Best Celtic Frost Album Poll

To Mega Therion

and another excuse to post this :)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v675/shatteredsounds/KelticfrostLarge.jpg

I think To Mega Therion is considerably better than Into the Pandemonium but I don't know a lot of people who agree with me on that'n

still, the fucking Usurper, there's not a track on ITP that's as great as that

What did you think of Monotheist?

I don't think many comeback albums are as good as that

still, the fucking Usurper, there's not a track on ITP that's as great as that

-- J0hn D., Sunday, April 13, 2008 8:15 PM (7 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

^

strangely i couldn't really get into Monotheist at all

I voted for To Mega Therion, but Into the Pandemonium is a close second. Monotheist definitely ranks among their best, but it doesn't quite reach the heights of the other two.

Tom Warrior looks like he should be in a nu-metal band, though.

He and the singer from Cellador should team up as the two most unlikely-looking frontmen.

I liked Monotheist but CF was kind of a huge band for me when they were new 'n' all so the way I liked their old stuff is has covalent bonds with my youth, etc

What did you think when Cold lake came out, j0hn?

to mega therion

(<i>cold lake</i> was an epic humiliation unmatched until the video for "enter sandman" premiered. at least that's how i remember it.)

I remember being very happy with Monotheist but yeah I obv gotta vote To Mega Therion.

In order of preference:

1. Into the Pandemonium (1987)
2. Cold Lake (1988)
3. Vanity/Nemesis (1989)
4. To Mega Therion (1985)
5. Monotheist (2006)
6. Morbid Tales (1984)

2, 3, and 4 are very close, though; I could easily have reversed their order on a different day.

I was expecting you to vote for cold lake actually

I've only ever seen the video for cherry orchard. that was enough, dont think i wanna hear cold lake

Anyone who votes for Cold Lake should be hit with a hammer.

I was about to say "damn son," then I saw who posted that.

I just voted for Cold Lake. It's also Martin Popoff's favourite album.

I also want to say that Grand Declaration of War is the best Mayhem album. Go on, punch me through the internet.

Although I was alive during the 1980s, I was not listening to Celtic Frost in the 1980s. Therefore, I voted for Monotheist, because the guitar tone he gets on it is one of the greatest sounds I've ever heard in my life, and the mixing and mastering overall make it one of my personal peak musical experiences of the current century.

i don't think i've ever even heard cold lake. into the pandemonium was definitely one of my favorite albums of 1987. to mega therion might be my fave now. i LOVED monotheist. such an amazing comeback.

What did you think when Cold lake came out, j0hn?

tried to like it. didn't seem as bad to me then as everybody says it is now - but the non-"brutal" voice he was trying on sounded like the worst Rozz Williams ripoff. I mean, that voice barely worked for Rozz & even he abaneoned it after an album & an EP - why would you bite that style? that was my position. but I always want to give a band a chance when they're changing up their style radically. looking at tracklist now...I remember not hating "cherry orchards," the rest I barely remember at all.

i went with 'into the pandemomium'
always takes me through a wide range of feelings - sometimes i laugh, sometimes i catch on to a really cool dark riff or vocal line, at times i'm perplexed. it's a really rich listening experience.
'tristesses de la lune' strikes me as an hilarious parody of the often overtly erotic tendencies of french language in song

lol @ alex

"To Mega Therion", which I incidentally listened to this weekend, for the first time in a few years. That damn thing is way, way too good. I still don't know how the hell Celtic Frost were able to have such a completely distinct riffing style, without anyone later really (successfully) mimicking it (Darkthrone made a noble attempt on Panzerfaust, but it didn't sit quite right.)

Some day I will sit down and figure out what exactly it is they're doing, but it's hard, since their music makes my brain shut down to make way for multiple exclamation "Hnngh!", "HØH!" and "Heyyyy!"

Never really got into "Into the Pandemonium" myself, though I'm sure there must've been some nice songs on it. To MTherion and Morbid Tales are the only ones I've hanged on to. Liked what I heard of Monotheist well enough, but felt no urge to get a copy.

This makes me want to start a Coroner thread, but I think I'd need to spend a weekend replaying those albums to write a dreadful mess of rambling garbage about them.

I would read that dreadful mess of rambling garbage! Mental Vortex is so damn great

Mental Vortex is indeed great; that, and the demo where Tom Fischer sings, are all I have by Coroner, though.

BTW, John, got yer book in this morning's mail. Looking forward to it.

You people who like Cold Lake must be kiddding . Good god.

there are some ok songs on cold lake, really. but it doesn't really work as an album.

Not much love for Morbid Tales then? I think I like that one better than TMT. Also I really liked Monotheist, so my top 2 are the complete opposite of xhuxk's!

