Into the Pandemonium

by Celtic Frost

Overview

Having created what would remain an archetypal metal record in To Mega Therion, it seemed like Thomas Gabriel Warrior and his compatriots were after an exact repeat on first blush with Pandemonium. Armed with harrowing Bosch cover art and song titles like "Babylon Fell" and "Sorrows of the Moon," what else could be the result? With the first track, though, all bets were off, showing Warrior to be one of the least predictable folks around. The song? A nuclear-strength rip through Wall of Voodoo's West Coast new wave classic "Mexican Radio," with everything intact down to the nerdishly sung line about eating barbecued iguana. Hearing Warrior gasp and snarl his way through Stan Ridgway's shaggy dog tale is one of those not-to-be-believed-until-heard experiences. The next big change surfaces on "Mesmerized" -- rather than again invoking Beelzebub in a harsh rasp, Warrior actually sings a weepy love lyric in a sad moan. Admittedly the beloved appears to be some ancient Roman priestess, but still, this is surprising (and effective) stuff, a singing approach he reuses throughout the album. "Rex Irae (Requiem)" is especially fine, a blending of operatic backing vocals, orchestrations, and just enough crunch when needed. Then there's "One in Their Pride," which exists on the album in two different forms -- both of them drum machine-laden dub/industrial mixes. Running rampant throughout Pandemonium is the massive metal crunch and lyrics about death and destruction with which Celtic Frost made its name, so fans of earlier stuff won't feel too taken by surprise. "Inner Sanctum," detailing a wish to "forget in the sleep of death," is especially fine. But whether it's the strings and orgasmic female French lead singer -- and nothing else -- on "Tristesses de la Lune" or the brassy R&B backing vocals on "I Won't Dance," Pandemonium is a record taking happy delight in trashing expectations to follow a stranger muse. ~ Ned Raggett

Product Details

Release Date:	07/07/2017
Label:	Noise
UPC:	4050538205404

Tracks

Disc 1

1. Mexican Radio
2. Mesmerized
3. Inner Sanctum
4. Tristesses de la Lune
5. Babylon Fell (Jade Serpent)
6. Caress into Oblivion (Jade Serpent II)
7. One in Their Pride [Porthole Mix]
8. I Won't Dance (The Elder's Orient)

Disc 2

9. Sorrows of the Moon
10. Rex Irae (Requiem)
11. Oriental Masquerade
12. One in Their Pride [Re-Entry Mix]
13. In the Chapel, in the Moonlight
14. The Inevitible Factor
15. The Inevitible Factor

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Celtic Frost   Primary Artist
Wall of Voodoo   Primary Artist
Jurgen Paulmann   Viola
Claudia-Maria Mokri   Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Lothar Krist   Conductor,Conductor
Michael Flexig   Vocals (Background)
Malgorzata Blaiejewska Woller   Violin
Thomas Berter   Vocals (Background)
Thomas Gabriel Warrior   Lead,Guitar,Voices,Keyboards,Synthesizer,Guitar Effects
Wulf Ebert   Cello
Andreas Dobler   Lead,Guitar
Anton Schreiber   Conductor,French Horn
Reed St. Mark   Drums,Vocals,Timpani,Percussion,Synthesizer,Vocals (Background)
Eva Cieslinski   Violin
Martin Eric Ain   Bass,Drums,Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Manu Moan   Vocals
Michael Flexing   Vocals (Background)
H.C.   Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Celtic Frost   Producer
Billy Hill   Composer
Harris Johns   Engineer
Hannes Folberth   Composer
Lothar Krist   Arranger,Composer
Karl-Ulrich Walterbach   Executive Producer
Thomas Gabriel Warrior   Concept,Effects,Arranger,Composer,Producer,Cover Design,Vocal Effect,Digital Effects,Drum Programming,Assistant Engineer
Jan Nemec   Editing,Arranger,Engineer,Sample Editing
Horst Muller   Engineer,Producer
Reed St. Mark   Arranger,Composer
Martin Eric Ain   Effects,Arranger,Composer,Producer,Cover Design,Vocal Effect
Marc Moreland   Composer,Lyricist
Thomas Fischer   Composer
Isolde Ohlbaum   Cover Photo
Gustave Flaubert   Poetry
Martin Stricker   Composer
Stanard Q. Ridgway   Composer
Tom G Warrior   Composer
Rick Lights   Assistant Engineer
Joanna Richardson   Translation