Celtic Frost
1984-1992 Parched With Thirst Am I And Dying

THE REVIEW

    The extremely long and somewhat macabre title, which perhaps betrays a deep melancholy in the now dying musical creature of Thomas Gabriel Warrior, introduces us to what, in 1992, was the last official release of Celtic Frost, who would soon disband in 1993: an appetizing collection of unreleased tracks that would delight the ears of every enthusiast and fanatic of the legendary Swiss combo, as well as any lover of Thrash Metal in general. "Parched With Thirst Am I And Dying" is indeed also the sad 'surrogate' that Fischer and company offered to their fans instead of the promised album "Apollyon's Sun," of which this collection hosts a handful of tracks that were supposed to be part of it.

    The album offers us, in addition to completely new material, such as the absolutely valid "Idols Of Chagrin", "Descent To Babylon (Babylon Asleep)" and "Under Apollyon's Sun" (although not at the level of any random song from "To Mega Therion"), unreleased remixes of historical tracks like "Return To The Eve", "The Usurper", "Circle Of The Tyrants" or "Mexican Radio", but also pieces from the controversial "Cold Lake" (just mentioning the radio version of "Cherry Orchards" or the recording of a new version of "Juices Like Wine") and "Vanity/Nemesis," and especially pieces written in past years and never published, such as the wonderful "Journey Into Fear", "The Inevitable Factor" (later included among the bonus tracks of the CD edition of "Into The Pandemonium"), "In The Chapel, In The Moonlight" (same thing as before, although this track was present in the 1987 EP "I Won't Dance") and "Tristesse De La Lune", the legendary piece entirely composed of violins and female vocals, which initially the record company refused to include in "Into The Pandemonium" as it was deemed unsuitable for a Heavy Metal audience (!!!).

    Of course, seeing (and hearing) a flop like "Downtown Hanoi" between two tracks of the caliber of "Journey Into Fear" and "Circle Of The Tyrants" sends shivers down the spine, and not of pleasure (!!), but, as you may have realized, this collection is a small treasure of precious gems: there is very little else to say, this highly worthwhile "Parched..." is the last official testament of Celtic Frost before the 2001 reunion (an experience that ended sadly and, it seems, definitively, just this April, with the creation by Fischer of Tryptikon), a testament that sounds in hindsight like the ultimate farewell of that unfortunate formation.