Over the course of little more than three years between 1984 and 1987, Celtic Frost established themselves as one of the most important bands in extreme and experimental music of that era. Danse Macabre brings together the band’s recordings from those years, capturing their boundary-pushing ambition and creative zeal.
Celtic Frost co-founder/guitarist/vocalist Tom Gabriel Warrior recently spoke with Invisible Oranges about the epic Danse Macabre box set, the disbanding of Celtic Frost, his current band Triptykon, and his upcoming plans. Following is an excerpt.
Q: Technically, Celtic Frost hasn’t existed since 2008, and especially since Martin passed away in 2017. I have heard that you would consider a one-off or a festival gig as a tribute to Martin. Have you entertained that idea any further?
Tom Gabriel Warrior: "At this point it's simply something we've been talking about. Me and various ex-members of Celtic Frost have been talking about that. Because of course, we all miss our days in Celtic Frost, we all miss Martin Ain. We all feel as long as it's done the right way, as long as we don't go on a tour and bill it as a reunion or something. As long as we keep it to one or two concerts and name it what it is, namely a tribute in memoriam of Martin, then I think it's legitimate. It shouldn't be anything about money or whatever like that. It should simply be a few people who played as friends in a very unusual band, paying homage to probably one of the most important members of this band, Martin Erich Ain. If it's like this, we all would like to do it. But we haven't really yet worked on any of this. We all said before we make this decision, we all meet in a rehearsal room somewhere and play a few of these songs and see what it even sounds like. We haven't done that yet. So at this point, it's simply an idea we're having, but who knows when or if it's going to happen."
Read the complete interview here.
On paper, the story of Celtic Frost’s early years is as unlikely as it is extraordinary: a tale of how teenagers from rural Switzerland, at once audaciously ambitious and ferociously uncompromising, took heavy metal into new, exciting and unquestionably extreme territory. That they did so in the face of adversity at almost every turn makes this story even more incredible.
From its very inception mid-way through 1984, following Tom Gabriel Warrior and Martin Eric Ain’s decision to dissolve Hellhammer, Celtic Frost set out to give expression - both musically and aesthetically - to a uniquely extreme artistic vision which the pair delineated in forensic detail in a document which was presented to Noise Records, with whom Hellhammer had released ‘Apocalyptic Raids’, in order to demonstrate to the label that their new band was a viable project.
Convinced, Noise asked Celtic Frost to record a mini-LP, even though that hadn’t formed part of Warrior and Ain’s concept document. Undeterred, and propelled by a burning urgency, Celtic Frost set out to write and record a full length LP in a matter of a few months. Morbid Tales was recorded with Horst Müller in Berlin and was unlike anything else. Intensely heavy, nuanced and experimental, the record was a radical musical statement of intent; a stunning synthesis of Warrior and Ain’s disparate influences. From the furious opening riff of "Into The Crypts Of Rays" through to the avant-garde experimentation of "Danse Macabre", Morbid Tales heralded the arrival of Celtic Frost as a profoundly unique and uncompromising band.
New Yorker Reed St Mark joined Celtic Frost as a permanent member in February 1985, replacing session drummer Stephen Priestly, and the trio recorded the Emperor’s Return EP in April ‘85, at Noise’s request. Featuring the first recording of the essential "Circle Of The Tyrants", the EP is a solid snap shot of the sheer fanaticism that was the lifeblood of Tom and Martin in particular.
To Mega Therion was Celtic Frost’s next album, recorded in September ‘85. Due to personal difficulties, Martin was not in the band at that point, and so bass duties for the recording were carried out by session player Dominic Steiner. Martin’s absence also meant that Tom was responsible for the music and virtually all of the lyrics. But despite difficult circumstances, the resulting album, however, was a triumph. Replete with iconic cover art by HR Giger, To Mega Therion imposes its dark majesty from the off with the orchestral bombast of "Innocence And Wrath", before launching into the savagery of the hook-laden "The Usurper". Daring, dark and superlatively heavy, To Mega Therion is a sophisticated expression of Celtic Frost’s inherent drive to eschew genre limitations and, instead, define art on their own terms.
Martin Ain was soon brought back into the fold and a few songs from To Mega Therion were re-recorded and remixed with Harris Johns, emerging as the excellent sounding Tragic Serenades EP. It, and Celtic Frost’s previous releases, increasingly received critical acclaim, which emboldened the band to take more risks, to push the boundaries of heavy music even further with their next album.
