ASSUMPTION OF THE RISK IS DEAD:

Mayhem fan hit by sheep-head (Aftenposten, 3/10/03)

Norwegian black metal band Mayhem is known for hurling animal parts into its concert audiences, but things went wrong at a performance last week. A 25-year-old fan in Bergen landed in the hospital after getting hit by a sheep's head.

Per Kristian Hagen is recovering from emergency surgery and taking the incident in good humour, but he's filed a police report against Mayhem even though he otherwise enjoyed their show.

"If it turns out I've got permanent injuries after this, it's important to have some sort of record to refer to," Hagen told local newspaper Bergensavisen. "I'll have to file a claim for lost income, since I can't work for awhile."

Hagen concedes he must be one of the unluckiest Mayhem fans in the country. He'd heard rumors that the band dismembered dead animals on stage and threw their body parts into the audience. He found out the rumors were true.

The band usually is said to dismember pigs, but last week it opted for a sheep. "I was standing near the mixing board and talking with a friend," Hagen recalls. "Suddenly I was hit in the head and knocked out. I don't remember seeing the sheep's head flying at me. I just remember I woke up on the floor."

Certain things in life you just aren't entitled to complain about--and this ranks way up there. I was once struck rather firmly by a thrown hat when the Lester Lannin Orchestra was playing and uttered not a peep. On the other hand, we're thinking it would be bad form to allow Mayhem to play USO shows in the Gulf. Posted by Orrin Judd at March 10, 2003 6:23 PM