Celtic Frost

简介: 小简介
 Celtic Frost's impact on the evolution of European heavy metal cannot be overstated. Along with power metal kings Helloween (and t 更多>

小简介
 Celtic Frost's impact on the evolution of European heavy metal cannot be overstated. Along with power metal kings Helloween (and to a lesser degree, the sometimes cartoonish Mercyful Fate), Frost's enduring influence on Europe's heavy metal landscape is arguably comparable to Metallica's standing in America. Labeled by critics as "avant-garde" for their radical fusion of violent black metal and elements of classical music, the band represented a distinctly European metal perspective. But their history was troubled, their output uneven to say the least, and their ignominious end hardly fitting of their important legacy.Thomas Gabriel Fischer was the product of a broken home and a less than financially secure upbringing — a rare predicament in his native Switzerland, but one that instilled in him the burning ambition and outcast mentality usually required in the formative years of a rock star. Fresh out of high school, the teenager was already enamored with the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, and particularly high-energy trios like black metal pioneers Venom and proto-thrashers Raven. Inspired by that movement's D.I.Y. credo, Fischer renamed himself Tom Warrior, and along with bassist Steve Warrior and drummer Bruce Day, formed his first band, Hellhammer, in the fall of 1982. Less than a year later, and though still raw beyond description, the band's demos — now featuring bassist Martin Eric Ain and drummer Stephen Priestly — had become surprisingly popular within the underground tape-trading community. In late 1983, start-up German label Noise Records signed them to a contract and included two of their tracks on its first release, a compilation of rising German metal bands appropriately called Death Metal. But Warrior and Ain felt that Hellhammer had already run its course and that the group's extreme nature was too limiting for their increasingly mature compositions. Thus, with their gothic, pseudo-satanic image already coming into focus, in May 1984 they evolved into Celtic Frost.By October, the trio was in Berlin recording its first album, Morbid Tales, which cemented the group's position as one of Europe's most promising metal acts thanks to its still relatively straightforward — but nevertheless excellent — thrash metal attack. The sudden departure of Priestly also proved to be a blessing in disguise, as his replacement, American drummer Reed St. Mark, brought a confidence and musicianship that the group sorely needed. Amazingly, Celtic Frost had yet to play their first concert, so after putting the finishing touches on the Emperor's Return EP, in April 1985 they performed a single warm-up show in their hometown of Zurich, then set out to tour across Germany and Austria.
Now growing from strength to strength, Warrior decided to replace the increasingly unmotivated Ain with bassist Dominic Steiner for their second album, To Mega Therion. But he soon had second thoughts, and Ain returned after the album's completion that fall. Its cover graced by original artwork from acclaimed Swiss artist H.R. Giger (of Alien fame), the album expanded Celtic Frost's songwriting palette, furthered their growing reputation, and was followed by their first North American performance at the World War Three metal festival in Montreal. After the release of the Tragic Serenades EP in the summer of 1986, the band embarked upon its most extensive tour yet — first through Europe (including their first visit to England) with Helloween and Grave Digger, then across America with Voivod and Running Wild. By the end of the year, Celtic Frost were poised to fulfill their seemingly destined promise with a groundbreaking third effort. On To Mega Therion, Warrior had begun experimenting with different musical styles (especially classical music and electronica), leading certain journalists to describe the band's direction as "avant-garde" metal. Released in 1987, Into the Pandemonium would substantiate these claims and then some, introducing an unconventional collision of death metal brutality and symphonic overtones on its way to becoming one of the classic extreme metal albums of all time. Frost's most defining and influential work, it paved the way for the evolution of European death metal as a full-fledged underground phenomenon over the next decade. American guitarist Ron Marks was brought in to flesh out Celtic Frost's live assault, and their subsequent U.K. tour was a resounding success on all fronts.
