Triumph Of Death: Resurrection Of The Flesh (Noise/BMG – PDR, 2023)

Tom G. Warrior needs no introduction. His charisma and dedication over the last forty years have made music a better place, not only serving as an inspiration to new generations of musicians throughout the planet but he has also worked very hard to create his own music with a sound so unique, something that few can boast of today.

His first years in the industry were not easy at all, something that Tom itself has recounted on several occasions and that can also be experienced almost in first person by taking a look at his fabulous book Only Death Is Real: An Illustrated History of Hellhammer and Early Celtic Frost 1981-1985, published in 2010 by Bazillion Points. The first band the musician was a part of, Hellhammer, did not have the reception it deserved but laid the foundations for what was to come with Celtic Frost and, finally, Triptykon.

However, life takes many turns and puts everything in its place, and this is how Triumph Of Death was born in 2018 by Tom to bring back Hellhammer‘s repertoire, thus paying homage to a very important part of the underground scene that would culminate in the excellent live album that I have in my hands today, Resurrection Of The Flesh, released last November by BMG/Noise and Prowling Death Records, Warrior‘s own label.

It is obvious that the material we find in Resurrection Of The Flesh is a compilation of songs released by Hellhammer during 1983, all of them included in Satanic Rites, Death Fiend and Triumph Of Death – later re-released in 2008 under the Demon Entrails compilation- adapting their sound without altering the compositions themselves in any way. In addition to Tom G. Warrior as guitarist and vocalist, the Swiss musician has surrounded himself with guitarist and also vocalist André Mathieu (Impalement), bassist Jamie Lee Cussigh (Sacrifizer) and drummer Tim Iso Wey (Matterhorn) to give life to the current lineup of Triumph Of Death, thus compiling the band’s performances at the Hell’s Heroes Festival, Dark Easter Metal Meeting and SWR Barroselas Metalfest in 2023.

The album itself opens with the powerful and energetic The Third Of The Storms (Evoked Damnation), a true display of means by the quartet with which they set the tone from the first bars of the song. The most surprising thing is the enormous musical quality of the record, not only of its members but of the album’s own production, which is carried out by Warrior himself and V. Santura (ex-Dark Fortress), his trench partner in Triptykon. The sound is clean and very crisp, which contrasts greatly with the sound of the Hellhammer demos, but captures the dark atmosphere already present in the original releases and is accentuated in songs like Blood Insanity or Massacra, which also manage to capture the powerful voice. by Warrior that over the years has evolved towards more sinister territories and gives darkness to the album.

The song list is superb, alternating between heavier songs like Decapitator or Reaper with more accelerated cuts like the excellent Messiah, my favorite of the line-up since I discovered Hellhammer a few years ago. In Messiah, which also has an excellent live video, the powerful bass of Jamie Lee Cussigh stands out, pounding his strings mercilessly, exhibiting surgical precision when dissecting Hellhammer’s songs. Special mention deserves the guitarist and also vocalist André Mathieu who, in addition to providing his excellent guitar sound throughout the album, also provides voice to the dense and dark Blood Insanity, one of the best songs of the album for the person who writes this review.

The last section of Resurrection Of The Flesh is led by the essential Visions Of Mortality, the last piece composed by Hellhammer before their dissolution, a more measured song with excellent changes of rhythm that already announced the birth of Celtic Frost and that in This live album manages to captivate the listener thanks to its impressive staging. Everything is in its place, there is nothing that stands out, the band performs with ease and delivers one of the greatest pieces of this collection of classics before bringing the show to an end with a somber and heartbreaking Triumph Of Death.

Saying goodbye to a show with Triumph Of Death is truly outrageous, an otherworldly experience that the album captures perfectly. The two times that I have been able to see them live I have enjoyed and suffered in equal measure during the performance of said song, and Triumph Of Death is one of those songs that open your chest and tear all your organs, a symphony of death and putrefaction in which Warrior offers one of his best vocal performances which is captured in total detail in Resurrection Of The Flesh.

Resurrection Of The Flesh is definitely a more than essential album for fans of Tom G. Warrior, but in addition to that it is a trip to the past that somehow closes the circle and adds another chapter in the history of extreme metal. I didn’t know how necessary a Triumph Of Death live album was until Resurrection Of The Flesh fell into my hands. My heartfelt congratulations to the four members of the band, it is a real pleasure to have been part of this story in one way or another and to see that Hellhammer’s legacy is still more present than ever.