What drums did Hellhammer use on Mayhem's Chimera?

Hellhammer played a Pearl Reference kit on Chimera (2004) — a double 22" x 18" bass drum configuration with a five-piece tom spread (10", 12", 14" racks; 16", 18" floors), the same documented flagship setup he used across his parallel Mayhem and Dimmu Borgir commitments during this era. Drums were tracked at Fagerborg Studio in Oslo in November 2003. See the [full Hellhammer gear profile](/articles/hellhammer-drum-setup) for his complete career-spanning equipment breakdown.

Where was Chimera recorded?

Chimera was recorded across three Norwegian studios: drums at Fagerborg Studio, Oslo (November 19–27, 2003); guitars at Top Room Mobile Hostile Studio in Ransfjorden, Brandbu (December 2003); and vocals, bass, and additional guitars at Top Room Studio (January 2004). The album was mastered at Masterhuset, Oslo, and produced by guitarist Rune Eriksen (Blasphemer) with engineer Børge Finstad.

Why does Chimera sound different from Mayhem's Grand Declaration of War?

Chimera (2004) was a deliberate course correction after Grand Declaration of War (2000), which had pushed Mayhem toward avant-garde, sample-driven songwriting that divided the band's black metal audience. Chimera returned to shorter, more direct song structures and restored the blast beat velocity in Hellhammer's drumming that the prior album had largely set aside, aiming to reconnect with the aggression established on De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas (1994).

Sven Erik Kristiansen (Maniac) provided vocals on Chimera — his second and final Mayhem studio album before departing the band in November 2004. He was replaced by returning vocalist Attila Csihar, who had sung on De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas a decade earlier and would go on to front Mayhem's next album, Ordo Ad Chao (2007).

What cymbals did Hellhammer use on Chimera?

Hellhammer used Zildjian A Custom cymbals on Chimera — 14" A Custom Hi-Hats, 17" and 19" A Custom Crashes, a Zildjian Z Custom 20" Dark Ride, and an 18" A China Boy. This bright, fast-decaying cymbal architecture is documented consistently across Hellhammer's dual Mayhem/Dimmu Borgir era and is built to cut through dense, downtuned black metal guitar mixes.

Chimera Drum Setup: Hellhammer's 2004 Return-to-Form Mayhem Session | MetalForge

Hellhammer's drum gear on Mayhem's Chimera (2004) — Pearl Reference kit, Zildjian A Custom cymbals, and the blast beat attack that brought Mayhem back to raw...

Visit MetalForge →