{"id":19993,"date":"2024-01-30T12:09:16","date_gmt":"2024-01-30T12:09:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mannersofhate.com\/?p=19993"},"modified":"2024-01-30T12:09:18","modified_gmt":"2024-01-30T12:09:18","slug":"review-celtic-frost-to-mega-therion-1985","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alliedforces.eu\/en\/review-celtic-frost-to-mega-therion-1985\/","title":{"rendered":"To Mega Therion, the indispensable Celtic Frost album that paved the way for extreme metal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Very few releases are able to withstand the passing of the years like To Mega Therion<\/em><\/strong> by the Swiss band Celtic Frost<\/strong>, a totally timeless album ahead of its time that still sounds as fresh as the day it was released thanks to an explosive combination of innovative sounds with which Celtic Frost<\/strong> would help shape a genre that was still developing at the time and that has influenced a large number of bands and artists over the years since its release in 1985.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the dissolution of Hellhammer<\/strong>, the first project formed by Tom G. Warrior<\/strong> and Martin Eric Ain<\/strong>, and ignoring what many had criticized at the time about this first adventure as authentic innovators in terms of music, the two artists decided to give life to a new project in 1984 which they named Celtic Frost<\/strong>, continuing where Hellhammer <\/strong>left off and releasing one of the most influential mini-LPs in all of history, the brutal Morbid Tales<\/em><\/strong>, which turns 40 in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first Celtic Frost<\/strong> line-up would be embodied by Warrior <\/strong>himself and Eric Ain<\/strong>, but would not have Denial Fiend<\/strong> on drums, who would be replaced by Reed St. Mark<\/strong>. Although St. Mark<\/strong> would collaborate on the recording of the Emperor’s Return<\/em><\/strong> EP, the person in charge of recording the drums on Morbid Tales <\/strong>would be Stephen Priestly<\/strong>, who at the same time would also record some of the songs on Emperor’s Return<\/em><\/strong> from 1985. Likewise, The Swiss’s first full-length To Mega Therion<\/em><\/strong>, would be finally recorded with Dominic Steiner<\/strong> on bass guitar since Martin Eric Ain<\/strong> had other concerns and could not dedicate the time required to record Celtic Frost<\/strong>‘ debut album.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Reed St. Mark<\/strong> and Tom Warrior<\/strong>, shot by Martin Kyburz<\/strong>. Originally posted by Tom Warrior<\/strong> in his own blog Delineation II<\/strong><\/a> in October 2020.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

During this first stage we would meet practically all the members who would be part of Celtic Frost<\/strong> during the coming years, being Priestly <\/strong>the only member who would remain in the band’s formation longer as a drummer with Warrior<\/strong>, even during the recording of the disowned Cold Lake<\/em><\/strong> (1988) and one of the albums that should be claimed more often, Vanity\/Nemesis<\/em><\/strong> (1990). Eric Ain<\/strong> would come and go during the years, being present during the recording of Into The Pandemonium<\/em><\/strong> (1987) and Vanity\/Nemesis<\/em><\/strong>. Curt Victor Bryant<\/strong> would become the band’s second guitarist after the return of Eric Ain<\/strong> in 1990 until its dissolution in 1993, thus replacing Oliver Amberg<\/strong> (1988-1989) who in turn had occupied the position of guitarist after the departure of Ron Marks<\/strong> in 1987.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be that as it may, the release of To Mega Therion<\/em><\/strong> would mark a before and after both in the career of Celtic Frost<\/strong> and in the development of metal itself, giving life to a totally deformed beast that with the passage of time would be divided into several subgenres such as black metal, death metal or even gothic metal, as if we were talking about a musical mitosis, making it difficult for critics to categorize a band like Celtic Frost<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the gloomy and Wagnerian Innocence And Wrath<\/em><\/strong> that welcomes us to this prototype of extreme metal with a mix of sounds and genres at the level of the creative and dreamlike David Lynch<\/strong>, the Swiss trio opens fire with a fast and angry The Usurper<\/em><\/strong>, the jewel in the crown of Celtic Frost<\/strong> for yours truly, a song that cannot be labeled under any genre but that definitely gave a lecture. Warrior<\/strong>‘s raspy voice, the gloomy sound of his guitars, the female choirs with brushstrokes on the bass lines and an otherworldly drum set make this opening an accelerated descent into hell like those described by Michael Moorcock<\/strong>‘s in The History of the Runestaff<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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