To Mega Therion [Remaster] (CD - 1985)

Recorded at Casablanca Studio, Berlin, Germany in September 1985.

All tracks have been digitally remastered.

Celtic Frost: Thomas Gabriel Warrior (vocals, guitar, sound effects); Reed St. Mark (vocals, drums, timpani, percussion); Wolf Bender (French horn); Dominic Steiner, Martin Eric Ain (bass guitar).

Additional personnel: Claudia-Maria Mokri (vocals); Horst Muller, Urs Sprenger (sound effects).

Already boasting one of the greatest metal names ever, Celtic Frost easily achieved infamy with their classic 1985 release, TO MEGA THERION, a statement of heaviness still unsurpassed by anyone in death metal. For their sophomore album, Switzerland's favorite sons-- guitarist/vocalist Tom Warrior and bassist Martin Eric Ain--along with newly recruited American percussionist Reed St. Mark, honed their collective vision: a unique marriage of dark sludge, lightning riffs, classical operatics, and lyrics culled from the darkest depths of European mythology.

Taken from a Greek translation from Revelations meaning "Beast," the album's title is only the beginning of the pain. "Circle of the Tyrants" rides like a war chariot on the relentless pulse of St. Mark's bass drum; Warrior's circular riffing on the ironically named "Eternal Summer" conjures up Biblical hellfire raining from the sky; and the jarring sound effects and moans of the damned on "Tears in a Prophet's Dream" bring the listener closer to the forge of the gods than Jimmy Page ever did. While the bombast remains an integral part of the Celtic Frost experience, the band--for the most part--keeps the focus on riffs and songs, making TO MEGA THERION their definitive platter. minimize