10 Most Overrated Metal Albums Of The 90s

Any metalheads whose ever been prejudged as ultra-violent, Satanic or antisocial probably won't be too appreciative of seminal Norwegian black metal anti-heros Mayhem.

The band have curated an aura that has vastly superseded any of their contemporaries, with a lore including attempting to profit from a suicide, human bone distribution, bandmate-on-bandmate murder, church arson, homophobia, racism, and live performances etched with animal gore and self-mutilation. Most of which happened before the release of this, their debut album.

Featuring instrumentation from deceased guitarist Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth and murderer/bandmate Varg "Count Grishnackh" Vikernes, the album would likely be considered a footnote in black metal's history, were it not for the happenings outside the music. Drummer Hellhammer largely has one idea throughout the album, Euronymous admittedly has two: a high-pitched tremolo-picked riff and a low-pitched tremolo-picked riff, and vocalist Attila Csihar sounds like he's been interrupted whilst gargling mouthwash.

Raw black metal is a 'love it or leave it' scene to begin with, but considering around this time, we had 'Transilvanian Hunger' by Darkthrone, 'Pure Holocaust' by Immortal, and Satyricon's 'The Shadowthrone' all with a production quality of an all-coffee bag of Revels.

Still showcasing some musical creativity, Mayhem should probably consider entering politics with this level of bait and switch.