Into the Pandemonium

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Into the Pandemonium
Studio album by
Celtic Frost
Released1 June 1987
RecordedJanuary–April 1987
StudioHorus Sound Studio, Hannover, Germany
Genre
Length39:11
LabelNoise (Europe)
Combat/Noise (US)
ProducerCeltic Frost
Celtic Frost chronology
Tragic Serenades
(1986) 		Into the Pandemonium
(1987) 		Cold Lake
(1988)
Singles from Into the Pandemonium
  1. "I Won't Dance"
    Released: 1987
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal7/10[5]

Into the Pandemonium is the third studio album by Swiss extreme metal band Celtic Frost, released in 1987. The album marks the return of bassist and backing vocalist Martin Eric Ain, who appeared on 1984's Morbid Tales, but not the band's previous album.

The album is more varied than Celtic Frost's past LPs, with unlikely covers (Wall of Voodoo's "Mexican Radio"), emotionally charged love songs, the album's recurring industrial-influenced rhythmic songs of demons and destruction, traditional Frost-styled songs about dreams and fear, and a dark, classical piece with female vocals.

Content[edit]

Discarding early working titles such as Silent Excess and Monumentum,[6] the grueling rehearsals for Into the Pandemonium started on the second half of 1986. The band had in mind the bold objetive to surpass all their previous body of work.[7][8]

Some of the lyrics are silently borrowed from other sources. For example, significant portions of Inner Sanctum are directly quoted from Emily Brontë poems,[9] while the lyrics to "Tristesses de la lune" are borrowed from the poem of the same name in Charles Baudelaire's Les Fleurs du mal. The lyrics to "Sorrows of the Moon" are an English translation of the same.

Musical style[edit]

The album is vastly different from the band's previous work which cemented its late 1980s avant-garde metal term; it is also a departure from the style found on the band's previous albums, Morbid Tales and To Mega Therion that Celtic Frost had become known for. However, it does have the recurring symphonic elements found on previous albums. The album has a more classic heavy metal style within the songs with elements of industrial, classical, gothic rock. Ain, in particular, was a devotee of the darker side of british post-punk, groups such as Bauhaus, Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Sisters of Mercy.[8]

One in Their Pride, an industrial-oriented track, is built around various Apollo samples.[10]

The track "Rex Irae" is the opening part of Celtic Frost's requiem; the third, concluding part of which, "Winter (Requiem, Chapter Three: Finale)" can be heard on 2006's Monotheist. The second part of the requiem was never released by the band. Thomas Gabriel Fischer has performed the whole piece, with the long missing second part ("Grave Eternal"), at Roadburn 2019 with Triptykon along with the Metropole Orkest. A registration of this performance has been released.

Album art[edit]

The cover image is a detail from the right (Hell) panel of The Garden of Earthly Delights, a triptych painted in 1504 by Hieronymus Bosch, part of Madrid's Prado permanent collection. The original of using this artwork came through Martin Ain.[7] The LP's inner sleeve was the Les Edwards Tombworld (1980) painting. As to how band's music can be linked their album art, Tom Warrior explained:[11]

To determine what the album will look like helps us to formulate its musical content. It makes it possible to arrange and design our material according to our feelings and interpretation of the paintings. I don't know whether this is easy to understand or not. As the cover art represents the musical content of our albums, so the muscial content reflects the mood of the cover.

Touring and promotion[edit]

After Into the Pandemonium, Celtic Frost became one of Noise's bestsellers. By the end of the year, the band's sophomore album had sold 100,000 records worldwide. Alongside the 250,000 sold by Running Wild's Under Jolly Roger and the 500,000 sold of Helloween's Keeper of the Seven Keys: Part I, 1987 helped usher a new era for the german label.[12]

Legacy[edit]

Into the Pandemonium had a decisive impact on the emerging gothic metal scene of the 1990s.[3] Paradise Lost. [1]. [2]. [3]. [4]. Anathema, in particular, borrowed Warrior's moaned-style singing on "Mesmerized" for The Silent Enigma's title track.[13] Moonspell vocalist Fernando Ribeiro found Into the Pandemonium "groundbreaking and inspiring". [14][15][16][17][18]

Celtic Frost's second album also had a lasting influence on symphonic metal. Therion mainman Christofer Johnsson, in particular, acknowledged it's importance.[19][20][21][22] In 2021, it was elected by Metal Hammer as the 2nd best symphonic metal album of all time.[1]

Eduardo Rivadavia of AllMusic called Into the Pandemonium "one of the classic extreme metal albums of all time."[2]

"Inner Sanctum" was featured in the 2009 video game Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned.