Now at the peak of their powers, Frost headed for America to undertake their biggest tour ever, but trouble was right around the corner. First the band's high spirits were quickly dampened by personality clashes with new member Marks and, secondly, the tour itself became mired in organizational and financial difficulties almost from day one. By the time it finally concluded in New York City (where the road crew was forced to hold the group's gear hostage in order to get paid by Noise Records), the band was on its last legs. Furious at their record company and completely burnt out from the long months of arduous roadwork, they had had enough: Celtic Frost effectively ceased to exist.Six months would pass before Warrior got over his disillusionment and was convinced to resurrect Celtic Frost by Swiss guitarist Oliver Amberg. After drafting bassist Curt Victor Bryant and bringing back founding drummer Stephen Priestly, the revamped unit entered Berlin's Sky Trak studios in the summer of 1988 with producer Tony Platt to begin sessions for the now infamous Cold Lake album. Warrior's lingering indifference and lack of commitment to the project allowed Amberg and Platt's commercial tendencies to run wild. In what has since been viewed as one of the most misguided changes in artistic direction in heavy metal history, the duo subverted Frost's ferocious extreme metal roar into a sugar-coated pop-metal whimper. If this weren't bad enough, the group then signed their own death sentence by adopting a glam rock image, complete with teased hair, makeup, and colorful outfits to match! The repercussions were instantaneous and devastating; press and consumers alike burned the band in effigy as an utter sellout, and what was expected to be a triumphant world tour turned into a protracted, embarrassing agony for all involved. Following this unmitigated disaster, Tom Gabriel Fischer (as he'd once again been calling himself after retiring his Warrior-like qualities) began backpedaling as fast as he could. Assuming control of the group once again, he fired Amberg and lured guitarist Ron Marks back to the fold for 1990's back-to-basics Vanity/Nemesis LP. Marks remained as unreliable as always, though, and would soon exit, forcing Bryant to switch from bass to guitar and opening the door for Martin Eric Ain's return. As for Vanity/Nemesis, it was a respectable semi-return to form that attempted to pick up where Into the Pandemonium had left off and make believe Cold Lake had never happened, but it ultimately couldn't undo the damage done to the band's reputation. After a troubled European tour, Frost planned to return to America for the first time in three years, but when a new recording deal with major label EMI (which had finally severed the band's long-troubled ties to Noise) fell through due to corporate restructuring, Celtic Frost found themselves dropped and, still in shock, decided to call it a day. Their final act was compiling a collection of hits and album leftovers for 1992's Parched with Thirst Am I and Dying — its bizarre title taken, in typically quirky Frost fashion, from a fourth century Roman poem. Fischer would avoid the spotlight completely for the next few years before resurfacing in the late '90s with a new band called Apollyon Sun, but when this too ground to a halt amid widespread public indifference, he once again connected with Martin Ain, and quietly set about planning Celtic Frost's resurrection. Working mostly in seclusion and avoiding all external intervention or financing, the duo — plus new drummer Franco Sesa — slowly recorded enough material for a comeback album to be titled Monotheist, which they eventually licensed to Century Media and released to much well-deserved fanfare in early 2006 — just over 20 years after their debut.
