Ordo Ad Chao is the fourth full-length album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

 by the Norwegian

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 black metal

Black metal

Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....

 band Mayhem

Mayhem (band)

Mayhem is a Norwegian black metal band formed in 1984 in Oslo, Norway and regarded as one of the pioneers of the influential Norwegian black metal scene...

. "Ordo ad chao" is incorrect Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 (correct: "Ōrdō ā chaos"). It is meant to be translated as "order to chaos" - a reversal of the Latin expression "ordo ab chao" ("order from chaos") often cited as the motto used in Freemasonry

Freemasonry

Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...

. The album received the Spellemann award

Spellemannprisen

Spellemannprisen is an award presented to Norwegian musicians for their contributions.-Operation:The award was established on the initiative of International Federation of the Phonographic Industry , an organization that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide...

 for best metal album on 2 February 2008.

It is the first Mayhem album to feature vocalist Attila Csihar

Attila Csihar

Attila Csihar , also sometimes known as Void, is a Hungarian black metal vocalist, best known for his vocal work on the album De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas by Mayhem. Author Ian Christe describes his vocals as "operatic."-Biography:...

 since the 1994 release, De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas

De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas

De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas is an album by Norwegian black metal band Mayhem. Songwriting began as early as 1987, but due to the suicide of vocalist Dead and murder of guitarist Euronymous , the album's release was delayed until May 1994...

. Jan Axel Blomberg (Hellhammer) stated on his official forum that the drum tracks were not equalized

Equalization

Equalization, is the process of adjusting the balance between frequency components within an electronic signal. The most well known use of equalization is in sound recording and reproduction but there are many other applications in electronics and telecommunications. The circuit or equipment used...

 and only the bass drums were triggered. He finished saying "the production sounds necro as fuck, but that's the way we wanted it – this time. It represents Mayhem today." And indeed, the sound of the album is far rawer than that of any official Mayhem studio release since Deathcrush

Deathcrush

Deathcrush is an EP by the influential Norwegian band Mayhem. It was released in 1987 and was the first studio release by any band of the Norwegian black metal scene. "Chainsaw Gutsfuck" was voted Most Gruesome Lyrics Ever by Blender Magazine. Though influential to black metal, its lyrics and sound...

, with a very bass-heavy mix. Despite that, the album continues the somewhat unorthodox songwriting approach showcased on the band's last two releases, with "Illuminate Eliminate" being the band's second longest song ever. The album features some death grunts and clean vocals. However, Grand Declaration of War

Grand Declaration of War

Grand Declaration of War is the second full-length studio album by Norwegian black metal band Mayhem, released through Necropolis Records, on 16 May 2000.-Track listing:...

features more clean vocals.

The album was released to the world on April 23, 2007 and to North America a day later. The album charted at #12 in Norway, making it the band's highest charting album yet. There is a limited edition version of the album that comes in a metal case that is limited to a production of 3000. As stated by Blasphemer in an interview with Inferno Magazine, Necrobutcher did not play the bass guitar on the album, despite being credited in the booklet.

Track listing

Personnel

• Attila Csihar – vocals, producer, mastering
• Blasphemer (Rune Eriksen) – guitar, bass
• Hellhammer (Jan Axel Blomberg
  Jan Axel Blomberg
  Jan Axel "Hellhammer" Blomberg is a three time Spellemannprisen award-winning heavy metal drummer. He is most well known for his drumming with the band Mayhem, with which he began his career...
  
  ) – drums
• Mr. Knut Valle – engineer, mixing
• Kim Sølve, Trine Paulsen – artwork, photography

Charts

Chart (2007)	Peak position
Norwegian Albums Chart	12