The Classic Metal Album Reviews:
Title: Into the Pandemonium
Artist: Celtic Frost
Label: Noise Records
Release Date: 1987

Rating: 2 Skulls
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    • Reviewed by Solomon:
    Celtic Frost: a name that echoes with cries of reverence throughout the hallowed halls of metal history. I wish I could say I know a lot about this legendary group, but my only previous exposure to the band came from a video to a song off the much-maligned album Cold Lake way-back-when. For me, this was a new experience delving into the world of Frost, and choosing an album to cover for this column was not an easy choice. While scanning Web sites for inspiration, I saw Into The Pandemonium paraded along with words such as "experimental" and "avant-garde." Always on the hunt for something left-of-center, I decided to give this one a spin and open the gates.

    Now, before anyone gets upset, I'm in no way writing the band's career off as a whole, and I'm not familiar with Frost's other titles, but Into The Pandemonium was a disappointment. Yes, it is ground-breaking, and even daring for its time, what with the strings, horns, and female vocals and such. We still have to understand that "unique" and "good" don't always go together, and I'm sorry to say this is the case here. On this album, the band sounds like an old-school thrash/speed metal group trying to throw in enough 20th century classicism to appear "astute," but the results here often seem amateurish and dull. "Tristesses de la Lune," for example, is not too bad of a work, but it seems a little odd to sandwich a French soloist between cruder power-chord bashing like "Inner Sanctum" and "Babylon Fell." The latter, incidentally, is one of the better tracks, and I do appreciate the general old Slayer/Metallica vibe that rears its head throughout the record. Tom G.'s vocals remind me a lot of Tom Araya, and his more aggressive vocal style is preferrable to the whiny crap he often resorts to. "Mesmerized" also shows some promise: the acoustical fills behind the verse are nice (ditto for "Sorrows of the Moon"), and the Maidenesque bass line (0:43) gives me some hope, but these moments are fleeting. The Wall of Voodoo cover ("Mexican Radio") is cute but forgettable. The guitar solos are in full-tilt Kerry King mode, which is okay by itself, but you'd think they'd try a little variety once in a while. Now, I'm working from the reissue, so I don't know if the "One In Their Pride" mixes are the same as the original, but what's the damn point? Why would anyone play three minutes of NASA gibberish set against a NIN beat, and then turn around and do it again for six minutes and call it an "extended mix?" Thanks, but no thanks.

    Fans may or may not hold Into the Pandemonium as primo Frost material, but I'd listen to it a few times and then move on to something else. If I want 80's thrash or 90's experimentalism, I'll check out old Metallica or Slayer, or The Gathering or Opeth before I turn to this. If these bands were at all influenced by the Frost, I'd say the student has outdone the master on this one.
    2 out of 5

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