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Jun 6, 2014After 30 years, Esoteric Warfare is a Mayhem album worth talking about more for its sounds than its associated baggage.
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Jun 6, 2014Mayhem are clearly trying to push the envelope of their metal, but their efforts are rendered vain by the lack of derring-do which has sealed the fate of other fellow second-wave black metallers.
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Jun 6, 2014Despite being derivative, Esoteric Warfare is worthy of praise, because it keeps alive a sound practised by merely a handful of outfits, some of them sadly disbanded.
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Jun 6, 2014Esoteric Warfare won’t be seen as Mayhem’s best album--there was never any chance of that. However, it’s as good as its predecessor, and every bit as vile and crushing as you’d expect.