I had a funny feeling you would like Morbid Tales!

Bill must be related to Alex In NYC

'i won't dance' is an absolute gas. no wonder i opted for 'into the pandemonium'

such a frequently funny band. it's interesting to think that aaron 'humourless' stainthorpe derived so much inspiration from them.

That's a great song.

I'm almost tempted to say Monotheist, but have to go with To Mega Therion. That sucker's a masterpiece.

We seem to have a runaway winner here. (I chose it too btw)

Some day I will sit down and figure out what exactly it is they're doing

-- Øystein

I'm no musician, but it sounds to me as if they take a run of notes, often cloely clustered, and then explore all the ordering possiblilities of that note run. It's as if they're doing the musical equivalent of permuting letter combinations to generate new words. I wonder if someone could shed some light on this.

BTW with Cold Lake - don't listen to it as the worst album CF ever made - listen to it as the best album Venom never made. And try not to think of the video for 'Cherry Orchards'.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bI74tyUefY4

tom g. warrior is an ugly, ugly man.

listen to it as the best album Venom never made

Popoff compares it to Accept, and NWOBHM (especially Tygers of Pan Tang). Which probably makes more sense than the time I compared it to Blue Oyster Cult.

love the updated BM look

Into the Pandemonium all the way for me. So much variety! "I Won't Dance!" "Tristesses!" And the best version of "Mexican Radio" ever starting the damn thing off. Never could really get into To Mega, and I really didn't like Monotheist the last time I listened to it.

Listening to Into The Pandemonium right now, specifically the two mixes of "One In Their Pride"...weird to think of Tom G. Warrior listening to Tackhead, but this stuff is a total Tackhead rip.

OK, this thread has inspired me to pull out To Mega, and I have to say, I think I've gotten into it finally. Into the Pandemonium is still my favorite, for sheer craziness, but TMT is a pretty solid slab of metal. Maybe I'll even pull out Monotheist again... although I had a really negative reaction to it, so we'll see.

I've always found Pandemonium to be just a litle too eclectic for its own good. Never could get into the "Mexican Radio" cover.

OK, listening to Monotheist and digging it. Right now I'm on "Drowned in Ashes" and getting a kick out of Fischer's Peter Murphy impression and the female vocals.

Monotheist is brilliant

this is a good poll.
seems that every record has a case for it with the variable being the type of music fan listening to it.

haha just watched the video for 'cherry orchard'
that track totally takes its cue from motley crue's 'looks that kill', but is somehow a lot more limp and devoid of energy

Cold Lake is a terrible album, but I've always sort of liked "Cherry Orchards".

Wonder if Vanity/Nemesis will get any votes?

How come nobody ever talks about Vanity/Nemesis?

i haven't heard v/n in like 15 years. i remember it as disappointing. i almost bought a copy the other day but angel rat seemed like a better buy.

listen to it as the best album Venom never made

Popoff compares it to Accept, and NWOBHM (especially Tygers of Pan Tang). Which probably makes more sense than the time I compared it to Blue Oyster Cult.

-- xhuxk

I can hear that maybe - esp. Pang Tang. It's very, very heavy hair metal - can that be a bad thing? I don't fully comprehend the bad press this record has received. Maybe they should've released it under another name.

Judging by the reaction it got and still gets it shouldn't have been released at all?

But what does Janne think?

you know what i need to hear again? discharge's grave new world album. i haven't heard it since the 80's. another album that people hated after worshipping a band feverishly.

It is really pretty awful. I like a lot of crossover stuff from the time, but not that stuff. Massacre Divine is just as bad. I never heard Shootin' Up The World.

I'm sure Janne would hate it.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

To Mega Therion! I can't believe people are voting for Into the Pandemonium. Sure, there's a few classics on it, but there's also a few songs that flat out suck.

I listened to Morbid Tales for the first time in awhile last night, and was struck by how awesome it was. Not better than To Mega Therion, but better than I remembered.

i think To Mega Therion is going to win easily.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

9 jokers for cold lake then

chuck eddy has eight sockpuppet accounts

there was a secret thread someplace where one guy told eight other dudes to go vote for cold fucken lake

I dont think even Chuck voted for it!

More votes for Cold Lake than for Morbid Tales = world has gone mad

I think I forgot to vote. Although even if I had, it still would only have 5!

Just listened to Celtic Frost for the 1st time today. I dl'd To Mega Therion and listened to it in the car during my 5 a.m. commute. Black clouds sailed past the full moon as I sped down the parkway. This is a fitting opener to Halloween season. This has been missing my whole life.

