Rating: 7.2

Country: Switzerland

Release Date: 2006

Record Label: Century Media

Track list:
1. Progeny
2. Ground
3. A Dying God Coming Into Human Flesh
4. Drown In Ashes
5. Os Abysmi Vel Daath
6. Temple Of Depression
7. Obscured
8. Domain Of Decay
9. Ain Elohim
10. Tontengott
11. Synagoga Satanae
12. Winter (Requiem Chapter Three: Finale)

Band Website: Celtic Frost

Celtic Frost - Monotheist

Tom G Warrior- Guitars, Vocals
Martin Ain- Bass, Vocals
Franco Sesa- Drums, Percussion

If you frequent metal-oriented message boards, you will undoubtedly have encountered innumerable threads revolving around 'Monotheist', most of which posit the most asinine, tired propositions- “I do wish Tom would craft another 'Morbid Tales' or 'To Mega Therion'” being one of the more stale outcries that has clogged bandwidth of late. Let us not be under any illusions here- Thomas Gabriel Fischer has ALWAYS followed his muse, the same churlish wench who has lured our protagonist into 'Cold Lake' and Apollyon Sun territory. For better or worse, Celtic Frost has never been anything more than the manifestation of Tom's fiercely independent whims, and to Tom's credit (and widespread dismay amongst Frost devotees), Celtic Frost has always remained one of the most defiantly individual entities in heavy music, a vessel and conduit for Tom's grandiose pretensions. Try as we might to smother and bludgeon Tom's guiding seraph, we should, at the very least, have learned that we cannot foist our expectations upon Celtic Frost, and such foolhardy laments should be quashed in lieu of the hope that the GREATEST heavy metal band not named Black Sabbath or Judas Priest will buck the trend and offer something listenable for a change.

Thank Tsatthoggua, then, for 'Monotheist' is their finest hour since 'Into The Pandemonium'. To be fair, the album suffers from many of said album's shortcomings- lengthy excursions into self-indulgence and tangential tripe that stymies the album's burgeoning momentum, but it does represent a new epoch in the band's herky-jerky, periodic metamorphosis. Yes, this album has been dredged and battered in treacle-thick, pitch-black “Procreation (Of The Wicked)” and “The Reaper” sludge, the guitars rumbling like emanations from the bowels of Azagthoth as the band applies characteristically Frost doom to a mesmeric, ritualistic template, an experiment that finally achieves the cold, inhuman, abysmal austerity that Apollyon Sun strove for. There is a ghastly, deathlike pallor to this recording, a morbidly absorbing aura that, in spirit at least, hearkens back to the very darkest Hellhammer and Celtic Frost moments, though at this point the ceremonial and philosophical aspects of the Frost sound have been catapulted to new heights. Not all of it sticks- “Ground”, for all its new embellishments and accoutrements, still does not convince me, “Drown In Ashes” is a perplexing and frustrating dark ambient diversion, “Obscured” further flaunts Tom's unhealthy fixation with the Sisters Of Mercy, and recent show closer “Synagoga Satanae” is stifled by its cumbersome, ungainly length. Elsewhere, though, “Progeny” comes across as “The Usurper” being played by 'Chaos AD' Sepultura (something that, in truth, sounds a lot better than it reads on paper), “Os Abysmi vel Daath” ploughs “Procreation (Of The Wicked)” territory with its elephantine, oppressive HEFT and catechismic chant, while “Domain Of Decay” comes closest to vintage Fischer/Ain territory, a churning, slurry riff swirling ominously atop painfully deliberate, heavy-handed double bass.

Loath as I am to admit it, the Abyss production here is remarkably appropriate- there is a grandiosity and expansiveness here that is really quite marvelous, and everything sounds like it's being played by ogres. Martin's gain-soaked bass, in particular, is loud in the mix, coalescing with the nauseatingly heavy outpours of guitar to make for some truly awesome torrents of sound. Perhaps more than any other recording they've done, this one really CAPTURES the immenseness and MAJESTY of the Celtic Frost live experience, and asserts that the band has always been heavier than the countless bands that they've spawned as a consequence (my own pitiful band being an example). This is not a winner all the way through, but there are so many glimmers of excellence in this malodorous mire that I can't help but recommend it. This bears the distinctive stench of death that has pervaded the finest Frost works, and as such is worthy of purchase.

November 1st, 2006