MAYHEM's 'Ordo Ad Chao' Enters Norwegian Chart At No. 12

MAYHEM's latest CD, "Ordo Ad Chao", has entered the Norwegian album chart at position No. 12, the band's highest position ever, reports Norwegian music industry weekly Faro Journalen.

For the Norwegian mainstream music audience, MAYHEM is more commonly associated with church burnings, the murder of frontman Øystein Aarseth and vocalist Dead's suicide than with their musical accomplisments. But with MAYHEM's new album "Ordo Ad Chao", the record buyers seem to have embraced the band's music as well.

"We are very satisfied with the first-week position," says Espen Solheim Røhne at Indie Distribution, which handles MAYHEM's releases in Norway for the band's record label, Season of Mist. "We were hoping to reach the Top 20, so this is kind of like a dream come true for us.

"A few days after release, we got reports from major retailers who said the album was selling really well, but #12 was nevertheless a real surprise," Solheim Røhne says. Indie Distribution's total sales goal in Norway for the album is 5,000.

Morten Lund is the chief music buyer for the leading Norwegian retail chain Platekompaniet. He says it is MAYHEM's hardcore fan base that has helped them achieve such strong first-week sales.

"Over the years, there have been many myths and stories about MAYHEM," Lund tells Faro Journalen.

"'Ordo Ad Chao' sold well in all our stores, especially in Trondheim.

"What seperates all extreme and alternative artists from the mainstream is that they have dedicated fans, and when the fanbase grows big enough, we see this kind of first-week sales," he says.

MAYHEM has only once before been on the Norwegian charts, when the band's last album, "Chimaira", reached No. 28 in 2004.

(Thanks: Asbjørn Slettemark / Faro Journalen)