ＴＨＥ• ＷＥＬＬＳ • ＰＥＲＳＰＥＣＴＩＶＥ
• 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗢𝗻 𝗔𝗹𝗯𝘂𝗺𝘀 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗠𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 •
𝙱𝚢 𝙴.𝙽. 𝚆𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚜 — 𝙳𝚎𝚌𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟷2, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟹.
Mayhem released their live album “Mediolanum Capta Est” on December 7, 1999 in the United States via Dwell Records (released in Italy on June 6, 1999 via Avantegarde Music).
The initial limited version was packaged in a special jewelcase with a silvered-embossed Mayhem logo on the front, although its limitation is unknown. The albums front cover photo is courtesy of Ablaze Magazine, Germany.
(𝙿𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚖𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚓𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚕𝚌𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚊 𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍-𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚘𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝙼𝚊𝚢𝚑𝚎𝚖 𝚕𝚘𝚐𝚘 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚝 𝚟𝚒𝚊 𝙰𝚟𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚐𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚎 𝚁𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜)
Before we get into my thoughts on this album, let’s take an inside look at its background. “Mediolanum Capta Est” was recorded at the Rainbow Club in Milan, Italy on November 2, 1998 and was recorded by Greylife Mobile Recordings and was mastered at Strype Audio in Oslo by Jørn Stubberud (Necrobutcher) and Tom Kvålsvoll. The show also features a guest appearance by now-current Mayhem vocalist Attila Csihar on the track “From the Dark Past”. With a crystal clear sound & the noticeably stunning drum work of Jan Axel Blomberg (also former session/touring drummer for Dimmu Borgir), the band themselves considered this worthy of being labelled an official release.
Now, on with my useless banter…
“Mediolanum Capta Est” is very similar to the bands effort “Live in Leipzig”, in that it includes much of the same material. At the time of the show, Mayhem were still storming through classics from “Deathcrush” & “De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas”, along with a handful of post-Øystein Aarseth (Euronymous) compositions featured on “Wolf's Lair Abyss”. What is significantly different on “Mediolanum Capta Est” is the lineup change; this performance features original Mayhem vocalist Sven-Erik Kristiansen (Maniac), with current band members Jan Axel Blomberg (Hellhammer) on drums & Jørn Stubberud (Necrobutcher) on bass, plus former member Rune Eriksen (Blasphemer) on guitar.
Comparatively, “Mediolanum Capta Est” is not as raw as “Live in Leipzig” or its unofficial counterpart “The Dawn of the Black Hearts”, but the recording contains a more balanced mix (as noted earlier). And, while I loved Per Yngve Ohlin (Dead) and his theatrics, Maniac displays a more menacing presence, with an even more sinister vocal delivery. So, for those reasons, “Mediolanum Capta Est” ranks just a tad higher for me than “Live in Leipzig” — E.N. Wells
Trivia: The albums title (translated from Latin) means "Milan has been captured", but the correct form of the Latin phrase is "Mediolanum captum est", since "Mediolanum" is neuter and not feminine.
The original recording also included "Funeral Fog" as the last track with Attila Csihar as guest vocalist.
#TheTrueMayhem #MediolanumCaptaEst #albumanniversary #metalmusic #MetalDoesntSuck #intothewells #OnThisDay #Thisweekinrockandmetal #historyofrockandroll
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