Celtic Frost Album: “To Mega Therion”

I consider Celtic Frost one of the biggest influences of the "Death Metal" scene period. They had more raw power, and more dreamy-evil than any band during it's time. They were completely over the top with this release....A MUST!!

There is not one single song on here that wont scare the **** out of you. That's what kept me coming back to it, and eventually turned me into a Frost fan. They are so unpredictably cool. Talk about chilling!!!

When I first heard this, I was a long-hair headbanger kid who loved bands like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest.....Frost was a complete change for me. I first had it on tape, and this tape was no ordinary tape....It called to me. This is some of the most possessive music ever made by anybody. I know, and love good "Death Metal", but this is something from beyond the doors of the dark. It stands alone, along with Morbid Tales/Emperors Return, I consider them two of the most important releases in the history of "Death Metal"....

Back in the mid-80's, there was nothing even close to this when it comes to darkness. This is nothing short of genius.

Even today, this is very enjoyable. My personal favorite DM band from the 80's no doubt. Celtic Frost will unchain the wild beast that lurks inside of you, and all of us. Give it a shot, and if you don't like it, just wait, it'll be back in your head before you know it.....YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN FAIR WARNING.

Frost Rules!!!!

"Blood and sand, mark the way...the usurper's tears guide my sword".

Look kids, if you still don't know what Warrior is saying in the lyrics of this album, then you probably don't know about the Necronomicon either, or Giger, or forgotten memories.

This music is to be understood, not merely listened to and head banged to (although that is somewhat inevitable). I still believe this to be the most brutal and yet articulate masterpiece of occult lore in the medium of music and other imagery.

If you are a soldier, and the the other guys are listening to Metallica, then you had better be listening to Celtic Frost. Morbid Tales, too.

I heard once that the military was experimenting with the playing of heavy metal to combat terrorists. Well folks, drop a couple of hits of LSD under his tongue, wait an hour, then play this album with surround sound full volume. Try that and let me know how it works.

Thanks.

Shad

You have to get used to Celtic Frost, especially if you're idea of metal is closer to Guns 'n Roses or Motley Crew. CF's brand of grinding, battering thrash was a revelation way back in '87. The guitars are super-distorted and the drums have a grumbling kinda washy reverb over them that makes these cuts sound like they were recorded in a castle on top of the Himalayas. Tom Warrior gargles most of the lyrics up from a cancerous sounding voicebox, every one of them unintelligible. But you know what? I LIKE it! There's a dark feel to the whole thing...the guy who said turn off the lights and listen got the nail right on the head. Visions of the fall of some empire from the Bronze Age, impaled horsemen, Mongol hordes all come to mind. "The Usurper", "Eternal Summer" and "Circle of the Tyrants" are all standouts. CF should get some kind of medal for their time changes and *tempo* changes alone, but their command of atmosphere is what makes this record a classic. For the uninitiated, give it a few spins before you decide. These songs paint terrible pictures, and the music is unforgettable.

My only complaint about TMT is the considerable drop in the level of aggression from "Morbid Tales" and the EP "Emperor's Return". But it has merit enough to have a place in any metal collection.

As other reviewers have cited; CF and even more so Hellhammer have been responsible for the Black Metal movement (much the same way Helloween set the Power Metal trend). But Tom Fischer wasn't out to inspire people to burn churches. He was breaking new ground, musically. This style of music hadn't existed before.

I know from experience that the demographic cattle discard Celtic Frost as a grunting death-metal outfit. But "Morbid Tales" and "To Mega Therion" capture a mood no one will ever be able to copy.

Celtic Frost is a huge influence on most death metal bands today. From Anthrax to Dave Grohl they have been cited as "gods of metal", ushers of black (in the genre of Venom) and death metal. I fisrt heard these guys back in the early 90's, a little late, and after their prime. My fisrt exposure was into the pandemonium, nice start, with a few odd twists. Cold Lake was my next view, and I thought, where are these guys going, and are they supposed to be Metal? Then I heard this album...THIS IS CELTIC FROST. This is what I was told in Legend about.

Born from Hellhammer member Thomas "Warrior" Fischer, Martin Ain, and Stephen Priestly. They first debuted some material on the "Death Metal" compilation for Noise records, and soon released Morbid Tales in 1984. From their debut album Morbid Tales, this was the second album (1985 release) and an awsome follow up that set the standards high for this up and coming band from Swiss/German origins.

From the first song Innocense and Wrath set up a longstading good/evil play that Frost used for many of their albums. Other highlights include Eternal Summer, The Usurper, and Circle of the Tyrants.

If you are a metal fan and have not bought any Frost before, this is a good second choice album. Morbid Tales is the top pick, but you will not be disapointed with this one either.

It is good to see that they are still kicking and alive today, check out their new album Monotheist as well.