Celtic Frost's frontman, guitarist and singer Tom Gabriel Fischer, adopted the alias Tom Warrior. With Steve Warrior on bass, he formed one of the earliest extreme metal bands, Hellhammer, in 1982. Steve Warrior was later replaced by Martin Eric Ain - also a pseudonym. The band attracted a small international fan-base, got signed to Noise Records in Germany and recorded their debut EP "Apocalyptic Raids" in March 1984, now a rare finding on e-Bay or second hand record stores around the world.
By May 1984, Hellhammer had disbanded. Fischer and Ain, along with session drummer Stephen Priestly, regrouped as Celtic Frost. Their 1984 debut LP, Morbid Tales was a hit on the underground metal scene, and the band set out on its first tour, through Germany and Austria. This was followed with an EP “Emperor's Return”. Both early releases are now available on one CD. One of their more influential recordings was 1985's "To Mega Therion", followed in 1987 by "Into the Pandemonium". These albums were some of the pivotal LPs for underground metal and inducted a new and more varied sound. Celtic Frost, along with Venom and Bathory were pioneers in the still underground black metal scene, although Celtic Frost were much more experimental with the addition of classical instruments, opera vocals and sampling. They were given the new title of avant-garde metal.
After a subsequent North American tour (which saw the addition of a second guitarist, Ron Marks to the groups ranks), financial trouble, personal tension between the band members and an ill-fated relationship with their record label led to a complete dissolution of the band. Six months later, Warrior decided to reform the band with Stephen Priestly back on drums, Oliver Amberg on guitars and Curt Victor Bryant on bass. The resulting album "Cold Lake" was a disappointment to most of the group's established fan-base but achieved notable success in the North American market. Bryant fired Amberg and former live guitarist Ron Marks returned as a guest for the recording of "Vanity / Nemesis" in 1990. The most significant change, however, was the return of early bassist Martin Eric Ain. But Celtic Frost's reputation did not fully recover. The group’s next (and, as it would turn out, last for several years) album was a collection of rare and unreleased recordings called "Parched With Thirst Am I and Dying" in 1992. The compilation's title was inspired by an old Roman prayer. It featured unreleased material, re-recorded versions of older songs and some studio session versions, closing the chapter on one of the most important underground and experimental bands of all time.
A final album titled “Under Apollyon's Sun” never eventuated under that title, although Fischer co-founded a new group called Apollyon Sun. Celtic Frost were disbanded in 1993.
In late 2001, Fischer and Ain began to write music together again, along with Unala on guitar and, from late 2002, experienced Swiss drummer Franco Sesa (also known within the group as the Inverted Cross). The aim was to develop and record a new, very dark and heavy album. The completion of the project took far longer than anticipated (in part due to the DIY nature of the project and the project’s financing) but finally resulted, in late 2005, in what Fischer and Ain describe as “perhaps the darkest album Celtic Frost have ever recorded”, based on a combination of the musical aura of "To Mega Therion" and "Into the Pandemonium".
The newest and seventh Celtic Frost album was financed by the group itself through its own imprint, “Prowling Death Records”, and publishing imprint, “Diktatur des Kapitals”. Prowling Death Records originally was the self-founded underground label which released the Hellhammer demos and managed Hellhammer’s career in 1983 and 1984. The album was produced by Celtic Frost with Peter Tägtgren (of Bloodbath/Hypocrisy/Pain fame) and mixed by Fischer and Ain. Celtic Frost and Prowling Death Records subsequently entered into a worldwide licensing deal with Century Media Records. The album, titled "Monotheist", was released on May 30th, 2006.
On May 29, 2006, Celtic Frost embarked on the most extensive tour of the band’s career, the “Monotheist Tour”, initially headlining festivals (e.g. the Wacken Open Air festival, in front of an audience of 50,000) across Europe the United States and Canada in 2006, and the group’s first ever shows in Japan in January 2007. In early 2007 the European leg of the tour took place and a return to the United States as a special guest to Type O Negative. Further festival appearances and concerts followed in mid-2007.
Fischer tendered his resignation from Celtic Frost on April 9th, 2008, with this message displayed on the band's official website:
”Celtic Frost singer and guitarist Tom Gabriel Fischer has left Celtic Frost due to the irresolvable, severe erosion of the personal basis so urgently required to collaborate within a band so unique, volatile, and ambitious.”