Welcome! <maniacal cackle>

Top shelf. I think Montheist beating out Morbid Tales in this poll is utter nonsense.

And you can remove the "I think" part of that statement. It's totally objective fact.

I think Monotheist has become my favourite ahead of Into the Pandemonium , as that's the one I pull out to play mostly now.

^This guy is crazy! :)

Had left TMT in the car CD player last night and it was on when I started up the car to take my kid to the bookstore. I switched it immediately over to his Spiderman CD and he goes "No. Wait - put that song back on!" So I put it back on The Usurper and he had on this full-toothed grin and doing this swaying back-and-forth dance...kinda an Axl Rose thing.

About two minutes in, I saw that he was staring into space and figured he was bored so I asked if he was ready for me to change it back to Spiderman. "When this song's over, you can put it back." Cool.

After I changed it back he says "I like angry music because it's loud and because IT'S ROCK AND ROLLL!"

http://a211.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/111/l_da1124a8edcfe9edcca797dbea36eaca.jpg

Somewhat off topic, but let's give it up for Hellhammer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTr7_mhD9ew

There were young kids wearing Hellhammer shirts at the Agalloch show on Saturday. Also Atheist shirts etc. Heartwarming.

Alright, "Cold Lake" isn't as bad as I remember. I mean, Tom G. Warrior wrote it, there's some decent metal buried under bad production and guitar squeals/tremelo abuse. Would pay Warhammer or Apokalyptic Raids to re-record these songs in proper CF style.

so I finally just got Monotheist and I want to hurt everyone ITT who said such great things about it. I love old Celtic Frost but the first five tracks of this border on mediocre post-thrash with gothic and doom influences. I mean I wouldn't have even guessed this was CF if the name wasn't on the album cover. I really am not interested in hearing Tom G. Warrior sing as much as he does either.

Bahhhhhhhhhhhhh...

You probably don't want to hear the Triptykon record then; it's Monotheist continued. And it's my favorite CF record though I didn't post on this thread for some reason.

I don't love Monotheist, think it's got some serious groove, but Triptykon - man that is proper. TG Warrior being forward-looking and pertinent in 2010...who'd have thought? fucking rad.

on reflection, Morbid Tales totally should have got more votes in this. "procreation (of the wicked)" is probably their greatest song.

its the one i listen to most now

love that there were 9 people attempting to get everybody mad by voting Cold Lake

1 will have been chuck...so point taken

The power of positive trolling.

oops i read up and it was his 2nd fave

When we doing the Coroner poll?

Best Coroner Album Poll

this thread reminds me that i still haven't heard a note of Vanity/Nemesis. it really is easy to forget that that album exists.

Was surprised to see Cold Lake even made it to the list.

someone would've complained that it wasn't on it and that they intended to vote for it (in this case 9 people )

Tom G. Warrior's "HEEEYYYYY!" is one of the greatest vocal signatures in rock history. It actually activates my (presumed) Tourette's Syndrome to the point that I just want to howl it at really inopportune, inappropriate times: on a crowded subway, late at night in my apartment, when my phone rings, to my cat, in the shower. I need to find To Mega Therion on vinyl. I love Into the Pandemonium a lot.

I saw them on the Pandemonium tour & they opened with "The Usurper" and everybody in the pit did the "uhh!" at the end of the first chorus

OMG I HATE YOU. No, that must have been fucking insane... I recently picked up the Darkthrone Panzerfaust reish and the second disc has Fenriz voicing-over basically about how much of a stan he is for Tom G's riffage. He ripped it off pretty mightily with that record, I have to say... And I love how non-intuitive yet perfect-feeling Celtic Frost's riffs are.

I tend to disagree with buying classics out of a sense of obligation, but when certain classics belong to some sort of stylistic tradition you love, I'm more inclined to do it. I didn't really care for the first two Venom albums much and never went further.
I fairly enjoyed Morbid Tales and To Mega Therion but still wasn't a FAN, although I loved "Procreation Of The Wicked" and "Dawn Of Meggido" quite a lot. I wondered if it was worth getting more because I'm not a total metalhead and I don't feel like I need to prove credentials.
But I when I got Into The Pandemonium I fucking loved it and finally felt like a fan. It makes me wonder how many bands I might give up on only to miss what might be the record that gets me properly into a band.

Something I especially like about Celtic Frost which I'd like to hear in more metal, is Tom Warrior's voice contrasted with an elegant (and sometimes slightly sinister) female voice. Do the later Celtic Frost albums do this? Are there any other metal bands who have a similar dynamic like that? "Rex Irae" being my favourite example, I just love how she sounds like this Lady Macbeth or some high sorceress from a Robert E Howard book.

re: female vox, the Storm record with Fenriz, Satyr and female vox from Kari Rueslåtten does this.