Track listings[edit]

Original LP[edit]

Side One
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Mexican Radio" (Wall of Voodoo cover)Marc Moreland, Stan Ridgway3:28
2."Mesmerized"Martin Eric Ain, Thomas Gabriel Warrior3:24
3."Inner Sanctum"Warrior, Ain5:14
4."Sorrows of the Moon"Ain3:04
5."Babylon Fell"Warrior4:18
Side Two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Caress into Oblivion"Warrior5:10
7."One in Their Pride"Warrior2:50
8."I Won't Dance"Warrior4:31
9."Rex Irae (Requiem)"Warrior5:57
10."Oriental Masquerade"Warrior1:15

Original CD[edit]

No.TitleLength
1."Mexican Radio"3:28
2."Mesmerized"3:24
3."Inner Sanctum"5:14
4."Tristesses de la Lune"2:58
5."Babylon Fell (Jade Serpent)"4:18
6."Caress into Oblivion (Jade Serpent II)"5:10
7."One in Their Pride" (Porthole Mix)2:50
8."I Won't Dance (The Elders' Orient)"4:31
9."Sorrows of the Moon"3:04
10."Rex Irae (Requiem)"5:57
11."Oriental Masquerade"1:15
12."One in Their Pride" (Re-entry Mix)5:52

1999 remastered CD edition bonus tracks[edit]

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."In the Chapel, in the Moonlight"Billy Hill2:04
14."The Inevitable Factor"Warrior, Ain, Reed St. Mark4:38
15."The Inevitable Factor" (Alternate Vox)Warrior, Ain, St. Mark4:38

Personnel[edit]

Celtic Frost
Additional musicians (CD editions)
  • Manü Moan (The Vyllies) – vocals (track 4)
  • Andreas Dobler – guitars (tracks 9, 10, 14, 15)
  • Lothar Krist – orchestral arrangements, conductor (tracks 4, 10, 11)
  • Malgorzata Blaiejewska Woller, Eva Cieslinski – violins (tracks 4, 10, 11)
  • Wulf Ebert – cello (tracks 4, 10, 11)
  • Gypsy- viola (tracks 4, 10, 11)
  • Anton Schreiber – French horn (tracks 10, 11)
  • Thomas Berter – backing vocals (track 1)
  • Claudia-Maria Mokri – backing vocals (tracks 2, 5, 10)
  • H.C. 1922 – backing vocals (track 8)
  • Marchain Regee Rotschy – backing vocals (track 13)
Production
  • Celtic Frost – producers
  • Jan Nemec – engineer, sample editing (tracks 7, 12)

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Davies, Hywel; Dome, Malcolm; Goodman, Eleanor; Chantler, Chris; Gordon, Connie; Grady, Spencer; Rees, Adam; Selzer, Jonathan (17 November 2021). "The 25 best symphonic metal albums". Metal Hammer. Future plc. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  2. ^ a b Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Celtic Frost: Artist Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 1 November 2014. On To Mega Therion, Warrior had begun experimenting with different musical styles (especially classical music and electronica), leading certain journalists to describe the band's direction as 'avant-garde' metal. Released in 1987, Into the Pandemonium would substantiate these claims and then some, introducing an unconventional collision of death metal brutality and symphonic overtones on its way to becoming one of the classic extreme metal albums of all time.
  3. ^ a b Chantler, Chris (28 April 2020). "10 essential goth metal albums". Louder Sound. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  4. ^ Raggett, Ned. "Celtic Frost Into the Pandemonium review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 24 December 2011.
  5. ^ Popoff, Martin (1 November 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 68. ISBN 978-1894959315.
  6. ^ Fischer 2000, page 176.
  7. ^ a b Fischer 2000, page 177.
  8. ^ a b Wiederhorn, Jon (31 May 2019). "'Into the Pandemonium': Inside "No Limits" Album That "Destroyed" Celtic Frost". Revolver Magazine. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  9. ^ Hatfield, C. W. The Complete Poems of Emily Jane Brontë, page 54. Columbia University Press, 1941.
  10. ^ "Tracks Sampled in One in Their Pride by Celtic Frost". WhoSampled. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  11. ^ Fischer 2000, page 178.
  12. ^ Gehlke 2017, page 225.
  13. ^ Gehlke 2017, page 246.
  14. ^ Neves, André. "Interview with Moonspell". MENTAL IMPERIUM. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
  15. ^ Michael (23 May 2024). "Interview: Moonspell with Fernando Ribeiro (vocals)". MetalBite. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
  16. ^ Matus, Dominik (13 August 2012). "Interview with Fernando about duality of Alpha Noir and Omega White". Moonspell - Fansite. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
  17. ^ Morgan, Anthony (August 2018). "MOONSPELL – A Taste Of Live Eternity". METAL FORCES MAGAZINE. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
  18. ^ xFiruath (30 March 2012). "Moonspell Answers Fan Questions About New Album "Alpha Noir"". Metal Underground.com. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
  19. ^ Williams, Barbara (22 February 2003). "Therion Interview". The Metal Crypt. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  20. ^ of Muppets, Blaster (3 November 2010). "Interview de Therion interview (Christofer Johnsson (face to face))". Aux Portes Du Metal. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  21. ^ Noir, Achileas (6 March 2018). "Interview: Therion (Christofer Johnson)". Metalpaths.com. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  22. ^ Göransson, Niklas (17 April 2019). "Therion interview". Bardo Methodology. Retrieved 1 June 2024.

Bibliography[edit]

  • Fischer, T. G. (2000). Are You Morbid? Into the Pandemonium of Celtic Frost. London: Sanctuary Publishing Limited.
  • Gehlke, D. E. (2017). Damn the Machine: The Story of Noise Records. United States: Deliberation Press, 2017.
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