介绍 “更多的是情感的表达,而不仅仅是攻击和毁灭。”——Martin Eric Ain,1987
“我们玩的是华丽摇滚或是地下硬核这都无关紧要,关键是理念的方向和发展。”——Reed St. Mark,1986
“我不在意我们是最重的,或者是最柔的,或者是最商业的,或者是最做作的乐队。我们努力做到与众不同,有所创新。”——Thomas Gabriel Fischer,1986
“我们在录制Bleach专辑之前,总是把一盘磁带翻来覆去地听,那盘磁带是转录的,一面是SMITHEREENS,一面是CELTIC FROST,我想那还是颇有一些影响的。”——Kurt Cobain(RIP)
创新,先锋,勇敢,粗暴,奇异,刺激,独特。这不过是CELTIC FROST在其8年的历史中凭借其强大而富有挑战性的音乐所得到的众多赞美中的一小部分。
成立于瑞士苏黎士的CELTIC FROST最初是由吉他手Thomas Gabriel Warrior(原姓Fisher),贝司手Martin Eric Ain和鼓手Steven Priestly组成。在成立C.F.之前,乐队的名字叫做HELLHAMMER,并曾以这个名字发行了几盘样带,这几盘盘样带的意义或许大于日后 C.F.的所有专辑,乐队在这些样带中所体现出来的粗暴美学无疑得益于BLACK SABBATH、VENOM和70年代的前卫摇滚乐队,如ROXY MUSIC,ELP等等,这盘样带影响了很多后来的极端金属乐手。MAYHEM乐队的鼓手把自己叫做Hellhammer,这多半也来自80年代初的 HELLHAMMER乐队。请记住这些样带的名字:Death Fiend,Triumph Of Death,Satanic Rites和一张正式的EP,Apocalyptic Raids。 版权所有:偏执狂金属网
Thomas G. Warrior试图尝试更具有艺术摇滚的音乐形式,于是他解散了HELLHAMMER并组建了CELTIC FROST。新组建的乐队在音乐上虽然没有HELLHAMMER极端,但其音乐性无疑有了长足的进步。 版权所有:偏执狂金属网
1984年,乐队出版了首张专辑Morbid Tales,这张诞生于第一波Thrash Metal浪潮的专辑有时会被人误解成一张类似于METALLICA、MEGADETH或者SLAYER的Thrash Metal专辑,甚至当时的媒体都把CELTIC FROST列为欧洲Thrash Metal的希望之星,似乎他们足以和美国乐队相抗衡。对此,Tom回忆道:“我们那时候很谦逊,也许因为我们来自瑞士,而且并不处于当时的潮流之中。我 们觉得还有很多地方需要改进,但是媒体却让我们感到和那些美国乐队处于同一高度。现在很难描述那时的感受,不过80年代中期对于音乐来说真的是一个极端和 变革的年代,我们想做的就是继续扩大金属乐的范畴。”
Morbid Tales实际上已经突破了美国乐队定义的Thrash Metal的范畴,它的速度比任何美国乐队的专辑都要慢,音色也没那么重,但音乐本身却比美国乐队更极端。Morbid Tales中的riff更具有扭曲感和毁灭感,充满了邪恶与黑暗的力量,这种力量来自古老的BLACK SABBATH,并将延续到SEPULTURA、PARADISE LOST、MAYHEM的精神之中。
1985年 初,CELTIC FROST更换了新的鼓手Reed St Mark,可能是为了检测新阵容,他们迅速推出了一张三首歌的EP,取名为Emperor's Return,这个具有维京风格名称的EP虽然音质不佳,但仍然是极端金属迷心目中的瑰宝。 版权所有:偏执狂金属网
乐队的下一张专辑是鼎鼎 大名的To Mega Therion,专辑的名字来自于着名的神秘主义先锋Aleister Crowley的着作(记得Ozzy的一首歌Mr. Crowley么?就是这个Crowley),乐队的贝司手Ain正是一位Crowley的狂热崇拜者和一位虔诚的异端教徒。专辑的封面是瑞士着名视觉艺 术家H.R. Giger的作品,这位以设计电影《异形》而闻名于世的艺术家在To Mega Therion的封面上将耶酥变成了撒旦的弹弓架,具有强烈的讽刺效果。
To Mega Therion在音乐和视觉上的造诣无疑达到了乐队的巅峰,专辑中有着象The Usurper、Dawn Of Meggido这样的经典曲目,专辑中怪异的和弦与管弦乐队的宏大气势构成了当时最为前卫的金属音乐。这种音乐对后来很多以前卫和古典着称的极端金属乐队 都有着很大的影响,其中最直接的无疑就是那支取名为THERION的乐队。
C.F.勇于革新的天性使他们的下一张专 辑被 Kerrang!杂志描述为“空前绝后最先锋的金属专辑”(这里“先锋”特意用到了“avant-garde”这个词)。这张专辑指的就是发行于1987 年的Into The Pandemonium,专辑中容纳了多种音乐元素,从而极大地阔宽了金属乐的范畴。在这张专辑中,你可以听到诗朗诵(Tristesses de la Lune),说唱(One In Their Pride),环境音乐(Mexican Radio),甚至还有一段Tom计划在自己的葬礼上播放的死亡进行曲(Rex Irae)!
