When Hellhammer shocked the underground foundations of music extremism in the early 80s, no one suspected that they’d be the initial necessary step for the formation of one of the greatest (if not the greatest) bands to ever exist on planet Earth. The transition from Hellhammer’s unprocessed, raw power to Celtic Frost’s ingenuity, which would constitute the basis of a variety of genres, happened almost instantly. After ending their previous band in May 1984, Thomas Gabriel Fischer and Martin Eric Ain formed Celtic Frost a month later. The soil was already fertile, the seeds had been sown, so why delay the reaping?
by Alex Nikolaidis
The first outcome wasn’t very far away from Hellhammer’s influence and insanity. The “Morbid Tales” EP, released in November 1984 via Noise Records, revealed the great Swiss band’s nascent brilliance in all its pureness and morbidity. Hellhammer’s spirit hadn’t left Tom and Martin yet; it was there, still lurking, but in a more certain shape, guiding their first steps to immortality.
Celtic Frost’s awakening caught the audience almost flatfooted. The orgies of “Apocalyptic Raids” were recent, but few expected the peculiar riffing that characterized a whole generation, Stephen Priestly’s savage drumming, and all this cryptic atmosphere. The Swiss opened the gate to a vault where none had entered before, combining Venom’s (and generally NWOBHM’s) roughness, insolence, and dirt with Black Sabbath’s heaviness and speed/thrash elements of that era. On top of that, “Morbid Tales” showed a unique perception in composition, with monumental patterns, excellent tempo changes and transitions that haunted many listeners’ and musicians’ dreams.
The explicit declaration of “Into the Crypts of Rays” and the way that the ruthless themes of “Visions of Mortality” and “Return to the Eve” unfold formed a whole school of thought. Even in this early form, Celtic Frost’s intricacy and subtlety foretold what would come in later LPs. As for the repetitive, doom -but simple as the naked truth- patterns of “Procreation (of the Wicked)”, tell me of a doomster with dignity who hasn’t whispered them in their everyday life (even under the light of the sun).
“Morbid Tales” clearly expresses Frost’s tendency for mysticism and esotericism, striding daringly into dark corners of the mind. For instance, consider the terrifying instrumental “Danse Macabre” and its morbid atmosphere, with all these bell chimes, tortured moans, and weird sounds. It surely resembles descending into a sunless, moldy, out-of-time catacomb where insanity prevails. Now, try to fathom the horror it would unleash if it were used as sound effects in “Rosemary’s Baby” during Mia Farrow’s nightmare (of course, that wouldn’t be possible since that phenomenal movie was released in 1968; that was just my sick, wishful thinking…). Despite its non-optimal position within the track list, it was a blast in sanity’s face.
The ending with “Nocturnal Fear”, inundated with speed/thrash rawness and enthusiasm, declares Celtic Frost’s adherence to their honorable roots. Of course, that connection would lose some of its persistence in later years since the Swiss’ art couldn’t be contained within the rather clearly defined boundaries of “Morbid Tales”. Their imagination and creativity would unfold in full brilliance in groundbreaking albums such as “To Mega Therion” and “Into the Pandemonium”, not to mention the unrivaled “Monotheist”, when avant-garde and prog explorations pushed them in new directions; but Frost’s straightforward debut EP was a first glimpse of a far-sighted vision.
“Morbid Tales” became seminal regarding the evolution of the extreme metal, having an impact on a variety of bands. Death metal giants like Obituary, Death, Morbid Angel, and Autopsy, pioneers of black metal including Darkthrone, Mayhem, and Emperor, and thrash acts like early Sepultura and the innovative technical masters Coroner, were deeply influenced by the dark themes of “Morbid Tales”.
Forty years after Celtic Frost’s entrance into the underworld, the gate is still open;but sometimes, when I reflect on their breakthroughs, I sadly realize how much we miss them.
Some facts:
- The American version contains two additional tracks, “Dethroned Emperor” and “Morbid Tales”, both taken from their next EP, “Emperor’s Return”. Hence, the band deem this LP version their debut album.
- When Darkthrone released “Panzerfaust”, Fenriz commented that “Morbid Tales”, “Under the Sign of the Black Mark” (Bathory), and “Necrolust” (Vader) were his main inspirations.
- In 2017, “Rolling Stone” ranked “Morbid Tales” as 28th on its “The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time” list.
- The original 12΄ vinyl version was released in a limited edition of 200 copies, hence becoming a highly sought-after item for many collectors. I’m sure that today many of them are willing to sell one of their kidneys to acquire this treasure!
- The EP’s front cover was inspired by Aleister Crowley’s “Magick” book series.
- Themes like EP’s intro (“Human”) and “Danse Macabre” were inspired by horror movies of that time (Dario Argento’s works, the “Omen” score, etc.).
