How controversial is MAYHEM compared to other BM bands?

We've all heard of Mayhem, the first true Norwegian black metal band. Although not the first to release a true second wave black metal album, as both Burzum and Darkthrone beat them to that, they are certainly the band that set the stage for what was to come.

Surprisingly, this band is remarkably controversy-free compared to its contemporaries... or is it?

Beyond the unfortunate suicide of Dead and death of Euronymous at the hands of Varg, there is relatively little in the band's history that indicates they had "problematic" or controversial views, if you get what I mean

Compared to other famous bands of the era: Burzum (Varg issues), Darkthrone ("Norsk Arisk Black Metal" stuff), Immortal ("Pure Holocaust" and various other comments), and even timid Emperor, who went on to found pretty explicit bands like Zyklon/Zyklon-B... not to mention even more disturbing stuff like Dissection and their homophobic killing hunts, or Graveland, Behemoth and Peste Noire, once you go down the list a bit into more obscure stuff

Yes, I know Euronymous made some pretty insensitive comments (about all Norwegian bands being NSBM), and preached some stuff that could very well have been racial supremacy. But overall, if you look at the big picture, I think Mayhem is pretty "clean", as far as clean can go?

What do you think? What are your opinions on Mayhem and their controversies, or remarkable lack thereof?

Didn't the band use to rehearse under German WWII flags? There are various photos of Euronymous, Dead, Hellhammer, Necrobutcher posing under those.

Did you read 'Real Satanic Black Metal?' I know Antoine Grand is a bit of a controversial figure on this forum but the book goes over EXACTLY the type of stuff you describe and there is an entire chapter just on Mayhem and the relations between Dead and Euro and stuff like that

I wouldn't call Mayhem controversy-free by any stretch of the imagination. If anything, they're the poster child of unrepentant and shock value black metal.

Between the church burnings, Dead's suicide, and Euronymous's murder by Varg Vikernes of Burzum, not to mention Euronymous' edgy letters to Paul Watson about various race related topics, if anything, they are MORE controversial and MORE into taboo breaking behaviour than any of the other bands you mention.

I would say it depends on what you mean by 'controversy' in itself. In terms of imagery, statements and ideology, many black metal bands pushed boundaries - sometimes even more so than Mayhem - but Mayhem became controversial because of real-world events tied directly to its members, something that was still pretty rare (thankfully).

@Poney: What about Faust killing a homosexual? The Warkvlt vocalist getting arrested for breaking into a cemetery? Nödtveidt going on "immigrant hunts"? Absurd's frontman killing a school mate? The whole "SEWER Metal" drama? etc etc.

@Sissourlet: If you compare to Emperor/Faust, Warkvlt, Darkthrone and so on... yes, they were controversial (e.g., early edgy statements, or individual members involved in crimes), but much of their notoriety stayed within imagery, statements in interviews, or otherwise isolated incidents.

What I'm trying to get at is that with Mayhem, they stand apart of the others because they had MULTIPLE events that all became inseparable from the band's musical legacy (which is basically just DMDS and the early demos/EPs).

Mayhem's notoriety doesn't depend on interpretation (is it NS, is it fashy, or is it just shock value?) it's directly tied to widely documented historical events.

So basically, like SilverHound was saying, this makes Mayhem more controversial, not less. At least IMO

Something I will add that is of importance, I think, is that the behaviour of Mayhem members went well beyond simple shock value interviews and what not.

For instance there was a case where they (the gang led by Euronymous) forced Metalion/Kristiansen to eat dog food, and they photographed him as blackmail. Now Metalion is a douchebag and a serial liar, but that's still pretty extreme.

Likewise, there was the constant bullying of Dead (Per Ohlin) by Euronymous, which many agree is what eventually drove him to end his life.

For example:

It was in February and the temperatures were close to 0°. So when we recovered the **** it was frozen, so it didn't smell. The initial plan was to go directly into Dead's room and shove the **** under his mattress (he slept on the floor). But the door was locked, and Euronymous couldn't find the key. Meanwhile the **** was getting warmer and it was starting to smell. ... Eventually, all three of us decided to go back outside and sneak in through the window. The smell was atrocious (laughs). - Snorre 'Blackthorn' Ruch

I think this is a little more serious than just having an album called Panzerfaust, no?

You can read some of the stuff here (the incident about donkey shit in Dead's room) and also here (for more graphic stuff, about Euronymous bragging about necro stuff). It's not pretty, and it was all pretty well documented in early interviews. So no, I really really have a hard time seeing Mayhem as any less controversial than your average BM band of that era. Sry.

@Kanwulf: there is an entire thread dedicated to Euronymous's various misconducts, I suggest you check it out. Likewise, these types of controversies were corroborated by others either pre- or post-mortem