The queue to meet Mayhem outside Raven Records in Camden Town

A LONG line of metal fans, some dressed in all black, some in corpse paint, others simply coming from work, stretched out of a record shop in Camden last week, braving the rain, all for a glimpse of black metal royalty.

You couldn’t have missed more than a hundred metalheads patiently queuing to get into Raven Records in Camden Road, as Norwegian black metal pioneers Mayhem rolled into town last Tuesday.

The band, originally formed in Oslo in 1984 were hosting an album signing with fans ahead of their European tour stop at Electric Brixton.

Speaking to the New Journal from Milan this week, vocalist Attila Csihar said: “I have to give it to the fans, Camden is the best place in the world. People who are from London know it is well known for the metal scene.

“That’s where you want to hang. I’m always planning to spend time in London and live around there. For me it’s very exotic, and cool. People wearing Docs, the market, the goth and metal stores, even Cyberdog, I’m in love with that store, I’ve always been going there. Cyberdog back in the day was the alpha and omega of its kind, it was even cooler back then.

“It of course still is cool, as long as you take your time to find something interesting there.”

Ben Dean and Chloe Marlow run Raven Records

Black metal is an extreme sub genre of heavy metal that is known for its fast tempos and high-pitched shrieking vocals.

Emerging in the 1980s and popularised in the 1990s, the genre can feature occult or satanic themes, theatrical costumes and corpse makeup.

Raven Records, which opened in 2023 is the world’s first heavy metal alcohol-free bar.

Alongside artisan Scandinavian and European coffee, it stocks records spanning the full spectrum of metal genres.

The shop has hosted signings and listening parties with bands including Creeper and more recently Tailgunner.

Norweigan black metal band Mayhem in Camden Town

Ben Dean, one of the owners of Raven Records said: “Camden has changed a lot over the years from what it was in the 1990s and early 2000s for metal. It was more of a dive back then, a lot more dirty and gritty and it had that kind of edge to it.

“But it has always been the place for metal heads to come. It’s always been alternative, there have always been places in Camden to go to. You’ve got eight music venues that all support heavy metal music.”

Chloe Marlow, co-owner added: “And you’ve got the pubs as well that support underground bands, the Devonshire Arms (Dev) and the Black Heart but particularly the Dev which supports the underground scene.

“There are so many different genres and sub genres of metal. It’s a broad church and it ranges from more atmospheric and softer side with glam metal to the really extreme black metal, death metal.

“It’s such a broad spectrum of musical sound within the genre itself.”

Raven Records also hosts addiction recovery meetings and monthly heavy metal peer therapy.

Mr Dean added: “For me the extremity is being able to understand your emotions and sit with them and deal with them, and knowing there is somewhere you can go and get help and talk to other like-minded individuals and that was one of the reasons we wanted the alcohol-free bar. Having a space that was alternative and fit in with Camden.”