Review Summary: Mayhem's experiment goes awry.
To be quite honest, I find this album to be the nadir of Mayhem's discography. There are several main reasons why. It's inconsistant, it tries far too hard to be 'avante-garde' and it has a nasty habit of building up tension and never letting it go. There are also some pointless tracks that make you roll your eyes once you realize just who they're trying to rip off, and a lot of vocal moments that make me want to kick Maniac in the nuts. Mayhem are one of my all time favourite bands, but even I cannot let up on this oddball in their discography.
Production wise, it's pretty much the equivalent of a disinfected and spotless laboratory. All the instruments are cleaned within an inch of their lives, the drums are almost triggered to As I Lay Dying's level, the guitars are hollow, dry and spotless, and the bass is settled neatly and quietly somewhere in the mix. On one hand, the production fits the subject matter of the album- a post-apocalyptic machine dominated with no hope in sight for humanity, but on the other hand, the sterile clicking of the bass drums and the buzzing synth-like guitars detract from the aggressive nature of the band. DMDS had the cavern-like sort of feel to give it a kind of primal aggression, Ordo Ad Chao had the claustrophobic and dank production, and Chimera had the meatiness. The production on GDOW is kind of like castrating the band in a way, since Mayhem's 'essence' relies mainly on repetitive aggression held up by a 'nasty' sort of vibe partially provided by the varying atmospheric productions. This album has none, and it would have been to the band's benefit if they allowed the noisy buzz back present in Wolf's Lair Abyss back into the mix, as it would have provided the PROPER mechanical feel that they so coveted on this release.
In terms of instrumentation, the band's as competent as ever. Necrobutcher's somewhere in the backround chugging out basslines no one can hear, Hellhammer blasts away like the beast he is, and Blasphemer plays souless and technical riffs that almost bring to mind a Dillinger Escape Plan gone Satanic. Maniac belts out his 'raped cat' scream from the middle of his throat and does A LOT of spoken word vocals. He flunks most of the before mentioned parts though, as he does not take the time to pronounce and FEEL the words. He rushes through his lines like a man holding in a piss and subsequently sounds like Roger from 101 Dalmatians trying to freestyle rap.
Songwriting is really what sends this album down the ***ter. The opener, although it is quite repetitive, gives great promises, and admirably builds up a belligerent attitude that causes the listener to expect a furious assault upon the senses after the track closes. Unfortunately, this is not the case, as all of the songs that follow are awkwardly paced, randomly constructed for the sake of randomness, and possessing disjointed riffs that sound like they did a collaboration with Converge. The actual 'songs' are militaristic and aggressive in places, and Maniac occasionally does his clean vocals like a raving dictator, but like I said, they are unorganized and messy for the sake of being messy, something that's veering dangerously close to hipsterdom. Bloodswords and a Colder Sun is a bit of a 'What the where they thinking' moment, as it gives the impression of Maniac dancing in front of a mirror ala Buffalo Bill to watered down industrial/techno. It's an admirable exercise in boldness, but electronica is DEFINITELY not for Mayhem. Also present are tracks of silence that supposedly serve as moments to make the surrounding ambient noises the 'music'. It's a blatant and rather pathetic rip off of John Cage's works, and takes up valuable space on my Ipod. The nine minute dragger Completion in the Science of Agony Part 1 is rather atmospheric and creepy, but it simply drags itself along with no momentum and no compositional value.
In closing, approach this album with caution. Some hipsters might find it 'ZOMG SO DEEP AND CONCEPTUAL!!' But the rest of us know that this is when Mayhem slipped. For a hardcore Mayhem fan, this is good for an occasional listen, if not only for the tracks Crystallized Pain in Deconstruction and Grand Declaration of War, but other than that, it is wise to view this as the sore thumb in Mayhem's discography.
