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Celtic Frost - Biography


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1984-2008

Biography

Celtic Frost is one of the most influential bands ever within the occult/black metal scene. The band was originally formed in Zürich, Switzerland, in June 1984 in the ashes of the band Hellhammer by guitarist/vocalist Thomas Gabriel Fischer (Warrior) and two other guys. Fischer split up the old band Hellhammer since he didn´t think they were going to develop any further and this seems to have been a wise choise. The first album from the band, "Morbid Tales", was released in 1984 with the first wave of thrash metal beginning to take form.

Together with such bands as Anthrax, Metallica and Slayer, they were now evolving into one of the most innovative and successful metal bands ever. The next album "To Mega Therion" was the one that really made the band a name for themselves within the extreme metal community and Tom himself described this album as "unbelievably dark". The artwork for that album was done by the well-known Swiss gothic artist H.R. Giger who also created the monster of the Alien movies. The band's drummer Reed used to live together with the ex-wife of Giger and therefore she lend the band jewelry created by him. The lyrics of this album were greatly influenced by the magician Aleister Crowley since Ain was a student of the occult.

In 1987 the band released "Into The Pandemonium" which was described by the metal magazine Kerrang" as "the most avant-garde metal album that will ever be released". This is without a doubt the most experimental album from the guys of Celtic Frost, ranging in style from spoken poetry, rap and even a death march. After the tour for the new album only Tom remained in the band, Steven Priestly returned on drums and the band recruited two new members named Curt Victor Bryant (bass) and Oliver Amberg (guitars).

The new album "Cold Lake" in 1988 was influenced by mainstream American hardrock and Tom regards this one as a complete failure. In 1990 the band got back on track again with their album "Vanity/Nemesis" which was produced by Roli Mosimann. Ain now returned on the bass guitar. This album also contained covers of David Bowie and Roxy Music. In 1992 the band released their retrospective collection album "Parched With Thirst Am I, And Dying" which came to be their last recording. The band had started planning on a double album entitled "Under Apollyon's Sun" but it was never recorded. The band felt that they wouldn´t be able to make it the album they wanted it to be and in the spring of 1993 they split up.

(source: http://www.tartareandesire.com/bands/Celtic_Frost/312/)

In late 2001, Fischer and Ain began to write music together again, along with Unala on guitar and, from late 2002, experienced Swiss drummer Franco Sesa (also known within the group as the Inverted Cross). The aim was to develop and record a new, very dark and heavy album. The completion of the project took far longer than anticipated (in part due to the DIY nature of the project and the project's financing) but finally resulted, in late 2005, in what Fischer and Ain describe as "perhaps the darkest album Celtic Frost have ever recorded", based on a combination of the musical aura of To Mega Therion and Into The Pandemonium.

The newest and seventh Celtic Frost album was financed by the group itself through its own imprint, Prowling Death Records, and publishing imprint, Diktatur des Kapitals. Prowling Death Records originally was the self-founded underground label which released the Hellhammer demos and managed Hellhammer's career in 1983 and 1984. The album was produced by Celtic Frost with Peter Tägtgren (of Bloodbath/Hypocrisy/Pain fame) and mixed by Fischer and Ain. Celtic Frost and Prowling Death Records subsequently entered into a worldwide licensing deal with Century Media Records. The album, titled "Monotheist", was released on May 30th, 2006.

On May 29, 2006, Celtic Frost embarked on the most extensive tour of the band's career, the "Monotheist Tour", initially headlining festivals (e.g. the Wacken Open Air festival, in front of an audience of 50,000) across Europe the United States and Canada in 2006, and the group's first ever shows in Japan in January 2007. In early 2007 the European leg of the tour took place and a return to the United States as a special guest to Type O Negative. Further festival appearances and concerts followed in mid-2007.

On stage, Celtic Frost play with an additional tour guitar player. This position was initially filled by Anders Odden (Cadaver, Apoptygma Berzerk, Magenta), now by V Santura (of Dark Fortress).

Fischer tendered his resignation from Celtic Frost on April 9th, 2008

(source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_Frost)