But actually came to post how much I love the first 3 Celtic Frost releases (including the Emperor's Return EP). Something about their sound changed on Into the Pandemonium that I don't quite love, but to then, I'd say they were a step up from Hellhammer.

Thanks for the recommendation. I'd like to hear more stuff like this.

Monotheist has the female vox you crave. It really is a quite brilliant album and as good as their pre-cold lake stuff

Thanks

got a newer copy of TMT to replace the one I lost and holy fuck this feels like the first time I heard this again (not gonna front, it was 1999, I wasn't around in the o.g. days).

nobody riffed like these dudes.

I know some people adore and worship Hellhammer and all but to these ears that shit's minor league compared to this

For such an influential band, hard pressed to say what kind of metal CF play. Black/thrash/crust/doom/death.

We lumped them in with European thrash back in the day. But yeah, CF has influenced every single extreme metal subgenre, so it's really impossible to categorize. "Avant garde".

Just had to restart To Mega Therion because I got to "SILVER HORSES BROUGHT US HERE TO THE EDGE OF THE UNIVERSE/WE LEFT THE FALLING WALLS AS THE STARS' COLLAPSE BEGAN" and I was like NO WAY is this fucking loud enough...

Oh and I've always thought of Celtic Frost as death metal. They never really used guitars in a thrashy way, to my ears, and their whole vibe was just occult bullshit and weird old fiction, a million miles removed from blue jeans, white sneakers and lyrics about society.

to me, Celtic Frost and Hellhammer are pretty unclassifiable, but exist at this heart of black, death and thrash metal. Heaviness-wise, they were absolutely big influences for death metal, but atmosphere-wise, they were just as big an influence for black metal. Riff-wise, they were basically a crusty thrash/speed metal band....but then again also played doom riffs. Great band.

also, Morbid Tales robbed in this poll. Beaten by Cold Lake????

there's 9 trolls on ilm who voted

this thread revival reminds me of one of my ALL TIME FAVOURITE display names, "Nightboat to Mega Therion". Much respect, Nick B.

That is a great DN.

Had left TMT in the car CD player last night and it was on when I started up the car to take my kid to the bookstore. I switched it immediately over to his Spiderman CD and he goes "No. Wait - put that song back on!" So I put it back on The Usurper and he had on this full-toothed grin and doing this swaying back-and-forth dance...kinda an Axl Rose thing.

About two minutes in, I saw that he was staring into space and figured he was bored so I asked if he was ready for me to change it back to Spiderman. "When this song's over, you can put it back." Cool.

After I changed it back he says "I like angry music because it's loud and because IT'S ROCK AND ROLLL!"

― kingkongvsgodzilla, Saturday, September 12, 2009 7:29 PM (6 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this is the best post on ilx

To Mega Therion is classic, but it's strange how benign it sounds next to Morbid Tales/Emperor's Return. Then again Morbid Tales/Emperor's Return sounds benign next to Hellhammer.

been spending a lot of time with vanity/nemesis and it's great. they kept enough from cold lake that it sort of feels like a bunch of minimal thrash riffs allowed to twist into strange semiaccessible places. the bryan ferry cover is wild

I never posted in this so I likely didn't vote but I am definitely an Into The Pandemonium guy. Heavy and unique. I remember working at a record store years later and popping it in when it came in used and everyone I worked with - the alternative buyer, the hip-hop guy, even the hippie store owner - all found something about the album that got their attention in a positive way. Just a remarkable album, way ahead of it's time.

I found this thread because I wondered it anyone old remembered the beef between (I think) Don Kaye and Tom Warrior? I have a recollection of them duking it out in Kerrang! but I cannot recall the specifics. The internet was no help and Don Kaye doesn't like me so I don't want to ask him on Facebook.

Reissues of the first three and Vanity/Nemesis coming out end of next month. I'm not sure if they've been remastered or anything, but they come in book-like packaging, so I'm assuming Tom G. wrote typically long-winded liner notes. Earache's webstore has a bundle offer - less than $50 for the CD versions, $110 for the vinyl versions.

http://decibelmagazine.com/blog/2016/10/16/classic-celtic-frost-albums-to-be-reissued

"I haven’t heard Cold Lake since 1988 and I have no intention to do so before my death, although it will probably be played in hell for the next million years."

If you look at the individual CDs on the Earache webstore it has the bonus tracks... kinda weird break up (Emperor's Return is on TMT) but, excitingly, 1984 rehearsal tracks on Morbid Tales.