Recorded in Hanover at the start of 1987, Into The Pandemonium was not an easy album to make; the band’s experimental ambitions often at odds with their label’s concerns. But, despite these obstacles, the band defended their artistic vision and the result is an astonishing piece of avant-garde art. The album’s experimentation is still striking today, challenging how we perceive heavy music and what it means to take music risks. Only Celtic Frost could create an album which kicks off with a singular cover of a New Wave song (Wall Of Voodoo’s "Mexican Radio") and immediately follow it up with the mournful tragedy of "Mesmerized".
Into The Pandemonium was the last recording made by this era of Celtic Frost, bringing to an end a period of incredible creative and artistic growth over what was a remarkably brief period of time. That the teenagers who recorded "The Third Of The Storm" and "Triumph Of Death" for the Hellhammer EP would, despite constant turmoil, be recording the jaw-dropping Rex Irae just three years later is astonishing.
Danse Macabre captures the radical ambition and evolution of Celtic Frost from 1984 through to 1987. In addition to the albums Morbid Tales, To Mega Therion and ‘nto The Pandemonium, the 7 marble colour vinyl box set also includes the Emperor’s Return, Tragic Serenades and I Won’t Dance EPs, along with The Collectors Celtic Frost compilation, a 7” of "Visual Aggression" and a cassette of rehearsals recorded at the band’s Grave Hill Bunker. A 12” x 12”, 40 page book, brings together photography - some previously unseen - from the era and brand new interviews with Tom Gabriel Warrior and Reed St Mark. A Heptagram USB drive contains MP3 audio of all the albums, including bonus tracks. A Danse Macabre woven patch, a double sided poster, and a Necromaniac Union fan club enamel badge complete the set. Danse Macabre is also available as a 5 CD box set, with 40 page book, badge, poster and patch.
Available on October 28 in the UK and Europe, and November 25 in North America, you can pre-order the box here. A new unboxing video video can be found below.
The LP Box Set includes:
- Morbid Tales (1LP red & black galaxy vinyl)
- To Mega Therion (1LP gatefold Silver & black swirl vinyl)
- Into The Pandemonium (1LP gatefold on orange and beige galaxy vinyl)
- Emperor’s Return (Back on vinyl for the first time in 37 years. Green & black galaxy)
- Tragic Serenades (12” EP on pink and black swirl vinyl)
- I Won’t Dance (12” EP, back on vinyl for the first time in 35 years. White & black swirl vinyl)
- The Collector’s Celtic Frost (12” single, back on vinyl for the first time in 35 years. Marble vinyl with silk screen print on Side B)
- "Visual Aggression" (7” single with new artwork and on grey vinyl)
- Grave Hill Bunker Rehearsals (Four track rehearsal demo cassette from 1984)
- 12” x 12” 40 page book of brand new interviews with founding member Tom G Warrior and drummer Reed St Mark. Contains rare and previously unseen photos from the era.
- ‘Heptagram’ figurine USB drive containing MP3 audio of all the albums, including bonus tracks.
- Two sided, A2 poster.
- ‘Necromaniac Union’ fan club enamel badge.
- Danse Macabre sew on woven patch.
The CD Box Set includes:
- Morbid Tales (Full album, remastered)
- To Mega Therion (Full album plus Tragic Serenades bonus tracks, remastered)
- Into The Pandemonium (Full album plus I Won’t Dance bonus tracks, remastered)
- Emperor’s Return (Full EP plus bonus tracks, remastered)
- Grave Hill Bunker Rehearsals (1984 rehearsal tracks)
- 40 page book of brand new interviews with founding member Tom G Warrior and drummer Reed St Mark. Contains rare and unseen photos from the era.
- Two sided poster.
- ‘Necromaniac Union’ fan club enamel badge.
- Danse Macabre sew on woven patch.
A very limited edition Glow In The Dark vinyl variant edition of the LP box set will be available via EMP and Nuclear Blast online. This is limited to 1,000 units.
In addition to Danse Macabre, Triptykon have announced for the first time ever they will perform a full tribute set of early Celtic Frost songs from Morbid Tales and To Mega Therion at Hell’s Heroes festival on March 25m 2023. This is being held at White Oak Music Hall in Houston, Texas.
