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When people think of Hellhammer, most tend to hear the dark and morbid
sounds of Satanic Rites or Apocalyptic Raids
resonating within their brains. While those recordings were not without flaws, the 1983 Triumph
of Death demo seems to have been crafted by a completely different band. Many of Satanic Slaughter's trademark riffs
are present, but the overall feel is really pathetic and it is amazing that the band remained together long enough to develop
beyond this poor representation of black metal.
There are so many things wrong with this that it becomes difficult
to keep it all organized. The poor songwriting and sloppy musicianship are actually among the better qualities that this demo
possesses. The vocals are so ridiculously bad that there is no way that the rest of the recording can be taken seriously.
For a band so highly-influenced by Venom, there was absolutely no attempt at following in the footsteps of Cronos, voice-wise.
Instead of sounding evil or demonic, Tom just sounds drunk. One would expect him to be tossing out cheap pick-up lines, rather
than odes to the underworld. This almost suits the overall feel of the music, as much of it has an upbeat, poppy feel. This
is most evident in the drumming. These kids really were not sure if they were out to create black metal or simple punk rock.
There are far too many catchy rhythms on this demo and it kills any attempt to get into these songs. Perhaps, they were listening
to too many Misfits songs, while writing this material. Even the songs that were later re-recorded for Satanic Rites lack any of the dark atmosphere that they later acquired.
The production would be a severe
hindrance, if the material was worth hearing. The bass is too loud in the mix and the drums seem too separate from everything
else. The guitar and vocals are buried, though in the case of the latter that may have been a good thing. Everything sounds
too clean, which is almost surprising to say about a Hellhammer demo from 1983. Nothing about this sounds metal, at all.
Fans
of Hellhammer (or just early Bback metal, in general), are encouraged to avoid this at all costs. Triumph of Death is a miserable recording that will kill your opinion of this band, quite likely. Despite
the classic material that they later released, this demonstrates that their true essence was something far removed from those
that they imitated. If you have heard Satanic Rites and Apocalyptic Raids, then you know all you need to, regarding Hellhammer. Stay away from this.
(2 Dec. 2011)
Satanic Rites (1983)
In the autumn months of 1996, I received a package from Metal Blade Records that
included the first five of the Metal Massacre compilations, on cassette. These tapes blended in, nicely, with my
collection as I was only somewhat aware that the 80s were over. To walk into my room back then would be to step into a dark
cave that was always filled with music. Whether it was Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Anthrax, Slayer, Venom, Death,
Morbid Angel, etc. it was, more often than not, something spawned in the 80s or before. I looked forward to the Metal
Massacre tapes, though there turned out to be a lot of horrendous music contained therein. However, a few gems stuck
out and attracted my attention. Among these were "Condemned to the Gallows" by Voivod and "Crucifixion" by a Swiss band called
Hellhammer. I don't think I had ever heard or read of this band before that day. Following this, I sought out whatever I could
find of them. It would take a year or so before I was able to find out that this song was taken from the Satanic Rites
demo. Once I learned this, I pursued this obscure release for quite some time before getting my hands on it.
Satanic Rites is the third demo released by Hellhammer. However, the quality
is so superior to what was heard on Denial Fiend and Triumph of Death that this can be considered more of
an album than a demo, by comparison. This album was recorded in early December 1983 and it marked the first time that Hellhammer
recorded music in a proper studio. Stephen Priestly abandoned the band around this time and, as a result, Tom Warrior played
the bass for these recording sessions. This would lead to Martin Eric Ain joining the band shortly thereafter. After moving
all of their equipment over from the Grave Hill bunker to the studio, they recorded 10 songs in the first day, with the guitars
and drums being live. The bass, vocals and leads were overdubbed.
Satanic Rites cost about 600 Swiss francs and was officially released
by Tom Warrior's fictional Prowlin' Death Records on 200 Sony and TDK cassettes. The album was recorded by the request of
Noise Records (Berlin, Germany). It led to a full recording contract in March 1984 and the Apocalyptic Raids E.P.
that would follow. This recording is responsible for beginning the legacy of Hellhammer and Celtic Frost as well as the legions
of bands that would be influenced by this music.
The idea to create Hellhammer was born in late 1981 when Tom and Steve Warrior
deliberately slowed-down playback of Venom's "In League With Satan" single from 45 rpm to 33 rpm. They pay homage to this
moment during the intro to Satanic Rites as they slow-down the ending riff of "Triumph of Death". This sets the dark
and obscure mood, right from the start.
The first song is "Messiah", and it fades in with a sloppy, yet energetic sound,
and a terrible shriek from Tom Warrior. His vocals improved a great deal from the ridiculous nonsense found on the earlier
demos. This is stripped-down, primitive and ugly black metal. This was Venom's legacy, already corrupting the youth of Europe
and beyond. Hellhammer's music struggles with itself, cycling through repetitive riffs that seem thrown-together; the guitar
almost desperately sawing back and forth between chords that simply don't sound like they belong together at all. Often it
sounds as if Tom isn't sure quite what chord to play, and simply ends up thinly strumming half of it, or forcing an anguished
bent note out of his instrument. The drums, in the majority of the songs, clip along at a fast pace, but the rest of the band
crawls, so that even the faster songs come out doomy and hobbling. The complete absurdity of some of these riffs would make
most musically minded people cringe, yet it works in this context. If you want great riffs and sinister melodies from this
time period, listen to Show No Mercy or Melissa. This is for those that want something ugly and primal.
