Celtic Frost

Celtic Frost () was a Swiss extreme metal band from Zürich. Their early work strongly influenced the development of extreme metal, especially the death, black and doom metal genres, and they are noted for their avant-garde approach. Guitarist and vocalist Thomas Gabriel Fischer and bassist Martin Eric Ain formed Celtic Frost in June 1984 after disbanding their previous band, Hellhammer. Celtic Frost's debut record, Morbid Tales, was released later that year. It was followed by the albums To Mega Therion (1985) and the more experimental Into the Pandemonium (1987). All three records were highly influential. Their next album, Cold Lake (1988), featured a new lineup and a dramatic change of style that was widely criticized for its commercial and flamboyant tone, and has been disowned by the band. After releasing Vanity/Nemesis (1990), the group temporarily disbanded. Celtic Frost reformed in 2001 and released the critically acclaimed Monotheist (2006), which had a slower and heavier sound. They disbanded permanently in 2008, when Fischer left to form Triptykon. The band's music included elements of various extreme metal styles. Their early work is often classified as thrash metal or first-wave black metal with experimental tendencies, while their last album is described as doom metal. Celtic Frost drew inspiration from early heavy metal bands such as Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, and Venom, gothic rock acts like Bauhaus, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Christian Death, and Joy Division, as well as hardcore punk groups like Discharge and GBH.