Attila Csihar (; born 29 March 1971), also sometimes known as Void, is a Hungarian

extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...

vocalist, best known for his vocal work in Norwegian

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with t ...

band Mayhem and American drone-doom project

Sunn O))) Sunn O))) (pronounced "sun") is an American experimental metal band formed in 1998 in Seattle, Washington. The band is known for their distinctive visual style and slow, heavy sound, which blends diverse genres including doom metal, drone, bla ...

. Author

Ian Christe Ian Christe (born 1970 in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland) is an author, disc jockey and the publisher of Bazillion Points Books. He attended Mynderse Academy, The Clarkson School's Bridging Year, and Indiana University Bloomington (1987-1990). Christe ...

describes his vocals as "

operatic Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libretti ...

Biography

Mayhem-with-Attila-Csihar-Infernofestival-2010

His music career began in 1985 with the Hungarian metal band Tormentor, which reached cult status in

circles with their first album, ''Anno Domini'' (1988). Tormentor performed 50-100 live shows between 1986–1990 and became one of the most infamous bands in Hungary. After Tormentor he started his dark electro industrial band

Plasma Pool Plasma Pool is an EBM band from Budapest, Hungary that was formed in 1989. Current members *Attila Csihar - vocals *Istvan Zilahy - keyboards *Lazlo Kuli - drums Former members *Attila Csihar - vocals (Mayhem, Burial Chamber Trio, Sunn_O))), ...

(1990–1994). On the strength of his work in Tormentor, he was invited to perform vocals on the ''

De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas ''De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas'' is the first studio album by Norwegian black metal band Mayhem. Songwriting began in 1987, but due to the suicide of vocalist Per "Dead" Ohlin and the murder of guitarist Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth, the album's r ...

'' album by Norwegian black metal band Mayhem after lead singer

Dead Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

committed suicide. His groundbreaking new way of singing added a special character to Mayhem's sound. Ultimately Csihar did not perform any live concerts with the band until his second tenure in 2004. Mayhem HITS2011 Christian Misje-1422-2

After Mayhem, Csihar continued to work in various bands, such as Plasma Pool, Aborym, and Korog; he also performed as Caiaphas in the

rock opera A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...

'' in Hungary. He stated during an interview for Hungarian

Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...

that he felt honoured to sing "''

This Jesus Must Die "This Jesus Must Die" is a song from the 1970 album and 1971 rock opera ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, which also appears in the film version of ''Jesus Christ Superstar'', and on the album of the musical. In the ...

''". He performed in

Keep of Kalessin Keep of Kalessin is an extreme metal band from Trondheim, Norway formed in 1993. The group's early lineup consisted of Ghash on vocals, Obsidian C. (the group founder) on guitars and keyboards, Warach on bass, and Vyl on drums. They released two ...

as well on their returning EP ''Reclaim'' together with drummer Frost from

Satyricon The ''Satyricon'', ''Satyricon'' ''liber'' (''The Book of Satyrlike Adventures''), or ''Satyrica'', is a Latin work of fiction believed to have been written by Gaius Petronius, though the manuscript tradition identifies the author as Titus Petro ...

. He is a "shadow" member of the American doom/drone metal band

. His first live performance with the band happened on 24 March 2003 at Stadtwerkstatt in Linz, Austria. His first recorded collaboration with the band was in 2004 when he sang in Sanskrit language on the tracks "''Decay2 ihil's Maw'" and "''Decay (The Symptoms of Kali Yuga)''" on their album ''

White2 ''White2'' is the fourth album by Sunn O))).White2
discogs.com article. Retrieved on 2014-01-21. It was recorded ...

''. He has recorded five full-length albums with the group, including the very successful ''

Monoliths & Dimensions ''Monoliths & Dimensions'' is the sixth studio album by drone metal band Sunn O))). The album was created and recorded over a period of two years and features the collaborations of composer Eyvind Kang, Australian guitar player Oren Ambarchi, Hun ...

