History & Biography Norway’s Mezzerschmitt was formed in 2001 as a side-project for the two Mayhem members. The band’s incendiary monicker was named after the German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt, which during World War II manufactured fighters for the Nazi war effort. That, and the band’s Nazi and German imagery, attracted fascism accusations. The band promptly denied any connection.
The band had a 2002 EP called Weltherrschaft ('World Domination') through Season Of Mist, but was officially still a going concern a decade later. A 2005 full-length record was supposed to be called Totalitaire, but was never issued.
Reviews MEZZERSCHMITT - WELTHERRSCHAFT - SEASON OF MIST
Norway's Mezzerschmitt (a German WWII aeroplane actually says my copy editor) might be a new name to most readers, but certainly Mayhem's Blasphemer and Hell Hammer (here using the Herr Schmitt and Hauptman Hammer aliases) are not. Add keyboardist Oberleurtnant L.S. to the band and the result is a trio which Season Of Mist describes as "black metal, sung in German by the cream of the norwegian (sic) Black Metal Elite." Lest fans perceive a hint of white supremacy in the band's Teutonic concept and song titles (more on that later), the label adds that the band is, "provocative, extreme but NON political." That is fine, and quite possibly redundant, but the EP has four songs which in order are: FeuerZauben (Fire Magic), Unter Der Fahne (Under The Flag), Die Nacht Hat Augen (The Night Has Eyes) and Weltherrschaft which translates to World Domination in English. The reason for the label's clarification is obvious, especially given how the CD cover seems to bear a Celtic cross.
The band is quite enjoyable musically. The offending keyboardist is pushed to the back and confined to rendering a few samples and effects. The rest of the delivery is comprised of rather mechanical (think Ministry's industrial era) riffing with speedy and heavy guitars and drums. The overall style is rather harsh as a consequence. The band keeps the frills to a minimum, choosing to emphasize impact over intricacy. There is not much here that can be characterized as black metal, unless the lyrics unbeknownst to this writer praise Satan or are otherwise Anti-Christian, but rather are better described as speed metal with a hint of industrial. The best song here is probably track three, the aforementioned Die Nacht Hat Augen, although the title track also blitzes hard with its Annihilator-ish guitars. It is only an EP, but an interesting release nonetheless. - Ali "The Metallian"
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