Sunday, December 30, 2007

Nihil Verum Nisi Mors

I wrote this little review on my livejournal, but I thought it was good enough to tbe published here as well.

"Isn't it strange how sometimes records just fit? I'm thinking about Celtic Frost and their comeback 'Monotheist'. I find it absolutely amazing that while it hardly sounds as Celtic Frost at all, it is unmistakeably a Frost album. It is enthralling in it's complexity and it's simplicity. Barbaric riffs, semi classical pieces, female vocals and they manage to pull it off! It just sounds so dark, powerful and in so many ways, deep. It sounds like Death. Although I think that metal does not need to be smart and in many cases is much better of if you stay away from intellectualism, it feels very good that such a smart and intellectual record is released. Something so full with meaning and knowledge and pain and philosophical focus. There is a point to this record. And still the delivery feels very intuitive and obscure.

Actually, the most boring part on the whole album is the first two tracks. Two tracks that has classical Frost riffing and the o so lovely 'Uh!'s. A shame, but I guess it says a bit about how magnificent I think this album is. I would easily put it up there with 'To Mega Therion.'

And the lyrics really speaks volumes to me these days. Although I can draw no straight paralleles to my life, it really feels like they are about me or is some kind of instruction or description. I belive Tom G. Warrior went through a similar (but probably even more devastating) situation during or just before the creation of 'Monotheist', and that probably explains a lot. But the man is obviously bipolar, so I don't know what that says about me. If I remember correctly Martin Eric Ain lost his mother previous to the making of the album and the "Death is certain, Life is not"-theme is an obvious result of that."

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