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| Celtic Frost > Albums & Lyrics |
by Alex Burns () - December 16, 2000
Formed from the ashes of black/death metal band Hellhammer in 1984, the Swiss based Celtic Frost were a pivotal influence on the death, black, speed, and gloom metal genres, pioneering many of the musical styles and avant-garde elements that have since become synonymous with bands like Sepultura, Emperor, Dark Funeral, and Enslaved.
The primal 'Berserker' fury captured in the early 'Morbid Tales' EP (1984) and 'Emperor's Return' (1985) have been widely emulated and are cited as influences on such recordings as Nirvana's 'In Utero' (1993). Co-founder Tom G. Warrior (Thomas Gabriel Fischer) and bassist Martin Eric Ain created stark and compelling vistas reminiscent of the writings of Clark Ashton Smith, H.P. Lovecraft, and Charles Baudelaire. Warrior's trade-mark Nordic warrior death grunts and primitive 'wall of sound' sonic assault immediately made Celtic Frost one of the leaders of extreme metal, as influential as the more tongue-in-cheek Venom. Lyrically, Warrior and Ain depicted civilizations crumbling into decay, capturing the 'Autumn/Winter' phases of Oswald Spengler's 'Decline of the West' (1918) cosmology.
The follow-up album 'To Mega Therion' (1986) progressed from blitzkrieg fury to orchestral doom-laden instrumentals. Swiss surrealist artist H.R. Giger's friendship yielded visually brooding counterparts to Warrior's artistic vision, with 'Satan I' (1977) gracing the cover, and 'Victory III' (1981-83), the gatefold sleeve.
The 'Tragic Serenades' EP (1986) and successful tour set the stage for the landmark experimental album 'Into the Pandemonium' (1987), regarded as the band's most controversial release. Fans were unprepared for Goth/New Wave vocals; dance fusions ('One In Their Pride'); melodic metal ('I Won't Dance'), and bombastic orchestral pieces ('Rex Irae' and 'Oriental Masquerade'). Foreshadowing complex neo-classical metal artists like My Dying Bride and Apocalyptica, the album received strong critical reviews, but the original line-up disintegrated in 1987 under immense pressure. Ain and drummer Reed St. Mark left, replaced with a new line-up that Warrior later found unsuited to Celtic Frost's conceptual vision. Warrior spent eighteen months fighting record company Noise International, who tampered with the album, for subsequent artistic freedom and integrity.
Failing to complete his magical trilogy with the promised 'Necronomicon' album, Warrior instead released the dismal glam rock album 'Cold Lake' (1988), and the complex melodic metal album 'Vanity/Nemesis' (1990). The first virtually alienated Celtic Frost's fans, whilst the latter - regarded as a strong comeback album featuring Ain returning to the fold - was considered too avant-garde for MTV airplay, sabotaging the potential mainstream appeal of David Bowie ('Heroes') and Bryan Ferry ('This Island Earth') covers. Promising with double album 'Under Apollyon's Sun' to return to earlier visions, Warrior suddenly ended Celtic Frost in 1992, releasing the excellent career retrospective 'Parched With Thirst Am I And Dying' (1992) instead.
Several bands evolved from the ashes of Celtic Frost: guitarist Ron Marks founded the satirical 'Subsonic,' and Warrior (reverting to his surname Fischer) founded the highly regarded 'Appollyon Sun,' which continues his unique personal vision. Considered the 'elder statesman' of innovative Euro-metal, Fischer has seen his uncompromising conceptual framework and intricate instrumental orchestration blossom into many cutting-edge genres.
Suddenly in August 1999, long lost master-tapes that had been stolen by producer Horst Muller were re-discovered, including the original mixes from 'Emperor's Return' which have never been heard publicly. Thomas Gabriel Warrior is currently in Berlin, overseeing the re-construction, re-mastering and forthcoming release of the first three albums (scheduled for late October 1999), which will also feature the original conceptual packaging or lyrics. Shimmering twilight darkness beckons again . . .
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