'', and performed live with the band on their worldwide tours hundreds of shows. In 2004, Csihar rejoined Mayhem after the departure of

Maniac Maniac (from Greek μανιακός, ''maniakos'') is a pejorative for an individual who experiences the mood known as mania. In common usage, it is also an insult for someone involved in reckless behavior. Maniac may also refer to: Film * ' ...

, the band's previous vocalist. Their 2007 album, '' Ordo ad Chao'', won the

Spellemannprisen Spellemannprisen, often referred to as the Norwegian Grammy Awards in English, is a Norwegian music award presented to Norwegian musicians. The award was established by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), an organizat ...

(also known as the Norwegian Grammy). Since then the band has embarked upon intense international touring. In 2008 he also joined another project,

Gravetemple Gravetemple is the name given to the line-up of Attila Csihar, Stephen O'Malley and Oren Ambarchi. The trio formed in the summer of 2006 when Sunn O))) was invited to play in Israel, while Israel was engaged in the 2006 Lebanon War, and some o ...

with Stephen O'Malley of Sunn O))) and

Oren Ambarchi Oren Ambarchi (born 1969) is an Australian musician. He is a multi-instrumentalist who plays mainly electric guitar and percussion. Biography Oren Ambarchi was born in Sydney to an Iraqi Jewish family. Ambarchi has been performing live since ...

. Csihar started his solo act in November 2008, called Void ov Voices. His live performances have been in support of artists like

Ulver Ulver (Norwegian for "wolves") is a Norwegian experimental electronica band founded in 1993, by vocalist Kristoffer Rygg. Their early works, such as debut album '' Bergtatt'', were categorised as folklore-influenced black metal, but the band h ...

on their first European tour, Bohren & der Club of Gore,

Lustmord Brian Williams is a Welsh industrial musician, sound designer and film score composer. He is often credited for creating the dark ambient genre with albums recorded under the name Lustmord. His experimental work has been described as "not tra ...

Ruin Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...

and Diamanda Galas. He performed at "The Grand Reincarnation" Of Paul Booth's Last Rites Gallery & Tattoo Theatre. He also toured in Japan and performed during the Mofo festival in Tasmania. He has collaborated with artists such as

Current 93 Current 93 are an English experimental music group, working since the early 1980s in folk-based musical forms. The band was founded in 1982 by David Tibet, who has been Current 93's only constant member. Background Tibet has been the only const ...

Jarboe Jarboe Devereaux, known mononymously as Jarboe (), is an American singer and musician who came to prominence as a member of the New York City experimental rock band Swans in 1985. Jarboe and Michael Gira, the founder of Swans, were the two consta ...

Dissection Dissection (from Latin ' "to cut to pieces"; also called anatomization) is the dismembering of the body of a deceased animal or plant to study its anatomical structure. Autopsy is used in pathology and forensic medicine to determine the cause o ...

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

Taake Taake () is a Norwegian black metal band from Bergen, formed in 1993 and originally named Thule. The band's one continuous member is Hoest, who writes all and records most of the music. He has released seven full-length albums and several EPs. T ...

, and

Banks Violette Banks Violette (born 1973) is an artist based in Ithaca, New York. Biography Violette was born in Ithaca, New York and studied at the School of the Visual Arts in New York earning at BFA in 1998, and graduated with an MFA from Columbia Univer ...

. Between 2016 and 2018, Csihar joined

blackened death metal Blackened death metal (also known as black death metal) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal that fuses elements of black metal and death metal. The genre emerged in early 1990s when black metal bands began incorporating elements of death me ...

supergroup

Sinsaenum Sinsaenum is a multinational blackened death metal supergroup, formed in 2016. The band features French guitarists Frédéric Leclercq and Stéphane Buriez, American vocalist Sean Zatorsky in a co-lead role with Hungarian vocalist Attila Csihar ...

. He would perform lead vocals alongside Sean Zatorsky of

Dååth Dååth is an American heavy metal band from Atlanta. Their music incorporates styles such as death metal, industrial metal, and some traces of gypsy jazz. History Dååth was started by Eyal Levi and Mike Kameron, who had been playing in ...

