EXCLUSIVE: Black metal band Mayhem discusses the past, present and future

By: Michael Doyle

Mayhem, the legendary and controversial black metal band is wrapping up their Decibel Magazine Tour of 2025.  

Mayhem are celebrating 40 years of darkness, chaos and evil. 

Formed in 1984 in Oslo, Norway, the band’s early career was defined by controversy, including the suicide of vocalist Per Yngve Ohlin (Dead), burning down churches, engaging in political extremism and the murder of guitarist Øystein Aarseth (Euronymous) by former bassist Varg Vikernes (Count Grishnackh). 

Despite the extreme events of their history, their 1994 debut album “De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas” became widely regarded as one of the most influential black metal albums of all time, with Rolling Stone, IGN and Loudwire all acknowledging its importance in metal and making black metal a big export of Norway.  

In an exclusive interview with The Ledger, guitarist Charles Hedger, known to fans as Ghul, discussed the importance of 40 years in the industry, the evolution of black metal, Mayhem’s past and more. 

“If you were a gambling person you definitely wouldn’t have bet on it. It’s been a lot of luck involved and it’s kind of wild that it’s lasted this long. This band is Mayhem by name and by nature… it’s even more insane that we’re all alive,” Hedger said. 

Hedger joined Mayhem in 2012, having previously played in English metal bands such as Cradle of Filth. His previous projects have not had as much influence on his Mayhem work as one would think, as he stated that he must be in a very specific mindset and space to correctly express extreme art. 

These projects are still important to him, as they allow him to exercise his creativity without needing to force them into Mayhem’s music, where they don’t belong. 

Prior to playing in his own band, End of Invention, Charles attended the Guitar Institute in London, a choice driven by his dedication toward becoming a better musician. 

“It actually turned me so off, this kind of bored music. Being technically good for the sake of being technically good, it completely changed my pathway,” Hedger said. “Being there, I realized this is not art. You can understand the language of the art that you’re creating, but at the top of the hierarchy of importance, it’s always the art.” 

One of Mayhem’s notable accomplishments was being inducted into Norway’s Rockheim Hall of Fame in 2021, marking the country’s acknowledgment of the band despite its controversies. While their career has received accolades, awards have never been on the mind of Mayhem. 

“These things matter and they’re fun, but they don’t matter to me as much as just [playing music], to me, the achievement would be to be talking to you again in ten years from a venue and talking about what we’ve done for the 50^th anniversary… that for me would be the only thing I’d really care about in terms of achievements from us,” Hedger said. 

For the band awards are about knowing what to say, having the right friends and representing the right narrative, which is something the band has never tried to do, as Hedger believes awards are meaningless. 

The opportunity for the Norwegian band to travel the world for this long is a rare privilege. Hedger has spoken of his unique opportunities to connect with people around the world. 

“You go around the world and meet people from different levels of wealth and development, the art really is kind of a great unifier. That’s a really beautiful thing, it’s a very powerful thing, it’s also really fascinating to just see so many different versions of humanity,” Hedger said. 

The Decibel Magazine Tour saw Mayhem headline with support from dungeon synth artist Mortiis, avant-garde metal band Imperial Triumphant and death rock band New Skeletal Faces. The tour combines multiple generations of artists with multiple generations of fans, an important accomplishment for the band. 

Hedger had high praise for the other bands participating in the tour, noting that they have all gotten along and have been working cohesively as they travel across North America. 

“Every time we come through there’s another generation [of fans], it means we’re still doing something that speaks to people and that’s the whole point, to get new fans after so long. It’s very rewarding and tells us we’re doing something right,” Hedger said. 

Throughout their history, Mayhem have cemented their legacy as one of the most influential and integral bands to black metal through their innovation and raw energy. The genre has grown since “De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas” and even since Hedger’s inclusion into the band, with bands like Dissection and Sacramentum taking influence from them. 

“I suppose black metal has kind of grown sideways, which is a good thing, it’s developed outwardly into a bunch of different things, a bunch of different cultures have taken it on and applied different perspectives on it,” Hedger said. “When you have a genre, there’s a lifestyle, and it’s extremely difficult for anyone to really do much with this genre that’s original. I think maybe it’s time for a new genre to come about, I don’t know what that’ll be, that’ll require someone more forward thinking and clever than me.” 

Church burnings, violence and extremist political and religious views were all aspects of the black metal that Mayhem helped promote, creating connotations with metal that are still reciprocated today. The controversies are an important part of the art, according to Hedger. 

“I suppose my major fear for this kind of music is that it becomes too accessible and people try to sanitize and corporatize it, it’s already happening and that’s a really bad idea because yeah, there’s a bunch of sketchy people involved, there’s no secret there, but the problem is it’s an extreme kind of art and if you try to sanitize extreme art, yeah you might remove some of the negative elements of it but then you remove the core of what it is which is extremity.” 

In a genre of extreme art, extreme people and extreme controversies, Hedger suggests that people “vote with their wallets” rather than attempting to cancel it, censor art or tell people what they can and cannot like. Mayhem’s controversial past still warps the perception of the band from outsiders, something he claims he is tired of. 

“We’re talking about a bunch of kids in the late 80s and early 90s doing a bunch of stupid shit, everyone did stupid shit when they were younger. Not everyone stabbed someone or burned down religious buildings but the point is, people evolve and people change. This stuff is an integral part of what the band is and the mystique around the band, but it’s the past. No one in the band is stupid enough to do or even think of that stuff. We’re pretty straightforward people with very open mindsets, all the stuff that’s been said and done in the past is just that, the past,” Hedger said. 

Mayhem’s Decibel Magazine Tour comes after the 25th and 30th anniversary tours, but the band is already looking forward to a 50th anniversary tour in a decade. 

“I hope so, it’s impossible to say obviously but I hope so, that in the next 10 years we do stuff worth celebrating,” Hedger said, with a hint of optimism. “The moment we realize we’re not doing it for the right reasons anymore would be the time to stop.” 

The band has undergone many lineup changes throughout their history, with bassist Necrobutcher being the only founding member remaining. The more controversial members of the band, Dead, Euronymous and Count Grishnackh, were all out of the band by 1994 following the suicides of both Dead and Euronymous. 

“Everyone should be allowed to make mistakes and evolve. If you’ve done something, you have to own it and you have to accept it as part of who you are and what led you to where you are now,” Hedger said. 

Mayhem’s high-octane energy continued in their performance at Tacoma’s Temple Theatre on April 7, as they start the final U.S. leg of the Decibel Magazine Tour. Their near two-hour set length captured various eras of their work, leaving fans anticipating what could be next from the black metal legends. 

Stream Mayhem’s music on all major streaming platforms.