Great Metal Albums of 1985: Celtic Frost: To Mega Therion

Not being content with treating the world to their EP, “Emperor’s Return,” in 1985, Celtic Frost decided to unleash a full length LP onto the world in the form of “To Mega Therion.” In Greek, the title means “The Great Beast,” which is what this album is, a great beast but in a very good metal way.

Normally when an album, even some thrash metal ones, has as short intro song as its opening track, it’s usually some ballad like acoustic sort of thing. This is not the case with “To Mega Therion” as “Innocence and Wrath” is simply a short sharp belter designed to wake you up and say, “Hey, this album is here and you’re going to listen to it” and it does it successfully. Furthermore, it prepares you for the second track, “The Usurper,” which is one of the strongest tracks on the album. The thrash party carries through the next track, “Jewel Throne,” another good all out thrash mad song. I do really like the mosh part with guitar solo included, before slowing down a little for “Dawn of Megiddo.”

“Dawn of Megiddo” highlights the band’s black metal Black Sabbath influence. This song proves that the melding of thrash and Black Sabbath can be done and furthermore, it sounds absolutely magnificent. It is exactly the reason why this track gets my vote for best track on the album.

Contrasting “To Mega Therion” with “Emperor’s Return,” I can safely say that the production on this album is far superior. My evidence in point is the only track from the EP, “Circle of the Tyrants,” which appears on the album. While it sounded okay on “Emperor’s Return,” it sounds a lot better on the LP. It also makes the other tracks sound so good. The musicianship of the band has a little to do with it too. Tom G. Warrior takes on double duties on guitar and lead vocals and does both with finesse. The rhythm section of Steiner and St. Mark do a super job as well. Another great example of this is the track “(Beyond the) North Winds.” This song shows why Celtic Frost were so widely mentioned in thrash circles in the mid- 1980s.

Track Listing:

1. Innocence and Wrath
2. The Usurper
3. Jewel Throne
4. Dawn of Megiddo
5. Eternal Summer
6. Circle of Tyrants
7. (Beyond the) North Winds
8. Fainted Eyes
9. Tears in a Prophet’s Dream
10. Necromantical Screams

Celtic Frost

Tom G Warrior- guitar, vocals

Dominic Steiner- bass

Reed St Mark- drums, percussion

What I love about writing this blog is the fact that I get to go back in time and reminisce about bands I was heavily into in the 1980s but haven’t listened to them in recent years. Celtic Frost was certainly one of those bands and the album, “To Mega Therion,” was a reason why I love doing it.

Next post: Voivod- War and Pain

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