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.

Now after decades of only being available as low-quality bootlegs, Century Media is presenting Hellhammer’s now-legendary first three demos in fine, re-mastered form and deluxe packaging under the title Demon Entrails. The demos contained on this release still sound raw and intense—conjuring up images of three dudes desperately laying down heavy, evil riffs in some cold room under the darkness of a European night—but the new mastering has greatly improved the quality over the bootleg versions (even though the original tapes were lost and what you hear is material taken from copies of the masters, which means there’s still a definite necro quality to the music).

January 1983: Steve Warrior, Bruce Day, Tom Gabriel Warrior
Photo by Andreas Schwarber

Satanic Rites opens with an experimental-sounding, slowed-down “Intro” that bursts into “Messiah,” which fires out of the murk like a hell-bound freight train. From there, it’s a heavy ride through highpoints including “Eurynomos” and “Revelations of Doom.” The album then closes in a nicely symmetrical fashion with the noisy “Outro.” The overall vibe I get from Satanic Rites is one of urgency. I imagine the guy behind the recording console only needed to hit record—this is the sound of a band that was raging and ready to go.

December 1983: Martin Eric Ain, Bruce Day, Tom Gabriel Warrior
Photo by Martin Kyburz

The second disc collects the Death Fiend and Triumph of Death demos. Recorded in June 1983, six months after Satanic Rites, Hellhammer have become more confident in the recording process. For evidence, look to the sounds of dirty, black morbidity invading from every corner on “Decapitator” or the creepy Dracula-style organs that lead off the decimating onslaught of “Crucifixion.” The hammering doesn’t relent until the slow dirge section of “Reaper,” only to have the pace quickly restored by the crushing “Death Fiend.” The conclusion comes in the form of the breathtaking “Sweet Torment.”

Demon Entrails is a crucial document for not only fans of Hellhammer/Celtic Frost, but also for extreme metal fanatics in general. In addition to the bare-bones retail version, Demon Entrails will be released as a deluxe CD media-book and triple gatefold vinyl versions. Both the latter versions will feature lavish artwork, lyrics, essays and photos. Also the word on the street is that German print shop supplying the inner sleeves and LP gatefold cover refused to print them due to the satanic content. Apparently, the extremity of Hellhammer still has the ability to shock and disturb, nearly 30 years after their breakup…and that’s just the packaging. — Mike Hill