Mayhem (NOR) - Ordo ad chao (2007)^{Release ID: 522}

I found "Ordo Ad Chao" to be a very frustrating record. On the positive side of things you get the long-awaited return of Attila who brings with him a pure darkness that Maniac was never quite able to match. Plus the band have dropped some of the more technical & progressive aspects of the previous couple of releases in favour of a more stripped back, slower & ultimately far more evil sound. It was clearly the darkest atmosphere Mayhem had produced since "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas". But then on the other hand (intentionally or not) "Ordo Ad Chao" also sports a truly disastrous old-school production which really does prevent me from fully enjoying what was potentially a landmark release for the genre. You can certainly hear the quality of the music but it's all dragged down by the lack of any brightness & definition in the mix. That issue alone ensures that I'm more likely to put on the previous few Mayhem releases before this one which is disappointing as I can hear so much promise in it. If nothing else "Ordo Ad Chao" hints that Mayhem may still have some epic releases in them yet.