After Hellhammer released their only EP – Apocalyptic Raids – in March 1984, the band split up shortly after. Their frontman Tom G. Warrior (Thomas Gabriel Fischer) and bassist Martin E. Ain returned shortly after with a band with a similarly uncompromising vision: Celtic Frost.
In this 2019 interview, Fischer looks back on their debut release which led metal down a new path of extremity.
Morbid Tales was the first Celtic Frost release in 1984, months after the break-up of your previous band, Hellhammer. What do you remember about that pivotal time?
“In my memory it is very clear, like watching a film. Martin and I had created this new band and we gambled our entire career on this album. It was our only chance not to lose our deal with Noise Records.”
Why was that?
“After Hellhammer, a lot of people didn’t give Celtic Frost a chance. It’s difficult to understand these days, now that Hellhammer is a kind of a legend, but back then there was no extreme metal scene, no black metal scene, so Hellhammer stood out like a sore thumb. At that time, most metal bands sounded like Queensrÿche and the singers sounded like Dio. Hellhammer were the opposite. Noise Records were furious with our EP. They said it was a catastrophe, that it wouldn’t sell. It was ridiculed in metal magazines. So we formed a new band.”
With a new vision?
“Yes, without limits. We freed ourselves. We took the heaviness and the radical nature of Hellhammer, but we had a very open horizon on top of that.”
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What were the key influences for the early Frost?
“We loved NWOBHM, especially Angel Witch. Exciter from Canada – Heavy Metal Maniac was fantastic. But we also loved new wave, The Sisters Of Mercy, Bauhaus, Siouxsie And The Banshees…
There was a heavy sabbath vibe in the song Procreation (Of The Wicked)…
“I grew up on 70s hard rock. Sabbath were a huge influence.”
And in the fast songs on Morbid Tales – notably Into The Crypts Of Rays – there was classic thrash metal.
“We identified as a thrash band. I’m disappointed when Americans think they invented thrash all on their own. We had a significant scene in Europe.”
A line from the album’s title track became your catchphrase: ‘Are you morbid?’ Were you?
“I was morbid exclusively!”
Your famous ‘death grunts’ also became a signature for Celtic Frost…
“It was ad-libbed. A lot of singers would ad-lib in funk music and rock music – in NWOBHM bands like Maiden and Tygers Of Pan Tang. So that was a big influence. There were journalists who wrote about the death grunts, so it became legendary. Now I’m burdened with this for the rest of my life!”
Did you enjoy making this album?
“It was an enormous pressure and an enormous pleasure. We were trying to save our career, but it was fun. It was recorded in six days, and while there was a long path ahead, we made a distinctive step forward from Hellhammer.”
Morbid Tales is seen as one of the greatest metal albums of all time. how does that feel?
“I’m not on a star trip. I cannot be a part of that discussion. All I can say is that it is an honour that we would never have expected when we made that album. At the time it was a struggle just to survive as a band. And in that sense, I cannot overstate the importance of that album for us.”