NECROBUTCHER Would Like To See MAYHEM Make It To Band's 50th Anniversary In 2034

In an interview with Brazil's Heavy Metal On Line, bassist Jørn "Necrobutcher" Stubberud of Norwegian black metallers MAYHEM spoke about the band's recently completed 40th-anniversary tour of Latin America. Asked if he and his MAYHEM are planning to keep making albums and touring until they are physically unable to do it, Stubberud replied (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think, yes. I think that is the truth, because I've been thinking about it. And I'm thinking that — take an example. Attila [Csihar, MAYHEM singer] said a couple years ago that maybe we should take a little break, a year or two, just to chill out. But everybody got the same thought as I had, and that was, no, it's stupid to stop now because you never know what's gonna happen. And we are not getting younger either. So it's better to do it now.

"I think if something happens with the three main members — me, Hellhammer [MAYHEM drummer Jan Axel Blomberg] or Attila — I'm not sure if there's any point going on, and maybe that would be the end. You could replace any of us, but then again, really? I mean, of course if it could work and if — I don't know. It's hard to say, really, but I think if any of those two guys can't do it anymore, I think I will quit the band. Also, I will finish the band. And not 'finish' as in [completely] finish [doing stuff related to MAYHEM]. We are [still] gonna have a merch shop going.

"Here's another thing. I'm 57 now. We are 42 years and two months [old now as a band]. New carrot for me: if we can stick it [out for another] eight [years], so [in] eight more years, we will have [our] 50-year anniversary. In Norway, you get your state pension when you're 67, and that will be the year I get my state pension. Sorry, the year later. So if we make it next eight years, then I would be like all the people who work their whole life until they retire and get the state pension. And I would be happy with that. That would be a lifetime achievement for me. So everything works out.

"So, to tell you why I think this is gonna happen, that is, we [will] release a new album now in 2026. [There's] gonna be two, two and a half years touring to finish the [touring cycle] of 65 countries and 200 shows. And then we still have one record left on a record deal with Century Media under Sony Music. And it's a progressive deal, so it means that we made a deal for 'Daemon' and then for two more albums. So we come up with a new one now, and we still have another one [to record under the deal]. So if you think that we are able to do it and have inspiration enough to do it, that in three years now we stop the touring circle, we take a year off to write and record the next album, and then we go into the next [touring cycle], it's gonna take us two, three years — boom, we are 50 years old and it's a lifetime achievement. And then if we made it there, I mean, what are we gonna look like in 10 years from now? Are we gonna be in fucking wheelchairs or are we gonna be in diapers? Are we gonna be with a white cane? Are we gonna shake? Who the fuck knows? But this is what happens to people when they start to get to the end of 60 years, 70 years old… And then again, we are not just a guy with a guitar that can come up on stage and do some Johnny Cash songs and play until you're 85. This is high-energy movements and techniques that you need to be on your fucking game to be able to get the fingers around the thing or the drums. I can see people now that are still touring, but everybody knows that they shouldn't. We are not there yet, but I don't wanna be there. I don't wanna come there. I would rather give up when the game is good still."

Last month, Necrobutcher was asked by Mexico's Metal Memes Mx if he thought, when MAYHEM was first formed in 1984, that the band would still be around 40 years later. Stubberud replied: "Yes. And the reason why I can say that very quickly, without even thinking about it, is that I think, as in most things, to put it in perspective so people understand that, if you find something that you believe a lot in, and so you think this is it. And then just with that, you already believe that this is gonna be so great that it's gonna last forever. So, I think that you even need this kind of way of thinking to be able to succeed. You tell yourself, 'This is fucking great. This is gonna go fucking straight up there. We're gonna make it. This is good music.'"

He continued: "I told in many interviews over the years that me and Manheim, the guy I started the band with, we had different bands before we met Øystein [Aarseth, a.k.a. Euronymous]. And I think Øystein was our fifth guitarist at that time, when he came along in 1984. And so when he plugged in and we started jamming with us, he knew some of the same cover songs. We did some VENOM covers. We did some MOTÖRHEAD covers. I think we did a JUDAS PRIEST cover, and we knew some BLACK SABBATH. So we kind of knew the same cover tracks. So when we started to jam on that, I immediately felt — and I never forgot it — the feeling of euphoria. It was, like, This is it. This is what we were looking for.' And I always felt that, and I felt so strongly for this project my whole life. This is my life's work. This is the essence of all my work, my whole life. So, I always believed in it."

Necrobutcher went on to clarify that MAYHEM has never achieved the kind of commercial success that would allow him and his bandmates to stop working. "We are not METALLICA — we are still an underground band — so it's not like achieved everything and now I can retire," he explained. "It's not that kind of achievement. It's more like we made it and we are doing what we are supposed to do. We are now playing live concerts 'cause we are live musicians. We are not studio musicians. We are that, too, but most and foremost, we are a live band and we have been since 1984. And I don't see any reason to stop."

Asked if he would like to see MAYHEM continue as a band even after he is no longer involved in the group, Necrobutcher said: "I think, personally, that there should at least be one original member. Otherwise, it could be watered out, and then maybe it will lose the essence of it.

"I don't see us continuing without, let's say, the old members that are in the band today, and I don't think, let's say, if anything would happen to me, Hellhammer or Attila, we might say, 'Okay, we'll call it quits.' But here's the thing. We're still able to do it. And I'm 57 now. I'm the oldest in the band, so everybody was born two years or more, younger than me, but they are getting there at some point. But here is my philosophy. We go on as long as we can because you never know when you're forced to stop… You never know what's gonna happen. And this is my perspective, and I haven't thought about it, but since you just asked the question, I would think if the core members, something happened to them that they were not able to do it anymore, maybe then we will say that we have met the end of the line. Now, MAYHEM will live on anyway, but there wouldn't be any touring, there wouldn't be any recording of new albums. But the will be there as long as people are interested in listening."

MAYHEM will release its seventh studio album, "Liturgy Of Death", on February 6, 2026 via Century Media.

"Liturgy Of Death" is the follow-up to MAYHEM's sixth studio album, "Daemon", which came out in October 2019 via Century Media. A live album, "Daemonic Rites", arrived in September 2023.

MAYHEM's current lineup consists of Necrobutcher (bass),Hellhammer (drums),Attila Csihar (vocals),Teloch (guitars) and Ghul (guitars).

MAYHEM will embark on the "Death Over Europe" European headlining tour in February 2026. Support on the trek will come from MARDUK and IMMOLATION.

In the fall of 2024, MAYHEM canceled its previously announced North American 40th-anniversary tour "due to a member of the band having a medical emergency that requires immediate surgery."

The North American dates were scheduled to kick off on November 12, 2024 in Montreal, with stops in Toronto; Queens, New York; Chicago; and Los Angeles before and wrapping up November 23, 2024 in Denver.

MAYHEM launched a short European tour on December 4, 2024 in Paris, France. An Australian tour followed in January.

When MAYHEM's North American tour was first announced in August 2024, the band said that its 40th-anniversary show would be "a once-in-a-lifetime experience for fans, featuring a setlist that spans their illustrious career, from their groundbreaking debut album, 'Deathcrush', to present day."