To Mega Therion (album)
| To Mega Therion | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cover art by H. R. Giger | ||||
| Studio album by Celtic Frost | ||||
| Released | 27 October 1985 | |||
| Recorded | 14–28 September 1985 at Casablanca Studio in Berlin, Germany | |||
| Genre | Extreme metal,[1] death metal[2] | |||
| Length | 39:52 | |||
| Label | Noise | |||
| Producer | Horst Müller | |||
| Celtic Frost chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  [2] |
To Mega Therion (meaning the great beast in Greek) is the second studio album by Swiss extreme metal band Celtic Frost, released on 27 October 1985 by Noise Records.[2] The cover artwork is a painting by H. R. Giger entitled Satan I. The album was a major influence on the then-developing death metal and black metal genres.
Reception
Ned Raggett in his review for AllMusic writes, "The bombastic 'Innocence and Wrath' starts To Mega Therion off on just the appropriate note -- Wagnerian horn lines, booming drums, and a slow crunch toward apocalypse. [...] With that setting the tone, it's into the maddeningly wild and woolly Celtic Frost universe full bore, Warrior roaring out his vocals with glee and a wicked smile while never resorting to self-parodic castrato wails. 'The Usurper' alone is worth the price of admission, an awesome display of Warrior's knack around brute power and unexpectedly memorable riffs." According to Raggett, "other prime cuts" include "Circle of the Tyrants", "Dawn of Megiddo", "Tears in a Prophet's Dream", "Eternal Summer" and "Necromantical Screams". Raggett concludes his review by stating that the album "is and remains death metal at its finest".[2]
Track listing
All songs written by Tom Gabriel Fischer, except where noted. Dawn of Megiddo is consistently misspelled as Dawn of Meggido on re-releases.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Innocence and Wrath" | 1:02 |
| 2. | "The Usurper" | 3:24 |
| 3. | "Jewel Throne" | 3:59 |
| 4. | "Dawn of Megiddo" | 5:42 |
| 5. | "Eternal Summer" | 4:29 |
| 6. | "Circle of the Tyrants" | 4:36 |
| 7. | "(Beyond the) North Winds" | 3:04 |
| 8. | "Fainted Eyes" | 5:00 |
| 9. | "Tears in a Prophet's Dream" | 2:30 |
| 10. | "Necromantical Screams" | 6:06 |
Total length: |
39:52 | |
Credits
Band members
- Thomas Gabriel Fischer – guitars, vocals
- Dominic Steiner – bass
- Reed St. Mark – drums
Guest musicians
- Martin Eric Ain – bass (tracks 2 & 3 on 1999 re-release; songs originally from Tragic Serenades EP)
- Wolf Bender – French horn (tracks 1, 4 & 10)
- Claudia-Maria Mokri – additional vocals (tracks 2, 6 & 10)
- Horst Müller – sound effects (track 9)
- Urs Sprenger – sound effects (track 9)
References
- ↑ "Celtic Frost, 'To Mega Therion'". Retrieved 7 February 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 Raggett, Ned. "Celtic Frost - To Mega Therion review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
External links
- To Mega Therion forum @ Celtic Frost official website
Further reading
- Fischer, Thomas Gabriel (1999). In To Mega Therion [CD booklet]. Berlin: Modern Music Records.
- Fischer, Thomas Gabriel (2000). Are You Morbid? Into the Pandemonium of Celtic Frost. London: Sanctuary Publishing Limited.
- Shapiro, Marc (1993). "The Birth of Death: A Speed Demonology". Guitar presents Speed Demons of Metal, 6–9, 23, 110–112.