Frankly, there's a reason why Norwegian black metal pioneers
Mayhem
are better known for their often shocking offstage history than for their music. It's hard to compete with tales of murder, cannibalism, and other sordid diversions. And people thought
the Sex Pistols
were shocking! That said,
Chimera
is a far better than average slab of Scandinavian
black metal
that harks back to the band's classic lineup, who are now mostly either dead or in jail. Singer
Maniac
varies the attack of his death growl vocals, varying the pitch between the low-register moan that many lesser bands in the style stick to, unexpected attacks like the falsetto shriek in the verses of the piledriving hardcore opener
"Whore,"
and the almost pagan chanting that overlays the extended coda of
"My Death."
As always, the band plays faster, harder, and louder -- and with a greater attention to sonic detail -- than just about anyone in the style, but the expanded scope and variation of
shows that in the right hands, there's more to this often-maligned music than its detractors give it credit for. ~ Stewart Mason