De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas: why a cathedral on a black metal cover?
No demons, no corpses, no flames. Just a church in purple, floating in the dark under the spiky Mayhem logo. In Norway in the early nineties, that was the most threatening picture of all.
Almost the whole sheet is black. At the top, the white Mayhem logo, all thorns and inverted crosses. At the bottom, a church in purple, its spires cutting up into the dark, and under it the title in scratchy white letters. That is all. For one of the most extreme records of the nineties, it is a strangely quiet picture.
Quiet, but not innocent.
A real cathedral
The building is Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim. At the time, young black metal musicians were burning churches across the country, so putting this one on the cover could easily be read as a threat. During the trial that followed, police said they had found explosives at the home of the band's bassist, and it was alleged that a plan existed to blow up the cathedral around the album's release. He denied it, and nothing ever happened to the building.
Finished by other hands
According to Norway's National Museum, the idea for the cover came from guitarist Øystein Aarseth, known as Euronymous, the band's driving force. His friend Snorre Ruch got hold of a photo of the cathedral and made a drawing based on it.
Aarseth never saw the result. He was murdered in Oslo in August 1993, before the cover was done. Drummer Hellhammer finished it with help from Robin Malmberg of the band Mysticum, who had image editing software. Malmberg widened and reshaped the church, coloured it and put the parts together. So the most famous picture in Norwegian black metal is partly an early computer edit.
A record full of ghosts
De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas was recorded at Grieghallen in Bergen in 1992 and 1993, with Attila Csihar on vocals, and released on 24 May 1994. It carries the last lyrics written by the band's earlier singer Dead, who also came up with the title before his death in 1991, and the last songs Euronymous recorded. The bass was played by the man convicted of his murder. Euronymous's family asked for those parts to be removed. Hellhammer refused and left them in.
Today the sleeve is part of the design collection of Norway's National Museum, on show in a room about designing identities. Not many record covers make that trip.
About the poster
This is the De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas sleeve printed as a large 55 × 75 cm (22 × 30 in) portrait poster, from 2010. It is an original magazine insert, never hung, with no staple holes, folded three times as issued. The sheet is double-sided, with Iron Maiden on the back.
Browse all original Mayhem posters.
Quick answers
What church is on the cover of De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas?
Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, Norway.
Who made the De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas cover?
The idea was Euronymous's. Snorre Ruch drew the cathedral from a photo, and after Euronymous's death Hellhammer finished it with help from Robin Malmberg of Mysticum.
When was De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas released?
On 24 May 1994. It was recorded at Grieghallen in Bergen in 1992 and 1993.
How big is the poster?
55 × 75 cm (about 22 × 30 inches), portrait. It is a separate insert, so it has no staple holes, and it is folded three times as issued.
What is on the other side?
An Iron Maiden poster. The sheet is double-sided, so you choose which side goes on the wall.