, with ex-

DragonForce DragonForce are a British power metal band from London, England. The band was formed in 1999 by guitarists Herman Li and Sam Totman, and are known for their long and fast guitar solos, fantasy-themed lyrics and retro video game-influenced ...

bassist and group founder

Frédéric Leclercq Frédéric Alexandre "Fred" Leclercq (born 23 June 1978) is a French musician and producer, best known as the former longtime bassist for British power metal band DragonForce. He is currently the guitarist and main songwriter in the death metal ...

and Loudblast guitarist Stéphane Buriez on guitars, Seth guitarist Heimoth on bass, and former Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison on drums. The band released its debut album ''

Echoes of the Tortured ''Echoes of the Tortured'' is the debut album by metal supergroup Sinsaenum. It was released on July 29, 2016. Background Guitarist Frédéric Leclercq, who composed all music on the album and co-wrote all lyrics, had some death metal demos b ...

'' on 29 July 2016 via earMUSIC. In 2019 he formed an esoteric noise project called Hiedelem with drummer/percussionist

Balázs Pándi Balázs Pándi (born 6 August 1983) is a Hungarian drummer and journalist. He has worked and toured with various acts from all around the world including Venetian Snares, Otto von Schirach, To Live and Shave in L.A., The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz E ...

(

Merzbow is a Japanese noise project started in 1979 by , best known for a style of harsh, confrontational noise. Since 1980, Akita has released over 400 recordings and has collaborated with various artists. The name Merzbow comes from the German dada ...

Keiji Haino Keiji Haino ( ''Haino Keiji''; born May 3, 1952) is a Japanese musician and singer-songwriter whose work has included rock, free improvisation, noise music, percussion, psychedelic music, minimalism and drone music. He has been active since the ...

). Outside of music, Csihar graduated as an electrical engineer from a technical college, and used to be a private teacher of math and physics. He worked in film production, most notably on

Tony Scott Anthony David Leighton Scott (21 June 1944 – 19 August 2012) was an English film director and producer. He was known for directing highly successful action and thriller films such as ''Top Gun'' (1986), ''Beverly Hills Cop II'' (1987), ''Day ...

's ''

Spy Game ''Spy Game'' is a 2001 American action thriller film directed by Tony Scott and starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt. The film grossed $62 million in the United States and $143 million worldwide on a $115 million budget, and received mostly ...

'', where he was the first assistant of production designer Norris Spencer. In 2018 he was portrayed in the film '' Lords of Chaos'', which depicted the early 90s Norwegian black metal scene (in particular Mayhem). He was portrayed by his son Arion. Although Mayhem have often displayed dead animals and blood at their live events, Csihar is a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism m ...

in his personal life.

Discography

Tormentor

* ''The Seventh Day of Doom'' (1987) * ''Anno Domini'' (1988) * ''Recipe Ferrum!'' (1999)

Mayhem

* ''

'' (1994) * ''Mediolanum Capta Est'' (1998, guest performance) * '' Ordo Ad Chao'' (2007) * ''

Esoteric Warfare ''Esoteric Warfare'' is the fifth full-length studio album by Norwegian black metal band Mayhem. It was released by Season of Mist on 6 June 2014 in Europe and Asia, and on 10 June 2014 in North America. It is the band's first album with Teloch ...

'' (2014) * ''

De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas Alive Mayhem is a Norwegian black metal band formed in Langhus in 1984. They were one of the founders of the Norwegian black metal scene and their music has strongly influenced the black metal genre. Mayhem's early career was highly controversial, pr ...

'' (2017) * ''

Daemon Daimon or Daemon (Ancient Greek: , "god", "godlike", "power", "fate") originally referred to a lesser deity or guiding spirit such as the daimons of ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology and of later Hellenistic religion and Hell ...