The raw minimalism continues on "The Third of the Storms (Evoked Damnation)". The
overall sound of Satanic Rites is actually preferable to that on Apocalyptic Raids, but this song probably
sounds better in its final form. There is a completely over-the-top echo on Tom's voice, which gives the music a sort of distant
feel that isn't present on the E.P. The guitar is much thinner on this particular recording, but in a way that makes it clearer.
There are a couple of glitches in the sound here and there, which obviously point to the fact that the CD was necessarily
mastered from a cassette that was degraded in a couple of places, resulting in the breakup and distortion of sound common
in old and often-played audio tapes. It's not a chronic problem though, and only surfaces in a couple of tracks, most notably
for a second or two in the previous song.
The next song is the doom-laden "Buried and Forgotten". It was later stripped of
certain elements and given a few others, developing into "Necromantical Screams", as heard on Celtic Frost's To Mega Therion.
The Hellhammer version is a lot less precise and tight, obviously. It's very slow and full of those torturous bending notes
Tom is so fond of, as well as some very menacing riffs. This is one of the highlights of this album. The vocals are ghostly
and evil, adding to the atmosphere rather than detracting from it, though they do sound kind of weak in other parts of the
song. The fast part, near the end, is completely unexpected and doesn't do a lot for the song, but it is brief enough to dismiss.
Also worth mentioning is that Metin Demiral performs some guest vocals on this.
"Maniac" is not evil or dark, in any way. This song is much more up-tempo than
the previous one and is faster, though not really that fast. It's at this point that the listener really senses that this
band came out of nowhere, which is part of what makes them so great to so many. Tom Warrior listened to a lot of Motorhead,
Venom and other NWOBHM bands like Angel Witch, at the time. Those are probably the bands, if any, people would be quick to
pin on Hellhammer as obvious influences. However, if they had been able to play as well as Motorhead or even Venom, they would
not be the original phenomenon that they were, because as Tom would have pointed out, they would have tried to sound like
them. The fact was though, that Venom looked like virtuosos when compared to Hellhammer, and that is a scary thought for a
lot of people.
"Eurynomos" is one of the most memorable tracks to be found here, possessing a
lot of the early 80s rock vibe that was present on the earlier demos of Hellhammer. This isn't particularly evil, but it is
pleasing to listen to. I have many good memories of listening to this while speeding down the highway after picking my girlfriend
up from work, late at night. This is a fairly fast song, kind of sloppy, but it serves its purpose well.
The next song is "Triumph of Death" which is better than the previous version,
but pales in comparison to that which is found on Apocalyptic Raids. It's neither as slow nor quite as epic as the
later version and represents only one step in the development of this song, which is considered the defining opus of Hellhammer
as a creative entity. The thrashier riffs (that were recycled on Morbid Tales) sounds more natural at this speed,
but the rest of the song seems awkward and, while it is still a good song it simply isn't as satisfying as the version on
the E.P. The suffocatingly dark atmosphere is absent, as are Tom's soul-shattering shrieks of anguish and despair.
"Revelations of Doom" is a pretty straight-forward song that can also be found,
in a different form, on the Apocalyptic Raids E.P. This is more primitive, rock-based Black/Thrash from Switzerland.
It's not one of the more inspired tracks, but it has its place and is good if you are in the mood to rock.
One can easily hear some pre-Morbid Tales riffs in the next song, "Reaper".
This one is pretty mid-paced and gets things back on track for this album. This primitive, minimalist track leads into "Satanic
Rites", which is epic by comparison. The title-track has a brief build-up before unleashing more traditional hard rock/heavy
metal rhythms. Sadly, the lyrics for this song seem to do more to showcase Tom's perverse nature which was one of his inspirations
for getting into music, anyway. Certainly, he needed some sort of outlet for all of the pent-up aggression and music seemed
to double as a way to get women interested, as well. Despite this, "Satanic Rites" is one of the more memorable songs on the
album and is one of the most inspired tracks to be found here. It's fairly simple and repetitive, yet it is done in a way
that you'd hardly notice that the song was over seven minutes long.
The last song on here is the first Hellhammer song that I ever heard, from the
Metal Massacre V compilation on Metal Blade Records. "Crucifixion" makes the previous song look like a complex and
technical masterpiece. This is about as stripped-down as it gets. The opening moments are reminiscent of the beginning of
Slayer's "Aggressive Perfector". This is straight-forward, ugly black metal and serves as a good way to bring this album to
an end.
The outro is similar to the intro, a slowed-down riff from "Revelations of Doom".
This doesn't create quite as dark an atmosphere as the intro, but it makes its point.
Overall, Satanic Rites is a great representation of what Hellhammer was.