Tom自己这样解释这张经典专辑:“我在这张专辑之前和之后都没有为哪张专辑投入过如此之多的精力。它是难以用语言来描述的,不过专辑的名字本身就很能表达这种感觉了。这是我做过的最为复杂的唱片,如此极端,我为它感到骄傲。”
专辑中,Tom对美国吉他手Ron Mark表达了致意,他的加入使乐队成功的世界巡演成为可能。由于Mark加入的时候,专辑的制作已经接近尾声,所以在这张专辑中并没有把他列为正式成 员。可惜的是,这次规模浩大的巡演让乐队成员感到厌倦,除了Tom外,其他三个人都离开了乐队。原先的鼓手Steven Priestly又重新加入了乐队,另外又找来了贝司手Curt Victor Bryant和吉他手Oliver Amberg。
C.F.的下一张专辑是1988年的Cold Lake,不知道是不是乐队新成员的问题,这张专辑居然变得非常主流,完全是当时美国主流金属的翻版,甚至连Thrash Metal都算不上了。Tom自己也承认这张专辑是一个重大失败,在99年的C.F.的再版专辑中,这张专辑并不包括在内。
幸好C.F.走得并不太远,1990年的 Vanity/Nemesis又重新回到了乐队擅长的前卫风格。专辑的制作人是乐队心仪已久的Roli Mosimann,而且更为重要的是在这张专辑中,原先的贝司手Ain和鼓手Marks又返回了乐队,而Bryant则由贝司手改成了吉他手。专辑中包括 了两首翻唱曲目,David Bowie的Heroes和ROXY MUSIC的This Island Earth,这些艺术摇滚的影响使C.F.的这张新专辑向金属的最边缘又迈进了一步。
1992年的回顾专辑本来并没 有想到会是乐队的最终作品,但后来事情终于发展到了这一步。在名为Parched With Thirst Am I,And Dying的精选专辑之后,本来他们雄心勃勃地试图录制一套庞大的双张专辑,而且名字都已经取好了,就是Under Apollyon's Sun,但这个计划最终却导致了乐队的解体。
Tom回忆道:“要想作出那样一张庞大的专辑,每个人都必须状态良好。 最终我们失败了,我们要么完全以自己的方式去完成它,要么乾脆就不做。但当时的情形让我们感到无法控制,不管你把它叫做自信或者是骄傲,反正去它妈的吧。 ”就这样,1993年春天,这支辉煌和独特的乐队解散了。他们的经历被Kerrang!杂志形容为“噪音艺术的凯旋”。
近日,Tom宣称他将召集C.F.的老队员再次录制一张全新的CELTIC FROST专辑。“我能透露的是这将是一张极端的专辑”,Tom笑着说道。是啊,难道还能是别的么?这张暂定为Probe的新专辑正在录制过程中,原本计 划在2003年发行的新专辑一延再延,由于乐队认为唱片公司对唱片的投入不够并拒绝草率的制作,所以宁愿一直拖下去。看来这张歌迷们期待已久的专辑必将是 另一张精品。
另外,Tom G. Warrior与CORONER成员组建的APOLLYON SUN乐队在2000年底推出了首张完整专辑Sub,反响非常不错。
“Frost的精神依然存活于许许多多勇敢的新乐队之中”——在Dwell公司发行的向C.F.致敬的专辑中我们可以看到这样的名字:EMPEROR、MAYHEM、ENSLAVED、GRAVE、OPETH......