Pioneers of Norwegian black metal from 1984 onwards, Mayhem's existence has been
marked by several tragedies (Dead's suicide, Euronymous's assassination) and
they released a black metal reference with De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas in 1994.
Subject to frequent changes, Mayhem only returned to a normal career with Grand
Declaration of War in 2000. Chimera (2004) and Ordo ad Chaos (2007) show that
the band led by bassist Necrobutcher has regained its place among the tenors of
the genre. The band released Esoteric Warfare in June 2014.