Time To Rock 2023: Triumph Of Death revives Hellhammer in a darkest and most sinister evening
Iconic legend Tom G. Warrior tribute to Hellhammer is what every extreme metal lover could ask for.
Although it was not the first time that I was able to enjoy live what, for yours truly, is one of the greatest exponents of extreme metal, the simple presence of the master of ceremonies Tom Gabriel Warrior – as we know the Swiss musician Thomas Gabriel Fischer – on stage is more terrifying than any of those current horror movies in which there are only jump scares to scare the viewer easily.
The guitarist and vocalist gives off a sinister aura that is enormously imposing, although it must be said that the day before his performance he had coincided with him during the inauguration of his exhibition Antecedent Death III – Aesthetics Of Mortality at the Milvus Artistic Research Center (MARC) and He seemed to me to be a very kind and humble person, not the typical stereotype of a rock star who grows as his followers suck up to him, but quite the opposite.
The one who was vocalist and guitarist in Hellhammer between 1982 and 194, known at that time as Satanic Slaughter, has surrounded himself with three great musicians such as guitarist André Mathieu (member of Impalement), bassist Jamie Lee Cussigh (member of Sacrifizer) and drummer Alessandro Comerio (member of Forgotten Tomb and Hiems) to pay a heartfelt tribute to the formation with which Warrior began to create what over time we knew as Celtic Frost and, finally, what we know today as Triptykon.
Taking into account the limited material that Hellhammer has to his credit – three demos, an EP and an unreleased single released in 2016 – the setlist is quite established and there are no possible variations for those of us who have already enjoyed his live performance before. In fact, Triumph Of Death does not need to change the order of the songs, and I am clear that this order has already been studied exhaustively so that absolutely everything can be accommodated and in this way a constant rhythm is maintained.
What differentiates Triumph Of Death from Triptykon, beyond the members who are part of both projects, is the clothing that Tom has chosen to represent that stage in the life of the Swiss musician whom he was back in the day, recovering the red V-shaped guitar – a nice tribute to one of the musicians who have been part of Tom‘s musical career such as Michael Schenker – as well as a black vest and jeans, with a Hellhammer patch on his back and another patch with an even more important message on the back. the one that says “Vegan”, and the musician defends equality towards animals to the death and constantly promotes non-violence towards them.
It makes no sense to talk about the compositions themselves since my fanaticism for the art created by Tom G. Warrior would always work in favor of his music, but it is convenient to talk about the formation that gives life to Triumph Of Death since the tandem formed by Warrior and Mathieu is so juicy that a single hour of live performance feels too short. The technique of Mathieu (or Raptus) and the imposing presence of Warrior on stage manage to capture the audience with that fury and darkness that both members emanate, to which must be added the ruthless way of playing the bass of Jamie Lee Cussigh (or Slaughterwytch) and the precision of its drummer Alessandro Comerio (or Algol) who manage to transport the respectable to very, very sinister areas.
As for the setlist, we could say that the song selection is everything an extreme metal lover could ask for. From the fast start with The Third Of The Storms (Evoked Damnation) to the slow and agonizing Reaper, combining the pounding rhythms of Blood Insanity with the speed of the brutal Maniac or the enraged Messiah, the quartet gave a good review of the Triumph Of Death, Satanic Rites and Apocalyptic Raids demo-albums, combining the best versions of the songs that are part of those three releases in one hour of direct and devastating live performance
The audience greatly enjoyed this first performance of the three that the Swiss musician would offer at the Time To Rock Festival, especially when the first heartbreaking notes of the glorious Triumph Of Death began to sound with which the band closed a performance to remember.
At the end of their performance, all the members raised their instruments to the sky and left them on the amplifiers while the last suspended note continued to play as the members left the stage. An evening like that can only be experienced in person, it is impossible to convey everything that master Warrior is capable of achieving with words alone. If you have the opportunity to escape to see any of their performances, whether as Triptykon or Triumph Of Death, or even reviewing Celtic Frost‘s material, I highly recommend that you do so.
