To Mega Therion, the indispensable Celtic Frost album that paved the way for extreme metal

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Celtic Frost laid the foundations of extreme metal since its formation in 1984, with To Mega Therion being one of the indispensable works of the genre it helped shape.

Very few releases are able to withstand the passing of the years like To Mega Therion by the Swiss band Celtic Frost, 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 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.

After the dissolution of Hellhammer, the first project formed by Tom G. Warrior and Martin Eric Ain, 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, continuing where Hellhammer left off and releasing one of the most influential mini-LPs in all of history, the brutal Morbid Tales, which turns 40 in 2024.

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

Reed St. Mark and Tom Warrior, shot by Martin Kyburz. Originally posted by Tom Warrior in his own blog Delineation II in October 2020.

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

Be that as it may, the release of To Mega Therion would mark a before and after both in the career of Celtic Frost 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.

From the gloomy and Wagnerian Innocence And Wrath 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, the Swiss trio opens fire with a fast and angry The Usurper, the jewel in the crown of Celtic Frost for yours truly, a song that cannot be labeled under any genre but that definitely gave a lecture. Warrior‘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‘s in The History of the Runestaff.

We could highlight any of To Mega Therion songs, each of them being essential in its own way and in any type of context, but I think there are some songs that have become part of the history of music on their own merit as is the case of the well-known Cyrcle Of The Tyrants, which has been covered by an indecent number of bands over all these years. And also the exceptional Dawn Of Megiddo that catches you with those slow and heartbreaking riffs while Tom spits out the lyrics with all his rage.

The combination of elements is perfect in this album, maintaining interest in each of the songs thanks to that particular composition by Celtic Frost in which darker and denser passages alternate, closer to doom genre at some points to some more accelerated and unbridled songs such as Fainted Eyes or Eternal Summer, songs so complex and very well composed that even when scrutinized time later you continue to find new elements that capture your attention. As it is often said, these albums are endless no matter how many listens you give them, its level of detail is infinite. And even if you haven’t heard it for a while, there is always a time to return to it and delight in this museum of horror that also has one of the most grotesque and inspiring covers of all, the work of the magnanimous Swiss sculptor Hans Ruedi Giger whose art as an illustrator has inspired to hundreds of artists and film directors such as Ridley Scott and the first Alien (1979) movie, being also remembered for his work as a cover artist in Setve StevensAtomic Playboys (1989), Magma‘s Attahk (1978), CarcassHeartwork (1993), Danzig‘s III: How The Gods Kill (1992) and Emerson, Lake and Palmer‘s Brain Salad Surgery (1973), as well as Eparistera Daimones (2010) and Melana Chasmata (2014) by Triptykon.

In Warrior‘s own words, regarding the impact of his early releases on the industry, Celtic frontman Frost stated some time ago: “We were too young and too involved to see the broader context of something. We didn’t really think of creating anything pioneering or modern. My entire career is based on expressing my personality through my guitar, but certainly not on being a technically proficient guitar player“, said Tom about Celtic Frost‘s career during an interview in 2017 with Guitar World.

To Mega Therion rehearsals in Birchwil, Switzerland, summer 1985, shot by Martin Kyburz. Originally posted by Tom Warrior in his own blog Delineation II in October 2020

Much of the darkness and anger that can be found in To Mega Therion is a reflection of what its members felt at the time, as Warrior himself has admitted on some occasions, and that is the result of transmitting all that frustration through the music to which they gave life. Warrior, the sole intervener in the search for his own sound, also said in the same interview: “It is a completely different approach to guitar playing. I stood there as the young Tom Warrior, with these raging feelings inside of me, of having been an outcast, having experienced violence, having experienced a difficult youth, being completely ignored by the Swiss scene at the time, all of these things—I stood there in our stinky rehearsal room in front of my Marshall, trying to express these feelings“.

I was standing there on my own, trying to figure it out, learning step by step how to do this feedback, how to do this tone, how to express what was inside of me. So that’s a completely different approach than if I’d paid somebody 50 bucks to teach me for two hours where to find these notes, you know?“, Warrior concludes. And these words are the ones that best define the sound of his music, the maximum expression of the feelings of his leader in the projects he has given life to, from the founding of Hellhammer to his current project, Triptykon, through Apollyon Sun or his participation in the recording of the demo Death Cult (1985) by Coroner or his specific appearance in the album Eidolon (2008) by Dark Fortress – led by his Triptykon partner V. Santura – in the song Baphomet as well as his participation in Dave Grohl‘s Probot album with the song Big Sky.

To Mega Therion was released in 1985 and managed to become an essential album to understand the sound of extreme metal and a true pioneer in its genre like few other albums have been able to do to date. To Mega Therion is a mandatory release for every metal fan in general, a true gem that should be in any music lover’s collection.

Tracklist:

  1. Innocence And Wrath
  2. The Usurper
  3. Jewel Throne
  4. Dawn Of Megiddo
  5. Eternal Summer
  6. Circle Of The Tyrants
  7. (Beyond The) North Winds
  8. Fainted Eyes
  9. Tears In A Prophet’s Dream
  10. Necromantical Screams

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