'' (2019) *Atavistic Black Disorder/Kommando (2021)

Plasma Pool Plasma Pool is an EBM band from Budapest, Hungary that was formed in 1989. Current members Attila Csihar - vocals Istvan Zilahy - keyboards Lazlo Kuli - drums Former members Attila Csihar - vocals (Mayhem, Burial Chamber Trio, Sunn_O))), ...

* ''I'' (1991–1994) * ''II – Drowning'' (1991–1993) * ''III – Sinking'' (unreleased album)

Aborym

* ''

Kali Yuga Bizarre ''Kali Yuga Bizarre'' is the first full length studio album by the Italian industrial black metal band Aborym. It was released in 1999 on Scarlet records. A picture LP was also re-released in 2000 and was limited to 1000 copies. Vocals on thi ...

'' (1998, guest performance) * '' Fire Walk with Us!'' (2000) * ''

With No Human Intervention ''With No Human Intervention'' is the third album by industrial black metal band Aborym. The album's title was coined by former Emperor drummer Bard Eithun, as well as the lyrics for the title track and "Faustian Spirit of the Earth". Carpathi ...

'' (2003) * ''

Generator Generator may refer to: * Signal generator, electronic devices that generate repeating or non-repeating electronic signals * Electric generator, a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. * Generator (circuit theory), an eleme ...

'' (guest vocals on "Man Bites God", 2006)

Limbonic Art

* '' The Ultimate Death Worship'' (guest vocals on "From the Shades of Hatred", 2001)

Korog

* ''Korog'' (2005)

Attila Csihar

* ''The Beast of Attila Csihar'' (2003, compilation album)

Void of Voices

* ''777'' (2012, live album, Japan Tour exclusive)

Anaal Nathrakh Anaal Nathrakh are a British extreme metal band formed in 1999 in Birmingham by multi-instrumentalist Mick Kenney and vocalist Dave Hunt. They are currently signed to Metal Blade Records. The band's name is Irish for ''snake's breath'' ( anál ...

* ''

When Fire Rains Down from the Sky, Mankind Will Reap As It Has Sown ''When Fire Rains Down from the Sky, Mankind Will Reap as It Has Sown'' is the first EP by British extreme metal group Anaal Nathrakh. It was released by Mordgrimm Records in Europe and on Earache Records in North America. The EP was written righ ...

'' (guest vocals on "Atavism", 2003) * '' Eschaton'' (guest vocals on "Regression to the Mean", 2006)

Keep of Kalessin Keep of Kalessin is an extreme metal band from Trondheim, Norway formed in 1993. The group's early lineup consisted of Ghash on vocals, Obsidian C. (the group founder) on guitars and keyboards, Warach on bass, and Vyl on drums. They released two ...

* ''

Reclaim Reclaim, reclaimed, reclaimer, reclaiming or reclamation means "to get something back". It may refer to: * Land reclamation, creating new land from oceans, riverbeds, or lake beds * Dedesertification, reversing of the land degradation in arid ...

'' (2003)

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

* ''Scattered Ashes'' (guest vocals on "Funeral Fog", Mayhem cover, 2003)

Sear Bliss

* ''Glory and Perdition'' (additional vocals in "Birth of Eternity" and "Shores of Death", 2003)

Sunn O))) Sunn O))) (pronounced "sun") is an American experimental metal band formed in 1998 in Seattle, Washington. The band is known for their distinctive visual style and slow, heavy sound, which blends diverse genres including doom metal, drone, bla ...

* ''

White2 ''White2'' is the fourth album by Sunn O))).White2
discogs.com article. Retrieved on 2014-01-21. It was recorded ...

'' (2004) * ''

Oracle An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination. Description The word '' ...

'' (2007) * '' Dømkirke'' (2008) * ''

'' (2009) * ''

Kannon Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. She w ...

'' (2015)

Astarte Astarte (; , ) is the Hellenized form of the Ancient Near Eastern goddess Ashtart or Athtart (Northwest Semitic), a deity closely related to Ishtar (East Semitic), who was worshipped from the Bronze Age through classical antiquity. The name i ...

