Still morbid after all these years, the original conjurers of black "metal" magic are now finally revealed for the first time in the form of five new reissues compliments of Noise Records.

This highly influential, oft-misunderstood band that first emerged from the underground all those years ago only to take a premature plummet nearly a decade ago, have resurfaced once again!

Featured in new and improved condition, repackaged and ready to set the record straight-in more ways than one-fans can now get a close up look into the dark souls of a wholly unique band that once set off the fire to this extremist of art forms!

The true story of Celtic Frost can finally be told. "Morbid Tales" was the first Celtic Frost release which occurred back in 1984, a great year for metal bands and a dark one for the rank and file listeners who couldn't have prepared enough for the torture about to be unleashed here.

"Human" (Intro), which first appeared four years and one "petty obsession" later, takes the first steps down the arduous devil's highway before getting thrown full force directly "Into the Crypts of Rays," never to return the same.

"Morbid Tales" was, being the first born, if you will, of course Celtic Frost at their crudest and most violent. The twisted sedition that arose from the depths where this trio of tortured souls practiced their evil craft knew no boundaries and to even attempt to pick out one song or another here where the brutality lets up for even a moment is nearly impossible.

The team of Thomas Gabriel Warrior, Stephen Priestly and Martin Eric Ain opened a new can of worms to let loose upon the world bringing tales of morbidity and nocturnal fear with them along the way.

The reissue of this classic first album features the three extra tracks and original cover art from their follow up EP, "Emperor's Return," including of course, the seminal classic, "Circle of the Tyrants" where the infamous Warrior grunt would develop into an entity all its own.

This one was pure black metal suicidal aggression at its most extreme. The "Necromantical Screams" continued on in 1986 with the release of the advanced "To Mega Therion." Struggling within the ranks persisted yet no one would know with the outcome of what many consider Frost's most compelling work.

Strengthening the black metal foundations they helped to build and later destroy with the reckless onslaught of their first recording, "To Mega Therion" included two advance tracks from the three song EP "Tragic Serenades," "Jewel Throne" and "The Usurper" as well as a "Return to the Eve" 1985 studio jam along with what was a much improved upon version of "Circle of the Tyrants."

Following the same pattern as "Morbid Tales," this one began innocently enough with "Innocence & Wrath," an emerging instrumental foreboding the upcoming death and destruction that would quickly follow on "The Usurper," "Jewel Throne," "Dawn of Meggido" and "Eternal Summer."

Frost was in an overdriven creative mode here, eclipsing the standard set early on with a black metal masterpiece that now featured new drummer Reed St. Mark.

The unbridled intensity level on "To Mega Therion" remains true to the original only enhanced with even more demonic overtones and sinister sound effects that foreshadowed the future experimentation and chilling aura that was in store for later years. 1987 saw the suicidal winds changing course slightly as "Into the Pandemonium" represented something of a departure for what Frost had originally established in their fiery circle of death.

Opening with Wall of Voodoo's cult classic "Mexican Radio" and perhaps wrongly standing out as a singular identifying feature of this record, it left many scratching their heads in disbelief.

"Into the Pandemonium" was Celtic Frost daring to be different and that they were. The intensity level had its peaks and valleys here mostly in favor of dark orchestral arrangements and female moans that sometimes overrode the intense power with which they played up till then.

"Inner Sanctum" stands out as what most will remember as maybe the one "true" Frost entry to be found here as they sauntered briefly back to their darkened past to pluck this one up by the bloody roots.

But "Pandemonium" was not about maintaining the violent aggression that became their trademark early on but rather a king sized avant-garde expression of newly explored artistic tendencies.

Looking back, this one was something of an underground opera in its structure and a truly disturbing piece of work.

After the ill-advised disaster that was "Cold Lake" which is not even acknowledged as being worthy of reissue here, Celtic Frost roared back with what could well have been their best album in "Vanity Nemesis."

Warrior's grunts were back in full force here as "The Heart Beneath" and "Wine in my Hand" serve to indicate from the start and the straight-forward heavy hitting guitar-based approach stood once again at the forefront of the music. They were hungry for power again!

Not to totally dismiss their tendency to push the creative envelope, "Vanity/Nemesis" engulfed just about all that Celtic Frost had to offer up to that point-black metal fused with erotic overtones, harmonic layouts and expansive lyrics to paint a bleak portrait of emotional despair, anguish and torment as well as the ability to overcome.

"The Restless Seas," "Phallic Tantrum," A Kiss or a Whisper" and the "Vanity/Nemesis" compendium are where to look here as well as a sordid version of Bowie's "Heroes" and here closes with the additional "A Descent to Babylon (Babylon Asleep)" as an added bonus, later to appear on their final retrospective.

"Vanity/Nemesis" represented a remarkable maturing process for the band that continued to grow both in intellect and strength by this time-and welcome back Stephen Priestly. The band regained their composure for '89's stellar "Vanity/Nemesis" and was seemingly on their way back from oblivion.

That ended with 1992's "Parched with Thirst am I and Dying." Hauntingly prophetic in retrospect but in all, a fine example of how Celtic Frost erupted on the scene eight years prior and evolved into the technically advanced metal wrecking machine that many have since lauded in their own body of work.

"Parched." featured 18 tracks from their past five full releases along with a handful of well placed surprises thrown in. Two new tracks supplied the bookends to this lengthy treatise in the compelling career of CF-"Idols of Chagrin," a relatively bland opening track that yields hastily to just about anything that came from "Vanity/Nemesis" and on the other side, "Under Apollyon's Sun" which was an assertive slamming of the lid here and a fine example of bold aggression that hadn't yet faded away.

Shuffling through the pages within this collection, new, rare and unreleased versions of early material find their way along with several previous "Cold Lake" titles-"Cherry Orchards," "Downtown Hanoi," and one that came and went unnoticed, "Juices like Wine" which for the place and time it was written was as strong as they had to offer there.

"Parched with Thirst am I and Dying" saw Celtic Frost breathe its last breath as they were to no longer record together after its release.

Their end did come on a positive note however as the "Vanity/Nemesis" album and closing track, "Under Apollyon's Sun" from the best of firmly assert. and in fact they still seemed to have plenty left at the time of their departure.

These five new reissues cover the historically significant, oftentimes enigmatic and daring career of a legendary band whose accomplishments might only now become fully realized.

Emblazoned with new and improved artwork, digital remastering and full lyric booklets containing rare photos and page long commentary from the Warrior himself, this latest collection finally sees Celtic Frost getting their just due!

Call them black/death metal pioneers, artsy enthusiasts, or exploratory geniuses, for they were all of these things, and they're true accomplishments and contributions to the realm of extreme music are still being measured to this day!

Released by Noise Records.

Review by Vinnie Apicella.