Ultimate Guitar Interview Mayhem

June 1, 2008 by Scott

Ultimate-Guitar.com recently had the chance to interview Norwegian Black Metal Legends Mayhem. They talk mostly of musical taste and equipment used so don’t expect Satan to come up much or at all in this interview. These are very brief excerpts. Click the link at the bottom to read the entire interview.

UG: Do you feel it is necessary and also important to have a broad taste of various music genres in order to grow as a guitarist?

Blasphemer: I really do believe that is of importance, yes. When I started out it was only metal (of course!) but as I grew, in both age and skills, the wider the influences went. These days I can listen to almost anything, as long as it has this often quoted “quality stamp”. I listen everything from Industrial and militant music of Cold Meat Industry, Renaissance/Medieval tones, Celtic/Folk, 70..s prog through synth goth and devastating Funeral Doom. There are so much interesting vibes and musical colours out there. Grab it and open your mind. Also the more “educated” you are, or more open minded, the more interesting the music you create tends to be as well, at least in these ears.

UG: What tuning are you using for the new album? There are speculations that you tune down to C.

Blasphemer: No, its simply the tone of the world; C. Both for Ava Inferi and Mayhem.

UG: It seemed as if solos were almost forbidden in black metal’s early days, meaning tapping or even certain sweeping techniques. Do you feel that this not only constricts the player but also the music?

Blasphemer: Yeah, I believe so. But then again, its all about the desired atmosphere. I have used a few sweeps in my time, but only for the purpose of the riff. Not to show off.

Read the rest of the interview here: Mayhem: Orchestrated Chaos In Black