Before they were creating proto-black metal in Celtic Frost, guitarist/vocalist Tom Gabriel Fischer and bassist Martin Eric Ain were members of seminal blackened thrash outfit Hellhammer. If you’re a fan of Celtic Frost, Hellhammer, or extreme metal in general, you should definitely check out Hellhammer’s new demo reissue, Demon Entrails (Century Media), which sheds new light on a band that influenced generations of aggressive music.

Active from 1982–1984, Switzerland’s Hellhammer released three seminal demos, Satanic Rites, Death Fiend, Triumph of Death, one full-length, Apocalyptic Raids, one seven inch, Buried and Forgotten, as well making appearances on various compilations such as the Metal Massacre series. These early recordings, either by design or by sheer coincidence, sounded far more satanic, hardcore and metal-charged than most of the heavy metal at the time.

In fact, at the time, most mainstream music fans considered Hellhammer’s sound to be formless noise. But this didn’t stop the group from attracting a rabid cult following throughout the world—a following that would only grow after the group’s demise. Even today, the impact of this “formless noise” can be heard in the black, death and thrash metal scenes, as well as in the hardcore and punk worlds.
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