Hellhammer

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Hellhammer
Hellhammer logo.jpg

General information
origin Nürensdorf , Switzerland
Genre (s) Death Metal , Doom Metal , Speed ​​Metal , Thrash Metal , Punk , Hardcore Punk
founding 1982
resolution 1984
Website www.hellhammer.org
Founding members
Thomas Gabriel Fischer alias "Satanic Slaughter" later "Tom G. Warrior" (until 1984)
Vocals, electric bass
Steve Patton aka Steve "Savage Damage" Warrior (until 1983)
Last occupation
Vocals, electric guitar
Tom G. Warrior
Electric bass
Martin Eric Ain aka Martin "Slayed Necros" Ain † 2017
Drums
Jörg Neubarth alias Bruce “Denial Fiend” Day
former members
Electric guitar
Vince "Dei Infernal" Garetti
Peter Stratton (1982)
Drums
Steve "Evoked Damnator" Priestley (1983)
Drums
Mike "Grim Decapitator" Owens

Hellhammer ( English for 'Höllenhammer') was an extreme metal band from Nürensdorf in Switzerland . The band is one of the most influential bands in the field of extreme metal and has primarily influenced the sub-genres of death metal and black metal . To this day, it has not been conclusively clarified whether the name of the death metal genre comes from the possessed demo death metal or from the split album death metal , in which Hellhammer was involved. Both publications appeared in 1984.

history

Hellhammer was founded in 1982 by Thomas Gabriel Fischer (under the pseudonym “Satanic Slaughter”, later “Tom G. Warrior”) and Steve Warrior (under the pseudonym “Hammerhead”). The drummers changed often. After the release of the three demo recordings Death Fiend , Triumph of Death and Satanic Rites , the band received a contract with the German music label Noise Records , on which the EP Apocalyptic Raids was subsequently released. In 1984 an album called To mega therion was already planned. Although some new songs were already written, the titles were not recorded. In 1984 the band broke up because the two band members Fischer and Ain felt artistically too limited with the simple way of playing Hellhammer's music. Martin Eric Ain and Tom G. Warrior founded the band Celtic Frost that same year , with which they initially continued the musical legacy of Hellhammer. Celtic Frost's second album was then given the title To mega therion , which Hellhammer's debut album was supposed to have gotten.

In retrospect, Fischer commented negatively on the Hellhammer recordings. After the demos circulated for years as bootlegs of poor quality, they were however remastered in 2008 under Fischer's supervision and re-released under the title Demon Entrails .

style

Musically, the band cannot be clearly classified; their style, which was “much more destructive and raw” than Venom's , lies between speed / thrash metal , punk / hardcore and doom metal , comparable to early Motörhead and Venom albums; the style was also continued by the successor Celtic Frost at the time of the first EP Morbid Tales .

The band is also assigned to early Black Metal , and their lyrics deal with the Satanism typical of Black Metal . Because of the effects ( reverberation and distortion) applied, Fischer's vocals on Hellhammer are more like a mixture of Cronos by Venom and Lemmy by Motörhead than that of later recordings. In particular, the first recordings were very bass-heavy, distorted and amateurish with guitar playing reminiscent of Discharge ; Fischer used an early version of his characteristic "Ugh!" Shouts here. The last demo Satanic Rites already resembles the first Celtic Frost recordings and early recordings of Minor Threat in his guitar playing .

The music is similar to that of Venom-inspired Thrash Metal, but with influences from Doom Metal and a clear seriousness in the occult and misanthropic song lyrics, which should be formative for Black Metal.

meaning

A lot of bands from the fields of death metal and black metal, but also speed metal and doom metal have been influenced by Hellhammer. The band has cult status in the scene , pieces such as Revelations of Doom , Satanic Rites and Triumph of Death (which appeared in ever slower versions on all Hellhammer releases from the demo of the same name) are considered to be «groundbreaking classics of very early Black Metal, which also in 2008 boom pleasantly coarse in the pit of the stomach and are surrounded by a breath of magic ».

Discography

Chart positions
Explanation of the data
EPs
Apocalyptic Raids
  DE 39 06/12/2020 (1 week)
  CH 28 06/14/2020 (1 week)
  • 1983: Death Fiend (demo)
  • 1983: Triumph of Death (Demo)
  • 1983: Satanic Rites (demo)
  • 1984: Death Metal (split LP with Helloween , Running Wild and Dark Avenger)
  • 1984: Apocalyptic Raids (12 "-EP)
  • 1990: Apocalyptic Raids 1990 AD (official re-release with the tracks from the death metal split LP)
  • 2008: Demon Entrails (sampler with the first three demos)

literature

  • Thomas Gabriel Fischer, Martin Eric Ain: Only Death Is Real . An Illustrated History of Hellhammer and Early Celtic Frost 1981–1985. Bazillion Points Books, New York City 2010, ISBN 978-0-9796163-9-6 (English).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Death Metal ( Memento of October 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on June 15, 2013.
  2. Possessed . In: Tales of the Macabre , No. 6, p. 4.
  3. Frank Stöver: Hellhammer / Celtic Frost / Apollyon's Sun . In: Tales of the Macabre , No. 6, p. 43.
  4. a b c Martin Loga: Hellhammer - Demon Entrails (2-CD). March 13, 2008, accessed March 1, 2010 .
  5. a b Pete Pardo: Hellhammer: Demon Entrails. February 15, 2008, accessed March 1, 2010 .
  6. a b c d Seker: Hellhammer: Demon entrails. March 14, 2008, archived from the original on August 18, 2010 ; accessed on March 1, 2010 (English).
  7. ^ A b Jeremy Witt: Hellhammer - Demon Entrails. Retrieved March 1, 2010 (English).
  8. ^ J. Bennet: Procreation of the Wicked. In: Albert Mudrian: Precious Metal. Cambridge 2009, ISBN 978-0-306-81806-6 , p. 31.
  9. ^ Bennet, J .: Procreation of the Wicked. In Mudrian, Albert: Precious Metal. Cambridge 2009. p. 46. ISBN 978-0-306-81806-6
  10. Patrick Schmidt: Warhammer ( Memento from February 22, 2014 in the Internet Archive ). In: Legacy , No. 10, accessed June 16, 2013.
  11. ^ Arto: Interview With Messiah , accessed June 15, 2013.
  12. Chart sources: Germany Switzerland