Mysticum was always a standout band in the Norwegian scene. Even in later years when everyone was getting magazine covers etc. they were still dangerous for real. I think more the connection is to take heeps of chemical drugs and then top it off with LSD. I did a rap demo (yeah...) around 2000 and sampled the last ambient track of the "Streams.." album. Somehow this landed in the hands of the guys and i met up with them via some mutual friends, they were into harsh rap at the time so it was good. But they have the appereance more of Blasphemy and such than any other norwegian bands . Also Black Magic Mushrooms 7" is such an insane track. Hard techno and electronic music resonated a lot in Norway at the time.
As a response to some Ulver discussions also, i think they and a few other of the norwegian contemporaries took the electronic impulses a bit too far in a shallow way. It seems like a few of them just listened to some Mo' Wax or the likes and just wanted to replace real drums with that and=avantgarde. Dødheimsgard is really a victim of this mindset. Satanic Art is great, 666 is cheesy as hell and the next one is just a disgrace. But i think Ulver always had a too clean approach to experimentation, as so many of their contemporaries. It seems like a good idea to experiment with boundaries of Black metal, but i think the failure was in that they was already too tied up in record deals with producers etc. It was always experimenting with expensive synth patches and choirs, getting a famous violin guy or some shit in the studio. Not going into the woods or a shed and banging on shit with a walkman etc. It became too clean too fast.
