Review by Vinny for Mayhem (NOR) - Grand Declaration of War (2000)

I was looking at this album on the site to see that I had given it an unkind two-and-a-half stars, which seemed harsh even by my sometimes-grumpy standards. So, I did the sensible thing, got in front of my PC, loaded it up, got the album in front of me and…was soon faced with why I gave A Grand Declaration of War such a grand declaration of dissatisfaction. Now, early caveat incoming. I have no issue with albums building or adding a sense of drama to proceedings. It is a read that Mayhem have certainly earned the right to do whatever the fuck they like with a genre of music they had a massive part in creating. However, AGDoW feels so overindulgent that is an absolute cringefest as far as I am concerned.

Divided into three parts (I think), the album lacks flow, consistency or any real sense to my ears. Accepting that this may be part of the aesthetic that Mayhem creates, a confusing and disorienting soundscape is most certainly expected when looking in this kitbag. However, the alienating approach does nothing other than alienate the listener, well, this one at least. As I listen to the middle section of the album now it begins to sound like a poor man’s BAN in their more experimental phase. Add to this the frankly irritating overuse of exuberant spoken word vocals throughout the album and I start to have major problems with this record. Maniac is better than this performance, much better and that is even acknowledging his struggles with alcoholism as perhaps being part of the shambolic performance here, maybe?

When they settle into more traditionally grim vocals and necro-worship, the album seems to take on some semblance of intelligent life. These moments are few and far between though and I find it hard to believe that I am operating entirely outside of some esoteric cult of Mayhem fans who are the select group who understand this record and think it is great. This is a turkey of a record for me. End of.