While the earlier version of "Triumph of Death" is vastly inferior to what is found on Apocalyptic Raids, the rest
of this actually does a better job of conveying the spirit of Hellhammer than that E.P. This is the band as they were meant
to be: stripped-down, raw and unpolished.
(5 Apr. 2009)
Apocalyptic Raids (1984)
Apocalyptic Raids was the first, and only, official Hellhammer release.
As Martin Eric Ain joined the band, right after the recording of Satanic Rites, the sound of Hellhammer was expanded
and became more sophisticated. Recorded during the first week of March 1984, at Caet Studio in Berlin, this E.P. was produced
by the band and engineered by Horst Müller. After discovering the band through "Crucifixion", featured on Metal Massacre
III, I sought out the Satanic Rites album but found this instead.
The opening moments of "The Third of the Storms (Evoked Damnation)" were a little
bit of a disappointment for me, when I first heard this. I was expecting something with more of a raw edge to it. I'd later
learn that the previous version of this song was more of what I was seeking. The sound here is a little too smooth and 'polished'.
It has rather poor production (which doesn't bother me), but the sound is rather flat. The good thing is that Tom Warrior
/ Gabriel Fischer / Satanic Slaughter / whatever-the-Hell-his-name-is does a better job with the vocals. They are fairly low
in the mix and remain somewhat indecipherable, which really works for him. The song is short and fast-paced, but it's not
very energetic.
Next up is "Massacra", which is fast-paced but, once again, lacks that extra something.
There is no dark atmosphere and it feels more like punk than metal, reminding me of GBH moreso than Venom. This is nothing
more than a few minutes of mediocre songwriting.
Here is the moment where Hellhammer redeemed themselves and made their mark on
black metal. "Triumph of Death" is the most epic composition to come from this trio and it is filled with a dark and tortured
atmosphere. From the twisting guitar riffs that begin the song with an ominous tone to the absolutely tortured screams, this
is a masterpiece. The screams and moans are, quite possibly, the sickest thing caught on tape at that point. The song continues
to build up, with pounding drums that are heavy enough to crush your skull. The first verse conveys the grim feeling of this
morbid track.
"When you have been down in your grave...alive
Your mind decays and you're the coffin's slave
And when at midnight an uncanny bell tolls...
Terrible noises, the dark graveyard calls"
The vocal delivery is sick and tormented. The riff that follows this is very familiar,
as it is later recycled on Morbid Tales. Earlier versions of this song utilized this riff at a faster pace, closer
to how it was used by Celtic Frost. Another riff change is accompanied by distant moaning. As the song slows down, once again,
another chilling scream murders your soul. This agonizing sound is enough to freeze your blood. The familiar riff returns,
sounding a little out of place, but it works. The music is drenched in a feeling of doom and mortal despair and the vocal
contributions of Mr. Fischer deserve a lot of credit for making this song as dark and morbid as it is. The song ends with
the first verse being repeated as the vocals sound almost more insane than tormented, at this point. You feel the urge to
take a razor and slice your veins until all you see is stained with crimson. Words cannot do justice to this classic song.
Just the fact that Hellhammer was so intimidated by what they created here, to the point where they laid the band to rest,
should say something for it. They knew that they could never again match the intensity or the dark feeling captured, here,
so they gave up rather than try.
The last song of the Apocalyptic Raids E.P. is "Horus/Aggressor". This one begins
with a repetitive drum beat as the guitars fade in from the abyss. This brief intro fades back into nothingness as a new riff
takes over. This is rather mid-paced, despite the rumbling double-bass, but has a little more energy than the first two songs.
The pace picks up in the final minute or so, though it is nothing compared to the fury delivered by their contemporaries,
such as Slayer or Bathory. This isn't a bad song. It's far more memorable than the first two, while not coming close to the
dark epic that preceded it.
Later versions of Apocalyptic Raids feature two songs from the Death
Metal compilation, from Noise Records. The first is "Revelations of Doom", which kills most of the material on this E.P.
It's faster, more energetic and has more of a metal feeling. This must have seemed pretty extreme on a compilation that also
featured Helloween and Running Wild. It's not as raw as the version found on Satanic Rites, but none of the re-recorded
songs are.
The last offering is a re-recorded version of "Messiah". The opening moments give
the feeling if impending doom, before the song explodes. All of these songs were recorded in the same session, so it doesn't
make a lot of sense that these last two were left off the official release. Both should have been present and, really, this
song should have led off the album. Again, this isn't as raw as the version on Satanic Rites but it is, easily, the
most energetic and metal song on this album. It holds pretty true to the original, and the few differences are made up for
in some improvements in vocal delivery. Outside of "Triumph of Death", this is about as evil as Mr. Fischer ever managed to
sound.
Despite some of the songs falling flat due to songwriting, execution or production,
Apocalyptic Raids is well worth your time just for the epic masterpiece "Triumph of Death", alone. It is even more
worthwhile if you get the Brazilian version of the L.P. or the later CD re-issues as those include two more songs.
(17 Apr. 2009)
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