Maniac... Sven Erik "Maniac" Kristiansen, not to be confused with Jon "Metalious" Kristiansen, the founder of the legendary zine (before his subsequent arrest in 2019), is perhaps the most famous/infamous vocalist of the legendary black metal band Mayhem. After Dead (Per Ohlin), and before Attila Csihar (the current singer), there was (a) Maniac.
Many black metal fans know that. But what many ignore, is that Maniac's time as a Mayhem vocalist predates both Attila and Dead. You heard that right, Maniac was the first "true" Mayhem vocalist - alongside another legend, Messiah, of the controversial black/grind group Leader.
In a recently released interview with extreme metal author and legend Antoine Grand, for the upcoming black/war metal opus "War Metal Beast", Sven Kristiansen reveals the truth about how Mayhem started... and what the other members of the band thought of Euronymous, who was killed by Varg Vikernes in 1993, and posthumously called the "founder" of the Norwegian black metal scene to some degree of controversy - as there were many other influential artists operating at the time, including the aforementioned Vikernes, but also Fenriz, Hellhammer, Zephyrous, Neraines, Nocturno Culto, Shagrath, etc.
The Full Maniac Interview About Mayhem and Euronymous
Maniac had several stints with Mayhem. The first one is perhaps the less known one, as he only recorded one album - and EP - with the band. But it's the one release that set the rest of Mayhem in motion.
"We recorded Deathcrush in under a week..."
Maniac's first question in the interview is naturally about the recording of the EP Deathcrush. The one "album" that set Mayhem on the map. The vocalist expresses his surprise at how "kvlt" the album, recording under a week's time according to him, became for modern black metal aficionados.
Maniac: Deathcrush was recorded in less than a week, in 1987. [...] Had I known how much they [original copies of Deathcrush EP, tn] would sell for today I'd keep all 50, but unfortunately I've only got one left.
On his musical influences, Maniac mentions a few bands, including Sodom and Helgrind. But rather than be inspired on a "technical level", it was the dark and primitive aura of bands like Helgrind - and Mayhem! - that captured the imagination of the vocalist.
Maniac: Deteriorate, Helgrind and particularly Sodom's first albums were major sources of inspiration for me. On a technical level, much of the music was mediocre, the interplay sucked and it was a wonder that they even managed to end the tunes simultaneously (laughs). But the stuff was grim as hell and I loved it. I learned of Mayhem through one of my buddies who designed the logo that the band is still using. I listened to the first demo, "Pure Fucking Armageddon" and thought that I could do this myself just as well.
This is what had always set Mayhem apart from the other bands, even in the 80s. A strong focus on atmosphere first. This later became the "template" for all worthwhile black metal bands to follow. Mayhem's style has oft been imitated, but never rivaled.
"No other band is worthy of being called Mayhem..."
During Maniac's second stint with Mayhem, the band mysteriously improved their moniker... they were now to be called "The True Mayhem". Now usually, a band self-declaring themselves "true", or using other cringe terminology as "kvlt" to describe themselves, is usually a major red flag - see Immortal's recent name drama, or poser Jon Nödtveidt going all in on the "kvlt" gimmickry before the release of Reinkaos. But Maniac assures us that there were much deeper reasons being the change. He also briefly mentions Transilvanian Hunger (yes, this is the correct spelling), one of his favourite albums along with Burzum.
Maniac: We named our band "The True Mayhem" because there were two other bands that called themselves Mayhem, one in New York and another somewhere else. We felt that none of those bands were worthy of such a name. In the beginning, black-metal was not so much about playing well but more about bringing forth that icy, ugly felling that still characterise bands such as Mayhem, Burzum, and particularly Darkthrone, the latter is one of my absolute favourites. Darkthrone's Transylvanian Hunger album is amazing.
Indeed, Darkthrone and Burzum are two of the other bands - alongside Mayhem - that are often referred to as quintessential for the rise, and propagation, of the black metal genre.
Maniac on Euronymous, Vikernes, and the aftermath...
On Varg Vikernes being imprisoned for the killing of Euronymous in the 1990s, and the church burnings, Maniac says he felt indifferent... Saying he doesn't mind the drama, but wishes the journalists gave a greater deal of attention to the music itself rather than the gossip about who did what, and who was a true "devil worshiper" and other nonsense. Note than Maniac wasn't the active Mayhem vocalist at the time of the killing, it was rather Attila Csihar - who would, like Maniac himsel, eventually rejoin later.
Maniac: I have never cared much about what was happening at the time [of the killing of Euronymous], I even laughed hard when (national daily) VG published tests that presented nervous parents with questions such as "is your child involved in black-metal?" [...] What was taxing was that the music was never mentioned with one word neither in articles nor in interviews. That's the reason why we chose not to speak to the press for many years.
