REVIEW: Mayhem, Mortiis, Imperial Triumphant, New Skeletal Faces at Irving Plaza | 03.24.2025
Norwegian back metal pioneers Mayhem are celebrating 40 years as a band, and the 2025 edition of Decibel Magazine's annual megalineup tour is playing host to the band's celebratory tour. Joining them are fellow Norwegians Mortiis, as well as Imperial Triumphant and New Skeletal Faces.
NEW SKELETAL FACES
Death rockers New Skeletal Faces kicked off the evening and delivered a set filled with post-punk aggression. Their performance included a number of tracks from their sophomore album; Until The Night, which was released at the tail end of last year. The album showcases the band’s ability to tap into genres across the rock and metal spectrum to draw influence and combine the resulting elements into something new.
IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT
Always mesmerizing was the ever-mysterious Imperial Triumphant; their mystery shrouded only in the gold masks that hid their faces while the strength of their musicality left nothing to question. The band's avant garde style is chaos with precision that never ceases to blow my mind every time I have the pleasure of seeing them perform. The band's new album, Goldstar, was released just a little over week ago and it’s a fantastic listen from start to finish.
MORTIIS
The musical frenzy whipped up by Imperial Triumphant gave way to a trance-inducing set from Mortiis. Epic and adventurous synths combined with timpani mallets driven on floor toms with passion and intensity created a sonically cerebral journey for the audience. Frontman Håvard Ellefsen threw up horns of appreciation in between songs to thank the crowd for their focused attention as fans enjoyed a moment of meditative stillness in preparation for the mayhem (pun-intended) that was to come.
MAYHEM
From the moment the set change began to the moments before Mayhem took the stage, a soundtrack of foreboding ambience played throughout the house. The audio added a sonic layer to the brewing anticipation of witnessing a performance by such a legendary band. I for one was on the edge of my metaphorical seat.
Mayhem’s performance offered a reverse chronological dive into the band’s discography. Opening with “Malum” from their most recent 2019 album, Daemon, Mayhem took the audience album by album back to where it all began. The crowd greeted every song with excitement and a wave of crowd surfers no matter the presented era.
The chill-inducing first notes of “Freezing Moon” signaled the De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas portion of the evening, an album considered to be one of the most influential black records of all time. It was a special moment to witness the band’s black-robe-clad performance of songs from the release. In memoriam acknowledgements graced a screen behind the band alongside video footage to pay tribute to Euronymous and Dead, the latter’s vocal track being featured on a live instrumental performance of “Funeral Fog.”
The set concluded with a visit to the band’s earliest material, including their classic “Pure Fucking Armageddon” which closed out the show in perfect fashion.
The Decibel Magazine Tour will continue through April and wrap in Austin, TX on April 17th. You can check out and buy tickets for the full list of remaining dates here.