CELTIC FROST — Monotheist (review)

Album · 2006 · Doom Metal

5/5 · 2016-07-09
siLLy puPPy

What is one to make of a classic extreme metal band who started off with the name Hellhammer, released a couple EPs and then suddenly changed their name to CELTIC FROST? Well, that’s actually not that strange of a thing for a band to do. OK, how about such a band immediately picking up the burning metal torch from Venom and running with it to the point that all of their efforts split off into several 21st metal sub-genres even before such things were orthodox? Now that’s an unexpected feat of influence if i do say so myself as this band pretty much constructed a blueprint for all things thrash, black and doom. However, just as they were about to really take off into becoming extreme metal gods after their influential debut “To Mega Therion” they dived into the unknown, testing their limits and dipping into accessible glam metal territory. This WTF approach tested the patience of even the most eclectic extremists in the crowd and this OMG - WTF are you doing nonsense reached its apex on the 2002 album “Prototype” which lollygagged (me with a F@KK%N lolly-spOOn) into nu metal and trip hop dancing together but not in a good way :O BTW i like some nu metal and i adore well done trip hop, but these guys were fish out of water in these arenas.

So who coulda seen an album like MONOTHEIST coming? This is one of those moments that makes you realize that these guys were the real deal all along but somehow they got MAJORLY sidetracked thinking they could conquer musical horizons that were just too unrealistic. Let’s face it. LOTS of bands can be influential but not develop their influence into fruition. Well, F-I-N-A-L-L-Y on MONOTHEIST, the band formerly known as Hellhammer delivers the goods and what an absolutely brilliant album they have cast upon the physical world. This is the album they had in them from the beginning but for some reason their VHF and UHF were interfering with each other’s 80s reception and only in the digital age could they decipher their programmings and find the gumption to realize that their futile attempts to go where they didn’t belong were tantamount to Whitney Houston trying to cover a Slayer song. Nice job, guys! Even if it took you WAAAAY too long :)

MONOTHEIST is a beast of a metal album and while flying the flag of doom metal overall is a triumph of amalgamating various strains of metal (doom, gothic, black, death) with other underlying sounds such as dark ambient, symphonic classical and even progressive rock. This album was a long time coming and cements CELTIC FROST into the world of totally relevant metal acts of all time IMHO. All those visions of unifying different musical genres have been refined into the metal world here and taking the appropriate METAL visions and juxtaposing the so-called distinct “genres” of ideas into a seemingly and hauntingly realism. This album is dark, misanthropic and sombre while remaining heavy, atmospheric and appropriately apocalyptic. CELTIC FROST basically creates a summary of their entire career here without the moldy cheese and ferments their vision into a most fitting grand finale.

This album was a planned work in the making. It supposedly started as far back as the year 2000 and was seemingly planned as the magnum opus and i must say that it has achieved that status. This is one of those releases where i am truly in awe of its scope. Instead of merely sterilizing their ambitions, CELTIC FROST went for the jugular in appealing to the all of the dark arts embedded in music. I’m talking not just Black Sabbath and Venom but also goth rock acts like Bauhaus and Christian Death, hardcore punk bands like Discharge but also of early no wave influences such as Swans as heard on the female accompaniment of Lisa Middelhauve (of Xandria fame) on “Drown In Ashes.”

This album sounds like it was designed to be a classic. Every member on board wanted to create the impression that CELTIC FROST wasn’t just an influence but a relevant modern day entity and with that regard this band certainly achieved their goal. This album just flows perfectly from one track to the next. I find this to be a perfect album and if you know the history of this band and extreme metal in general then you will probably find this a worthy addition to your collection as well. For me personally, this one was an instant hit in my metal loving world of music but even if it doesn’t hit you upon first listen i totally recommend multiple listens because this is an exquisitely brilliant album that may require multiple listens to appreciate. There’s nothing ridiculously complicated about this release but it is album that demands a hearing as a whole and not simply a fly-by-moment listening. It has grown on me as a classic of the ages :O