Hellhammer
Demon Entrails

THE REVIEW

It's always nice to learn how a legend is born. And if the legend in question is none other than the dark and mythical, semi-forgotten Hellhammer, then the pleasure of rediscovery can only be doubled!

Passed down in history for being the first band of the Metal pioneer Thomas Gabriel Warrior, from whose ashes the Celtic Frost would later emerge, the Swiss formation, which stayed intact for a relatively short period, from 1982 to 1984, through numerous line-up changes, gave birth in 1983 to three absolutely groundbreaking demos: "Death Fiend," "Triumph Of Death," and "Satanic Rites," which offered a musical proposition innovative and shocking for the time, going beyond the nascent Thrash Metal to lay the foundations for the rotten and distorted sound thanks to its compact and devastating wall of sound, derived from the further hardening of that of Venom, an attitude towards experimentation that would later be transmitted to future Celtic Frost, and lyrics permeated by clear references to the world of occultism and Satanism, of what in a few years would become Black Metal. In this sense, the Swiss band emerged as one of the most important underground formations of the eighties Metal scene, although far from the fame that other groups would later achieve, whose novelty knew how to act underground as one of the most determining influences for the birth of the Norwegian Black Metal scene: in fact, its importance is highlighted by the fact that many exponents of this scene chose for themselves nicknames derived from their songs (just consider Maniac, the first singer of Mayhem, the guitarist Euronymus, from the distortion of the title piece "Eurynomos", or, obviously, the drummer Hellhammer).

It would have been a real shame if the contribution of the Swiss band to the development of the most extreme current of Metal was lost and forgotten, so our Thomas Gabriel Warrior, with the collaboration of Prowlin' Death Records, decided to republish all three demos recorded by Hellhammer 25 years ago in a worthy collection, namely "Demon Entrails". This collection was released in February of this year in three distinct editions: one triple vinyl (one LP for each demo), one in deluxe double CD (I have this one, oh yeah!! Hahaha!!) and another in a simple double CD.

The first CD contains the legendary demo "Satanic Rites," in which it is possible to hear absolutely devastating tracks like "Messiah", "Third Of The Storm", "Maniac", the terrible "Eurynomos" or the title track itself, or even tracks vaguely Doom like the beautiful "Buried And Forgotten" (which will be revisited in 1985 by Celtic Frost under the title "Necromantical Screams" in the album "To Mega Therion") or "Triumph Of Death". The second CD, on the other hand, includes all the tracks from the other two demos "Death Fiend" and "Triumph Of Death": here the sound quality is much lower (after all, what can you expect from semi-artisanal recordings from 25 years ago?), in particular, the bass tends to overpower the guitar too much, yet the strength of tracks like "(Execution) When Hell's Near", "Blood Insanity", "Power Of Satan", "Metallic Storm" or "Hammerhead" cannot but leave a mark on the listener.

"Demon Entrails" is a piece of history for enthusiasts, a collection that anyone who loves this music must have! Let yourself be infected by the boundless energy of a band that, like few others (I mention Bathory), managed to influence, albeit only underground level, the future developments of what would be the most extreme fringe of Metal. "Demon Entrails" finally does justice to this myth.

TRACKLIST:

CD 1; "SATANIC RITES" DEMO:

-INTRO

-MESSIAH

-THE THIRD OF THE STORM (EVOKED DAMNATION)

-BURIED AND FORGOTTEN

-MANIAC

-EURYNOMOS

-TRIUMPH OF DEATH

-REVELATIONS OF DOOM

-REAPER

-SATANIC RITES

-CRUCIFIXION

-OUTRO

CD 2; "DEATH FIEND" & "TRIUMPH OF DEATH" DEMOS:

-CRUCIFIXION

-MANIAC

-(EXECUTION) WHEN HELL'S NEAR

-DECAPITATOR

-BLOOD INSANITY

-POWER OF SATAN

-REAPER

-DEATH FIEND

-TRIUMPH OF DEATH

-METALLIC STORM

-READY FOR SLAUGHTER

-DARK WARRIORS

-HAMMERHEAD

-ANGEL OF DESTRUCTION

-BLOODY PUSSIES

-CHAINSAW

-SWEET TORMENT