Monotheist (album)
Encyclopedia
Monotheist is the sixth and final album
by the Swiss
heavy metal
band Celtic Frost
. The album was released in May 2006 and was the first new recording released by the band for fourteen years.
(bass/vocals) and Tom Gabriel Fischer (voice/guitars/keyboards), along with guitarist/producer Erol Unala, Fischer's long-time songwriting partner. Unala became an increasingly significant part of Celtic Frost during the songwriting.
Working titles for the album included Probe and Dark Matter Manifest.
and black metal
. However, the sound of Monotheist has been described as heavier and darker, more akin to doom metal
and gothic metal
.
According to the band's bassist, Martin Eric Ain, some of the lyrics were influenced by the writings of the English
occultist Aleister Crowley
. This influence manifests itself in tracks such as "Os Abysmi Vel Daath", which is partially a name of one of Crowley’s books.
with a bonus track called "Temple of Depression". Both the vinyl LP version and the Japanese CD release of Monotheist feature the bonus track "Incantation Against You".
A video was made for the song "A Dying God Coming into Human Flesh"
The album was ranked number 2 on Terrorizers list of the best albums of the decade.
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by the Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band Celtic Frost
Celtic Frost
Celtic Frost was a metal band from Zürich, Switzerland. They are known for their heavy influence on the extreme metal genres. The group was first active from 1984 to 1993, and re-formed in 2001. Following Tom Gabriel Fischer's departure in 2008, Celtic Frost decided to break up again...
. The album was released in May 2006 and was the first new recording released by the band for fourteen years.
Development
Preparation and development work for the project had been ongoing since 2000. The first recording sessions for the album started in late October 2002. The band consisted of founding members Martin Eric AinMartin Eric Ain
Martin Eric Ain is best known for being the former left-handed bassist of the now defunct Swiss extreme metal band Celtic Frost. According to a recent interview, Ain is, in fact, an alias...
(bass/vocals) and Tom Gabriel Fischer (voice/guitars/keyboards), along with guitarist/producer Erol Unala, Fischer's long-time songwriting partner. Unala became an increasingly significant part of Celtic Frost during the songwriting.
Working titles for the album included Probe and Dark Matter Manifest.
Music
Celtic Frost's earlier work melded elements of thrash metalThrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
and black metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
. However, the sound of Monotheist has been described as heavier and darker, more akin to doom metal
Doom metal
Doom metal is an extreme form of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other metal genres...
and gothic metal
Gothic metal
Gothic metal or goth metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that combines the aggression of doom metal with the dark melancholy of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different styles of heavy metal music...
.
According to the band's bassist, Martin Eric Ain, some of the lyrics were influenced by the writings of the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
occultist Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley , born Edward Alexander Crowley, and also known as both Frater Perdurabo and The Great Beast, was an influential English occultist, astrologer, mystic and ceremonial magician, responsible for founding the religious philosophy of Thelema. He was also successful in various other...
. This influence manifests itself in tracks such as "Os Abysmi Vel Daath", which is partially a name of one of Crowley’s books.
Release
Monotheist was released on CD, LP and as a digipakDigipak
Digipak is a patented style of CD, DVD or BD packaging, and is a registered trademark of AGI World Ltd., an Atlas Holdings company.-Features:...
with a bonus track called "Temple of Depression". Both the vinyl LP version and the Japanese CD release of Monotheist feature the bonus track "Incantation Against You".
A video was made for the song "A Dying God Coming into Human Flesh"
The album was ranked number 2 on Terrorizers list of the best albums of the decade.
Track listing
Credits
- Tom Gabriel "Warrior" FischerThomas Gabriel FischerThomas Gabriel Fischer , earlier known by his stage name of "Tom Gabriel Warrior", is a Swiss singer and guitarist. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of the death metal style of singing or growling. Together with Bruce Day and Steve Warrior he formed the seminal metal band Hellhammer in...
: voice, guitars, arrangements, programming - Martin Eric AinMartin Eric AinMartin Eric Ain is best known for being the former left-handed bassist of the now defunct Swiss extreme metal band Celtic Frost. According to a recent interview, Ain is, in fact, an alias...
: bass, lead and backing vocals (most vocals on "A Dying God Coming Into Human Flesh", all vocals on "Triptych I: Totengott", and spoken parts on "Triptych II: Synagoga Satanae"), and executive producer of album - Erol Unala: guitars, engineer, additional programming on "Temple Of Depression"
- Franco Sesa: drums
- Lisa Middelhauve (XandriaXandriaXandria is a German symphonic metal band, founded by Marco Heubaum in 1997. The band's music combines elements of symphonic metal with light electronic elements and rock....
): guest vocals on “Drown In Ashes” - Ravn (13491349 (band)1349 is a Norwegian black metal band from Oslo, Norway, formed in 1997. Their name comes from the year the Black Death reached Norway.- History :1349 formed in 1997 and comprises several former members of the band Alvheim...
): backing vocals in final chorus of “Temple Of Depression” - Simone Vollenweider: guest backing vocals on “Temple Of Depression”, additional vocals on “Obscured”, and lead vocals on “Incantation Against You”
- SatyrSigurd WongravenSatyr is the vocalist, lead and rhythm guitarist, bassist, and keyboardist for the Norwegian black metal band Satyricon. He was a founding member of Satyricon and have so far released 7 albums, 2 demos and a live DVD...
(SatyriconSatyricon (band)Satyricon is a Norwegian black metal band, and the first one in the genre to join a multi-national record label .-Biography:Satyricon was formed in 1990 by Czral and Wargod. Ulver and Satyr soon joined them...
): brief segment of lead vocals on "Triptych II: Synagoga Satanae" - Peter TägtgrenPeter TägtgrenAlf Peter Tägtgren is a Swedish musician and producer. He is the founder, main songwriter, lead vocalist, and guitarist of the death metal band Hypocrisy as well as the industrial metal band PAIN in which he is the only member....
: backing vocals on “Triptych II: Synagoga Satanae” and co-producer of album - Walter J.W. Schmid: Engineering, Mixing, Mastering
- Phillip Schweidler: Engineering, Mixing
External links
- "The Great Beast Resurrected" – article in PopMattersPopMattersPopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
covering the band’s comeback and an early review of the album