De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas

De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas is a studio album by the Norwegian black metal band Mayhem. Songwriting began as early as 1990, but due to the suicide of vocalist Dead and murder of guitarist Euronymous, the album’s release was delayed until May 1994.
The album is widely acclaimed as one of the masterpieces of the black metal genre, and its bleak aesthetics and lyrics have often been cited as an inspiration by other black metal groups. As most of these songs predate the recording of album by a few years, they contain lyrics written by previous member Dead and were performed live with him before his suicide. There are also a number of rehearsal recordings featuring versions of these songs, although many of them are significantly different from the versions found on this album.

The title De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas is a Latin phrase which Euronymous misunderstood as Lord Satan’s Secret Rites. However, the phrase translates more literally as Of Lord Satan’s Mysteries. The album cover shows the east side of Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, Norway.

The album featured an all-star lineup, with Euronymous on guitars, Varg Vikernes of Burzum on bass, Hellhammer on drums and Tormentor vocalist Attila Csihar on vocals. Attila Csihar is the only member in Mayhem’s history who is of non-Scandinavian origin, and he was greatly admired by Euronymous for his work in Tormentor. Although he is not listed in the album credits, Snorre Ruch of Thorns assisted Euronymous with the guitar parts.