We know the Mayhem soap opera by now. The band's albums beyond "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas" are ambitious, but have mostly been overshadowed by the days of the Varg and Dead circus. Chalk up "Grand Declaration of War" as the most underrated album in all the quadrants, methinks, and "Chimera" as rock-hard solid. "Ordo ad Chao," a strange brew of odd rhythms and uncharacteristic black metal structures, sounded welcoming with the return of Attila Csihar, although the record's strange dynamics make it difficult to appreciate. I find myself polarized when listening to it-amazed yet uninterested, beholden but confused. "Esoteric Warfare" has much in common with "Ordo ad Chao" despite having its own code. While somewhat different structurally, Mayhem's ability to create a rift remains its lone truth. The dudes clearly have no interest in rehashing any of their prior works, much to the disappointment of the demo-lauding goons, or settling in to a safe niche."Esoteric Warfare" is in its own little world-one owned by Mayhem, of course. The big elephant in the room is the departure of Blasphemer, who proved to be an integral part in the band's creative avenues during his tenor. "Esoteric Warfare" shows no drastic modification from Blasphemer's exit from the fold, however; little has changed, and it's clear the newcomers are mostly following his work. Mayhem did not abandon the off-kilter chords and straightforward death/black metal riffs on which latter-day Mayhem thrives, although I will note the biggest issue I have with this is the play-it-safe mentality. Yeah, it's Mayhem, and yeah, they're bonkers, but these death/black metal riffs sound like the average squad clocking in at nine and punching out at five. It doesn't help that Hellhammer, a proficient drummer, spends most of the album ticking away on digitized blasts. Odd sections aside, "Esoteric Warfare" is inoffensively monotonous.
It's not as hysterically random and incongruously structured as "Ordo ad Chao," but it has its moments of inharmonious sensations teetering between the remarkable and the ludicrous. Songs not layered in constant grinding happen to make an impressive mark compared to numbers like "Trinity," which end up sounding undistinguished. At least "MILAB" and "Posthuman," the album's longer anthems featuring medial-paced sections, save the record from becoming an intolerable feat, and while I have no quarrel with the blast-laden parts, they are overused ad nauseam. Necrobutcher's bass riffs hold a prominent spot in the chaos, but his interesting parts are mostly covered by the huge production, unfortunately. I guess "Esoteric Warfare" feels like a nexus of the ideas of modern Mayhem carved into stone, be it bedlam or the obscured.
Attila sounds like Attila: he gurgles, spits, laughs, shrieks, pukes, growls, does that weird half-moan narrative thing he does, and so much more. As expected, the best part of the album is his performance; his vocal styles, outstanding as usual, end up intermingling with the musical abstractions absurdly well, together forming a kind of dissonance that makes "Esoteric Warfare" nonfigurative, yet tangible. Chances aren't good critics of his usual recitals won't find themselves getting bugged sh*tless by hearing him croon and wail, but hey, do his eccentricities not parallel the world of "Esoteric Warfare" itself? Who else could come remotely close to enriching this band by fronting it, or even challenge the dominance he presents as Mayhem's vocalist? Not a grenade the run-of-the-mill banshee would jump on.
I know my tone seems to lean more towards the negative side of the spectrum, but that's because "Esoteric Warfare," though somewhat acceptable, is too scatterbrained and comes off sounding aimless. I prefer the parts that break up the wearisome blasting sections-the discordant riff in the middle of "Psywar," the industrial-grade parts of "Corpse of Care," and the mid-paced "MILAB" come to mind. Well, at the end of the day, Mayhem is doing what Mayhem wants to; the ability to polarize is all that remains. Do I like this? I don't know. There is much to like, much to dislike, and much that falls to some unknown destination within the huge, abstruse void of "Esoteric Warfare."