Liturgy of Death is the seventh full-length album from Mayhem, one of Norway's pioneering black metal bands and one that helped set the standards in terms of violent history, sprawling discography and dedication to finding them assaulting the limits of extreme metal. In the press release for this album, the band is quoted as saying they are operating "as a machine," and that truth is borne out in exemplary performances and solid songwriting. This might be Mayhem's most orthodox black metal album in a long time, with savage tremolo picking, machine gun drumming and a variety of haunting, rasping, growling vocals. Mayhem has a willingness to explore slow and dark side streets within their songs that is often absent on many of today's black metal releases and, when Atilla Csihar breaks out his cold, clear and soul-chilling shouts, it sends shivers down your spine. The production is excellent, allowing all the instruments to be heard yet preserving the unholy atmosphere and not polishing it out of existence. Liturgy of Death is a statement that Mayhem remains black metal to the collective bottom of their dark and evil hearts and continues to define the genre since being spewed from hell back in the '80s.