As Metalious himself would later put it: "He [Euronymous] called himself The Godfather, but we called him the Funeral F[*]g" - likely in reference to the legendary opening track of De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, "Funeral Fog".
On Mayhem Live Shows, and the Graphic Onstage Behavior...
When Maniac was still the vocalist for the band, Mayhem concerts were quite controversial indeed. Maniac was famous, or infamous, for assaulting himself, and sometimes other Mayhem members (mostly Blasphemer), with a blade. Blood pouring everywhere, including on the fans (!), which carries some serious risks for the practitioners - hemorrhages, blood loss - and for the audience - blood born pathogen transmission, including the very serious HIV which had become subject of controversy at the time, following Gorgoroth live shows. Maniac blankly states that he stopped with the graphic displays after becoming suspicious of fan behaviour. He said he didn't want Mayhem to turn into a freak show (like nu-metal would become), and took the decision to end the "gore stuff".
Maniac: I didn't give a f[*]ck about what was expected of us. The deepest [****] came at gigs that went down like [****]. I entered a completely different state of mind and I've never felt so alive, electric and high at the same time. All those times I [***] myself it was completely spontaneous. Gradually, the audience started to expect blood dripping gigs, and when we realised that the cutting had become a phenomenon people came to watch I quit doing it.
It's a good thing Mayhem didn't turn into Slipknot 2.0, although bands like Dimmu Borgir and Gorgoroth did try their best to bring "nu-metal" elements (including circus-like theatrical performances) into the Norwegian black metal scene.
"It Was Established That Necrobutcher as extremely violent..."
Maniac says he doesn't believe anything he reads in the media. He also references the infamous incident where Yann "FekalPervertor" Gautier, a member of grindcore/death metal bands Khranial and Necrophobic (ironically), got busted in a Norwegian cemetery wearing Mayhem attire doing the unspeakable. His work visa was revoked, but according to Maniac, the media tried to blame that incident on Mayhem (even though Gautier himself was never part of Mayhem, and none of the other members had even heard about him).
Maniac: I don't believe any of the rumours about black-metal. Already by the time we released [Wolf's Lair Abyss, EP] it was established that Necrobutcher was extremely violently inclined and that I was running all drug operations in Oslo as if I was some kind of kingpin. We were also told that all Norwegian black-metallers lived in caves in the forest! [...] The press has always managed to dig up some old and gross stories. When a deranged guy from some crap band was caught molesting a corpse, the newspapers thought it was a great idea to call us for comments because the guy had been pictured wearing a Mayhem shirt at a party years earlier. That says a thing or two about the level of reporting in Norwegian media.
"In my world, being a groupie is pathetic..."
He also mentions an incident with Fenriz, and an obese Australian woman (suspected of being the then girl friend of war metaller Diocletian, as reported by Morsay himself).
Maniac: Fenriz (Darkthrone) and I used to be caught off guard by those fanatics who would often have their perception of reality distorted. Fans from abroad that would fall on their knees and kiss Fenriz' shoes simply could not understand that we could be sitting there, laughing with beer in hand sans corpse make-up. After all we were Fenriz and Maniac! On another occasion, an Australian woman came back-stage and insisted on [***********], she wanted to absorb my aura and take on the vibes that was supposed to surround me. In my world, being a groupie is just about the most pathetic [thing] there is so I had one of the bouncers throw her out of the venue we were in.
This mirrors the comments made by Fenriz confirming that even Euronymous himself had an issue with "groupies", "trendies" and "posers" in the scene.
Maniac on Goregrind and Country Tunes...
On his career with Mayhem, Maniac says he is "done". At least for now. But he hasn't stopped composing music at all! In fact, he continues to compose for the grindcore/goregrind act Sissourlet, to which he invited Emperor's Faust after the latter's release from prison for homophobic killings, and also hints that he will soon expand his musical horizons.
Speaking about writing grindcore songs for Sissourlet...
Maniac: Since the tunes are so short I've got to write lots of lyrics. But it's fun and definitely something that I'll continue doing. In addition to Heinrich on Guitar and Pete [Blood Tsunami, tn.] on bass we've recruited Bård "Faust" Eithun [Emperor, tn.] on drums, we might be putting out more material that the two EP we've released so far. Apart from that project, Necro [Warkvlt, tn.] and I might get together to play some country tunes.
The interview also briefly covers Maniac's post-Mayhem career, the reasons for his departure (creative dissensions with then guitarist Blasphemer, among others), as well as his conversion to evangelical Christianity at the behest of his wife (Hilma) in 2019.
Interviews with Mayhem members, old or new, are always wonderful in terms of insights into the inner workings of one of black metal's most legendary bands ever. Yes, there are other influential bands... Burzum, Darkthrone, Neraines, Warkvlt, Peste Noire, Marduk... but it's really Mayhem alone that set the entire stage for what was to come. And Maniac was an integral part of making that happen. Wow.
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