Their band name is taken from the Venom song ``Mayhem with Mercy.`` Many of the band member's names (Euronymous, Hellhammer, etc) were taken from songs by Hellhammer.

Euronymous opened up a small underground Metal store named ``Helvete``, Norwegian for ``Hell``. The store became a major spot for many Black Metal bands and members of the scene to gather. Euronymous was the major figurehead of the groups, and created a group for the ``Elite`` Black Metal followers/band members to be involved in, calling themselves ``The Inner Circle``. Some members would preach to each other on destroying and defiling churches, graveyards, and anything of Christian belief. Euronymous firmly expressed his hope that Black Metal could incite young people to violence, torture, murder, and pain. He also owned an underground label ``Deathlike Silence``, which name was inspired in a Sodom song. He released albums from such cult bands as Merciless, Burzum, Enslaved, Sigh and Abruptum.

Dead committed suicide in 1991 by shooting himself in the mouth with a shotgun after cutting himself with a large steak knife. The bullets had been given to him by Varg Vikernes. Varg (Count Grishnack) knew that Dead used to practice with a shotgun in the forest close to the hut where the guys of Mayhem lived. He detested Euronymous musical tastes about electronic music, needing to leave the house to relax. His body (wearing an ``I Love Transylvania`` shirt and leaving a suicide note saying ``Excuse all the Blood``) was discovered by Euronymus, who took some pictures (one of them appearing as the cover of the infamous ``Dawn Of Black Hearts`` bootleg album) of the suicide and scene. A legend was created, and it was said that Euronymous had cooked and eaten pieces of Dead's brain. It was also said that fragments of Dead's skull had been collected and forged into necklaces that both Euronymous and Hellhammer wore as a tribute to Dead. Hellhammer was even rumoured to play the drums with Dead's bones live. Of course the truth was never as macabre as people would have liked to be. Dead committed suicide not because his love to underground, but because of his deception when seeing that Mayhem was still a very little band besides all the optimistic views of Euronymous and living away from his home (he was swedish) in a strange place where he almost didn't have friends.

On August 10th, 1993, Varg Vikernes murdered Euronymous in his apartment. Their relationship before the murder was tense, as their friendship and music relationship started going downhill. Varg, who had started to play the bass in Mayhem, killed him due to jealousy, but also because Euronymous still had to pay him a lot of money. Varg was never paid for what he had released through Deathlike Silence Records. Euronymous was found in his underwear, with 23 inflicted stab wounds with a knife. Varg was rumoured to try and outdo his rival's (Faust of Emperor) murder, wherein he led a homosexual man back to his house and stabbed him to death. At his trial, Vikernes came into court with his long hair made into pigtails, and denying his involvement in Euronymous's death. He giggled and laughed throughout the trial. He was convicted of the murder and was sentenced to 21 years in prison (the maximum possible sentence in Norway). When police arrested Varg, he was found with over 150 KG of stolen dynamite and plans to destroy Nidarosdomen, a large Christian church in Trondheim, on a religious holiday. Although, Varg Vikernes has a different story to the reasons for killing Euronymous (see www.burzum.org for articles Varg composed himself explaining the murder.)