Mayhem kept on going however, not really giving a fuck about what others think (which is one of the bands best qualities). They recruited a real vocalist into the band. Sven Erik Kristiansen (Maniac) was given the vocal duties. In 1987 the group recorded the "Deathcrush" demo. The demo was released under Euronymous' own label Deathlike Silence Productions in 1000 copies. The band then played various gigs and the demo sold out rather quickly. The Deathcrush demo was re-released in 1993 on the DSP label.
A short time after the Deathcrush release, Maniac and Manheim left the band. A new voaclist Dead, and a new drummer Jan Axel Von Blomberg (The Legendary Hellhammer) were brought into the band. Shortly after this induction new material began to emerge from the new lineup. Two studio recordings were made for compilation CD's, the only two studio recordings with Dead on vocals, they were Carnage, and The Freezing Moon. After that the band recorded the "Live In Leipzig" live CD, this featured Dead, Necrobutcher, Euronymous, and Hellhammer. The CD would be the last appearance of Dead, as he took his own life. It was said that he was fed up with the scene, and people polluting the Black Metal Scene as his reason for killing himself. Soon after the suicide of Dead, Necrobutcher left the band. He was friends with Dead, and was sick of the life and wanted a real job.
This left Euronymous and Hellhammer with an albums worth of material and no bassist or vocalist. Euronymous recruited Varg Vikerenes (Count Grishnack) on the Bass. Atilla was brought in as a session vocalist fro the recording of the debut full length studio album "De Mysteriis Dom Santhanas". The album was completed, and the tension between Grishnack and Euronymous began to grow. I am no tgoing to go into all of that here, but you can read it HERE. It ended up with Euronymous being Stabbed by the Count, with the session guitarist Blackthorne as an accompliss to the murder. Hellhammer re-recorded the Bass tracks for De Mysteriis, and it was released in 1993, as to have been thought the last requiem of Mayhem
Mayhem was silecned for several years. The band may have silenced, but the music and the spirit nevr did. Lots of Mayhem bootlegs were released, people wouldn't let it go. It must have been something to do with this, that caused Hellhammer to reform the band in 1994. They are now back and in my comparison far better than they ever were. Hellhammer looked up Maniac and Necrobutcher asked them if they were interested. Necrobutcher new a guy called Rune Erickson (Blasphemer) that he thought would work nicely on guitar. They all agreed to give it a shot, but if the vibe was not there that wuold be it. Turns out that the vibe was there in a big way. They all clicked. Now they are back with a new MCD entitled "Wolf's Lair Abyss". It is four new tracks that demolish anything ever recorded. They have played several shows, including a small tour in the US and Mexico.
May 16th, 2000 brought the release of A Grand Declaration of War, Mayhem's first Full length since De Mysteriis in 1993. The album takes Black metal to new and unexplored realms, Mayhem refuses to follow, instead they set the path for others. The band tours the US in summer of 2000.