* ''

Demonized Demonization or demonisation is the reinterpretation of polytheistic deities as evil, lying demons by other religions, generally by the monotheistic and henotheistic ones. The term has since been expanded to refer to any characterization of indivi ...

'' (guest vocals on "Lycon", 2007)

Burial Chamber Trio Burial Chamber Trio is a drone metal band consisting of American guitarist/bassist Greg Anderson, Hungarian vocalist Attila Csihar and Australian multi-instrumentalist Oren Ambarchi. These three musicians are also performing with Sunn O))). T ...

* ''

Burial Chamber Trio Burial Chamber Trio is a drone metal band consisting of American guitarist/bassist Greg Anderson, Hungarian vocalist Attila Csihar and Australian multi-instrumentalist Oren Ambarchi. These three musicians are also performing with Sunn O))). T ...

'' (2007)

Grave Temple

* ''

The Holy Down ''The Holy Down'' documents a series of shows played by Gravetemple in Israel during the summer of 2006. Illustrations for the series were done by Justin Bartlett. Track listing Line up *Attila Csihar - vocals * Stephen O'Malley - guitar *Oren ...

'' (2007?) * ''Ambient/Ruin'' (2008) * ''Impassable Fears'' (2017)

YcosaHateRon

* ''La Nuit'' (2007)

Stephen O'Malley

* ''6°Fskyquake'' (2008)

Jarboe Jarboe Devereaux, known mononymously as Jarboe (), is an American singer and musician who came to prominence as a member of the New York City experimental rock band Swans in 1985. Jarboe and Michael Gira, the founder of Swans, were the two consta ...

* ''Mahakali'' (guest vocals on "The Soul Continues", 2008)

Skitliv

* ''Skandinavisk Misantropi'' (additional vocals on "ScumDrug", 2009)

Nader Sadek Nader Sadek is an Egyptian-American artist. His death metal project gathers many well-known and emerging artists from the entire metal scene, focusing mostly on black and death metal. Sadek currently resides in New York City and has worked as a st ...

* ''

In the Flesh In the Flesh may refer to: Books * ''In the Flesh'' (2009 graphic novel), a collection of stories by Koren Shadmi Film and TV * ''In the Flesh'' (1998 film), an American gay-themed murder mystery film * ''In the Flesh'' (2003 film), an Indian ...

'' (guest vocals on two tracks, 2010)

Ulver Ulver (Norwegian for "wolves") is a Norwegian experimental electronica band founded in 1993, by vocalist Kristoffer Rygg. Their early works, such as debut album '' Bergtatt'', were categorised as folklore-influenced black metal, but the band h ...

* ''

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These wars were fought bet ...

'' (guest vocals on "Providence", 2010)

DivahaR

* ''Divarise'' (guest vocals on "Blindness") 2014 Divahar is an all-female symphonic black metal band from

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

that contains Dev on vocals and guitar, Urubani on guitar, Skadi on bass, and Belus on keyboards.

Alien Vampires

*'' Drag You to Hell'' (guest vocals on "The Divinity Of Solitude") 2015

Sinsaenum Sinsaenum is a multinational blackened death metal supergroup, formed in 2016. The band features French guitarists Frédéric Leclercq and Stéphane Buriez, American vocalist Sean Zatorsky in a co-lead role with Hungarian vocalist Attila Csihar ...

* ''

'' (2016) * ''Ashes'' (2017) * ''Repulsion for Humanity'' (2018)

Statiqbloom

*''Beneath the Whelm'' (guest vocals on "The Second Coming") 2020

The Mugshots

*''Children of the Night / The Call'' (guest vocals on "The Call") 2021

References

External links

Attila Csihar at Southern LordOfficial Mayhem website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Csihar, Attila Mayhem (band) members 21st-century Hungarian male singers Living people 1971 births Black metal singers Heavy metal singers Southern Lord Records artists Sunn O))) members 20th-century Hungarian male singers Sinsaenum members Aborym members