Tom Gabriel Fischer

As I am constantly receiving inquiries regarding the forthcoming BMG/Noise Records Celtic Frost reissue albums:

I am not part of this project, and I do not endorse it, as it does not reflect Celtic Frost's wishes, intentions, and identity.

It is thus my personal opinion that these reissues are not worth their (substantial) price.

good old Tom, he does like to bring the rain

Um...that's not what he said back in October...

http://decibelmagazine.com/blog/2016/10/16/classic-celtic-frost-albums-to-be-reissued

yeah that's his style. he is a dude whose thoughts about his own work should be taken w/several grains of salt.

He's written a typically long-winded blog entry about what happened. Basically, he wanted to use the Into the Pandemonium liner notes to re-litigate old grievances, BMG said "WTF dude, we'll get sued," and he said "Fuck this - I'm out!"

to me he is sort of the perfect example of the great artist who does not himself get his own stuff. his initial autobio circa 2000? 2001? was to me a pretty unreadable combo of "we didn't know what we were doing, but it came out a classic!" and "once again our titanic plans were foiled by THE SUITS!!" working with him has gotta suck hard

He disowned a perfectly good album in Cold Lake. Tom's a genius, but he does need to lighten up a little.

PROCREATION OF THE WICKEEEEEEEEEED

OOOH

lol I thanked Tom G Warrior in my bio for the musical I'm in and figured my director would edit it out but since he doesn't know who it is, he left it in. WIN!

Ha nice. Now to slip some UNNNH! and HEYYYYS! into your performance.

hmm now you give me ideas.

Well damn -- Martin Eric Ain has died.

http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/former-celtic-frost-bassist-martin-eric-ain-dead-at-50.html#tjcBAASLSBv2PwR8.01

RIP

Tom G. Warrior's memorial is a must read

https://fischerisdead.blogspot.ca/2017/10/martin-eric-ain-1967-2017.html?m=1

That was a great read. And I'm glad I put on Morbid Tales while I read it.

ever since the weather changed i've found it hard to listen to anything that isn't to mega therion

Solid Fall listening

I wish everything sounded like Tom G Warrior's guitar. even people's voices.

"hello" = the riff to "Procreation of the Wicked"

doing a near complete CF walkthrough. skipping TMT for now cos I've played that one 3000 times more than any other, and I want to revisit Morbid Tales (which I love), Monotheist (which I suspect me getting into Triptykon will have changed my mind about it), and Vanity/Nemesis, which I never have heard.

played Into the Pandemonium earlier. kinda enjoyed the 90s Helmet-y alt metal flourishes that occasionally pop up

I've come around a lot on Monotheist. I think the problem was one of shock. When CF reunited, I didn't expect TMT again considering they'd put three albums out after it that moved away from that sound before they broke up the first time. but sure as hell didn't expect a droney-type groove either.

I think getting into Triptykon years later helped me, though I think Triptykon is a improved version of what they were doing here.

Vanity/Nemesis wasn't bad but the production defanged Tom's guitar. I'm guessing this was done on Cold Lake as well (which I haven't heard?).

after many many years of struggling with it, i have finally become an into the pandemonium person. something clicked

I love the first three equally. Morbid Tales deserved more than four votes!

i think i always loved it bc i love celtic frost but also had difficulty wrapping my mind around... idk it's like a bizarrely-shaped thing, its ambitions make it a little unwieldy and hard to pin down, whereas mega therion is just a tank rolling over a field of skulls plus a freakin scary musique concrète track y'know. everything about pandemonium feels like it's happening a few inches off the ground, the riffs are really weird, warrior spends half the tracks trying to find his goth voice, the production is kind of thin and dissociated which is warrior's one grievance with the record iirc but i think it only contributes to the bizarre mood of it, the pop-metal and industrial moves on the second side just feel really right in terms of creating a nightmarish landscape where anything can happen like you can slip through a porthole into deep space etc. just feels like the exact thing i want to listen to right now

it was also my first celtic frost record, and when i bought it in college i really couldn't make any sense of it whatsoever lol

It was my first CF record in high school and, for some reason, I loved it immediately. Probably helped that I loved the Wall of Voodoo original of "Mexican Radio" and was getting into early Christian Death at the time.

I probably wouldn't have understood ITP if i Hadn't heard earlier CF first.

I started with To Mega Therion and instantly loved it, and then ITP sounded like a progression of that sound with more outside elements added.

https://letterboxd.com/unawarewolf/film/celtic-frost-live-at-the-hammersmith-odeon-3389/

Anybody get Danse Macabre box? I did and it rules.

Yep. Sure does.

I would also buy a Celtic Frost boxed set of it came with only a logo patch and a few shards of grass though