums and numerous EPs were released. Joined onstage by a lone percussionist, Mortiis‘ dark, fantasy-inspired synth-heavy music translated very well in a live setting. Even without vocals, the haunting, medieval-style compositions wove a story of long-lost medieval relics, evoking images of crumbling castles, moonlit forests, and long-forgotten kingdoms. A fantastic set that provided a welcome respite before the calamity that was to follow.

Setlist
‘Født til å herske, Part I’, ‘En mørk horisont pt.2’, ‘A Dark Horizon pt.I’, ‘Født til å herske, Part II’, ‘Visjoner av en Eldgammel Fremtid’, ‘En mørk horisont pt.2’, ‘A Dark Horizon pt.II’, ‘Visions of an Ancient Future pt.I’, ‘A Dark Horizon pt.IV’, ‘A Dark Horizon pt.VI’, ‘Visions of an Ancient Future pt.VII’

MAYHEM
The sons of Northern cacophony, Mayhem, are an incredibly busy band, particularly around festival season, where they can be seen zig-zagging across the globe to bring their particular brand of True Norwegian Black Metal to the masses. We at Allfather-Metal were lucky enough to catch the mighty Mayhem back in August when they performed a special 40th anniversary set as part of the Beyond The Gates Festival in Bergen, Norway. Tonight, the guys were in Toronto to deliver a similar set of 40 years of the Mayhem machine.

The band kicked things off with a big-screen retrospective of their lengthy history, year by gruesome year. This lasted for several minutes, with the last thirty seconds building in intensity until the massive payoff at the end, where the band burst onto stage with thunderous roars from the jam-packed house. Tonight’s set was divided into three chapters, each representing a distinct era of the band. The first chapter showcased eleven songs culled from material released between 1997 and 2024. This included tracks such as ‘Malum’, taken from their 2019 album, Deamon, ‘MILAB’ and ‘Psywar’ from 2014’s incredible Esoteric Warfare, and ‘View From Nihil’ and ‘ Crystalized Pain In Deconstruction’ from 2000’s A Grand Declaration Of War (see full setlist below).

With the contemporary stuff out of the way, Atilla and his henchmen steamrolled their way into the ears of the devout with four tracks from their classic debut album, De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas (released way back in ’94). The last of the four tracks, ‘Funeral Fog’, featured Dead on vocals, played from tape, while Attila took a break to allow fans to fully absorb this truly special moment.

The last of the three chapters featured tracks from 1984 through 1990, which included ‘Deathcrush’, ‘Chainsaw Gutsfuck’, ‘Carnage’ and ‘Pure Fucking Armageddon’ (all taken from their infamous Deathcrush EP released back in ’87). Three tracks were played from tape during this part of the set, which included the instrumental intro ‘Silvester Anfang’, ‘(Weird) Manheim’, and ‘Outro’ (all from Deathcrush). In the end, Mayhem were on stage for a total of two hours… an incredible feat for four out of five guys now in their 50s still playing this kind of music!

Setlist
Chapter 1 (2024-1997): ‘Malum’, ‘Bad Blood’, ‘MILAB’, ‘Psywar’, ‘Illuminate Eliminate’, ‘Chimera’, ‘My Death’, ‘Crystalized Pain In Deconstruction’, ‘View From Nihil’, ‘Ancient Skin’, ‘Symbols Of Bloodswords’, Chapter 2 (De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas): ‘Freezing Moon’, ‘Life Eternal’, ‘De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas’, ‘Funeral Fog (w/out Attila on vocals; Dead’s vocals played on tape)’, Chapter 3 (1990-1984): ‘Silvester Anfang (from tape)’, ‘Deathcrush’, ‘Chainsaw Gutsfuck’, ‘Carnage’, ‘Pure Fucking Armageddon’, ‘(Weird) Manheim (from tape)’, ‘Outro (from tape)’