Bassist Ain stated that the band “is still alive, albeit in a coma of sorts.” He went on further to say that the remainder of the band is “not going to continue recording or touring,” saying this “would be preposterous” without Fischer. Fischer has himself gone on to form a new band called Triptykon, featuring Celtic Frost touring guitarist V Santura, original Celtic Frost drummer Reed St. Mark, as well as bassist Vanja Slay. Fischer has also said that his new band will sound similar to the direction Celtic Frost took on their 2006 album, "Monotheist".
Fainted Eyes
Celtic Frost Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
As reality disappears in haze
A journey between eternal walls
The senses unfold before my eyes
As the endless dreams begin to reign
And my hands slip off the edge
While they descend (behind)
Fainted eyes
Drifting in the streams of wisdom
While recognizing all those banal tales
Sin beyond truth, (I see) glimmering splinters
Encountering my past in flickering whispers
While they drown behind their frontiers
And the rulers sink in agony
Fallacy and false idols
Unbelievable is the human direction
But the screams die away in the distance
Try to see through fainted views
But the dust still covers all my dreams
I wouldn't tell you anyway
The lyrics of Celtic Frost's song "Fainted Eyes" depict a journey of self-discovery where the singer tries to see through fainted views as reality disappears in haze. The journey takes place between eternal walls, representing the barriers and limitations that people impose on themselves, and as the journey progresses, the senses of the singer unfold before their eyes. The endless dreams begin to reign, which symbolizes the importance of dreams and imagination in achieving self-realization. However, the singer cannot hold on to this self-realization, and their hands slip off the edge, indicating the difficulty of the journey.
As the journey continues, the waters grow dumb behind the singer, representing the disturbances of the outside world that try to prevent the singer from achieving self-discovery. The singer's fainted eyes symbolize the obstacles that they must overcome to see clearly. The journey takes the singer through streams of wisdom, where they recognize all the banal tales that they have been told. The singer sees glimmering splinters beyond the sin, indicating the enlightenment they receive on the journey.
Throughout the journey, the singer encounters their past in flickering whispers and the rulers sink in agony, indicating the burdens of the past and the limitations of societal norms. The singer understands that fallacy and false idols govern human direction, but the screams die away in the distance. The final stanza implies that the singer cannot see clearly, but they wouldn't tell you their revelations anyway.
Line by Line Meaning
Try to see through fainted views
Attempting to obtain clarity in moments of confusion
As reality disappears in haze
When the truth is clouded by uncertainty
A journey between eternal walls
Traversing through existence, faced with inescapable circumstances
The senses unfold before my eyes
The mind acknowledges the outside world
As the endless dreams begin to reign
The imagination consumes the mind
And my hands slip off the edge
Losing grasp on reality
The waters grow dumb
Silencing of communication, leading to isolation
While they descend (behind)
Others fall from grace and are forgotten
Fainted eyes
Vision clouded by confusion
Drifting in the streams of wisdom
Roaming through life's lessons
While recognizing all those banal tales
Acknowledging the mundanity in life's lessons
Sin beyond truth, (I see) glimmering splinters
The temptation to stray from morality is enticing
Encountering my past in flickering whispers
Hearing echoes of past experiences that shape the present
While they drown behind their frontiers
Others are consumed by their own self-imposed limitations
And the rulers sink in agony
Those in power suffer under the weight of their own responsibility
Fallacy and false idols
Beliefs and figures of authority that deceive
Unbelievable is the human direction
The unpredictable nature of humanity
But the screams die away in the distance
The cries of pain and suffering become less audible over time
Try to see through fainted views
Attempting to make sense of the chaos
But the dust still covers all my dreams
Hope remains unfulfilled
I wouldn't tell you anyway
The singer's thoughts and emotions are kept private
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: GABRIEL FISCHER THOMAS, THOMAS GABRIEL FISCHER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
the dead hate the living
Without a doubt one of their best songs!
Love it! 🤘🏻
melchizedekful
A very underrated song from the mighty To Mega Therion album. This was the first Celtic Frost song I fell in love with in the foggy and cold December of 1985.
Patrick Singleton
Ooooooooooh!! My favorite off this masterpiece!!
Monyk Escares//
Gracias por estas joyas......🖤TW....//
End Imperialism
This song is fucking great
Sarah Bergstrom
🖤🖤🖤
lain lifestyle
Sloooooooooooooow
Your friend Rick
What is it not sped up enough
lain lifestyle
@Your friend Rick 2:51