It seems like I have been doing a lot of introductions about bands imploding and then staging phoenix like resurrections lately. Well one band who everybody knows and loves (if not why not) were Celtic Frost and we all had a bit of a surprise at toys out of pram situations which saw them combust as of late 2008. This was after ‘Monotheist’ an album that got massive acclaim and laudation and was itself a comeback after a 16 year gap between it and predecessor ‘Vanity/Nemesis.’ Thomas G Fischer had in forming his new band taken with him tour guitarist V Santura and declared “Triptykon will sound as close to Celtic Frost as is humanly possible and will feature all the material I envisioned for the successor to Celtic Frost's Monotheist.” Along with drummer Norman Lonhard and bassist Vanja Slajh all I can say is that on listening to this it was instantly evident that this is exactly what we were getting.
I had been kept on real tenterhooks as far as the album was concerned, wanting to hear it and trying to distance myself from opinions as it seemed like everyone had heard it except me. The label finally sent a digital promo over three days before the release and it was with great trepidation that I pressed play the first time. Thankfully 72 minutes later I was able to breathe out a massive sigh of relief. This is a massive album and I do not mean that just referring to the running time. It is the overall sound of it especially the guitar and bass which thunder throughout the work. First track ‘Goetia’ literally broods in with a cutting guitar line and gradually builds before dropping all else in around it. There is a mystical and arcane vibe about it all and Mr Warrior makes his presence first felt with a death-grunt before lyrically going into praise of Satan. Yep it really does strike as business as usual and with doom laden riffs and cataclysmic vocals beseeching God for mercy we are in an all too familiar place. At least there is no covering up the fact that this may as well be looked upon in essence as ‘Monotheist II’ as this is very much what you hear. Musically it is a fairly simple beast, it grooves mightily around the power of the riff and it gets the songs into your head quickly and skilfully, partly no doubt due to persuasive vocal repetition. Despite the length of the songs (the first for instance being 11 minutes) it is really easy to get into this album by even the second listen. With the lead-lined chug of ‘Abyss Within My Soul’ booming out and guitars casting eerie sonic shapes, the pace has slowed, but in doing so it has made the music even heavier. Tom G sounds like a man staring eternal damnation in the face and the atmosphere is stifling.
We do get the albums burst of speed in the form of ‘A Thousand Lies’ which blasts into action and tears you head off. It manages to throw in a catchy as hell chorus as well and is obviously going to be a live highlight when the band hit a town near you. I love the seething instrumental end of ‘Descendant’ it really sees everything flying off the handle. ‘Myopic Empire’ has the weird part of the album as in midst of doom delivers a piano canter and female spoken word soliloquy proving that perhaps the album is not quite as straightforward as all that. This also spills onto the beautiful ‘My Pain’ not sure without credits who is responsible for the vocals but they are lush here.
If that interlude left you missing the more natural sound of the group, no worries as the closing piece is the epic 19 minute ‘The Prolonging.’ It is one of those tracks you have to listen to in its entirety and had me standing outside a pub for six minutes sans drink waiting for it to conclude before I went in, the power of the riff! I won’t go into this one in any more detail except to say it’s a fitting end to a monolithic album. If you loved ‘Monotheist’ then you cannot go wrong with ‘Eparistera Daimones’ and have by now no doubt already bought or downloaded it. If you are still stuck in ‘Cold Lake’ waiting for someone to throw you a lifeline well there is no hope for you. It also goes without saying that the artwork here featuring HR Geiger’s ‘Vlad Tepes’ proves that for once you can judge the music by the cover. Only death is still real!
http://www.myspace.com/triptykonofficial
