Hellhammer - Demon Entrails (2008)

In what feels like a friggin' lifetime ago I bought Hellhammer's 'Apocalyptic Raids 1990 A.D.,' which was a re-release of the similarly named EP from 1984. At the time I was just introducing myself to the world of black metal through the usual suspects and I picked the EP up not really knowing much about it. My initial thought is that it was an earlier band of Jan Axel "Hellhammer" Blomberg of Mayhem fame. That might sound a bit weird, but back then there was no Metal Archives, blogs, or much of any info on the internet about this elusive Hellhammer, other than that it was the pre-Celtic Frost band of Tom Gabriel Fischer, and apparently some of the most influential filth ever.

The history of the real Hellhammer dates back to 1982 when they were formed in Zurich, Switzerland under the name Hammerhead by a eighteen year old kid calling himself Satanic Slaughter. Quickly changing names to the infinitely more awesome, Hellhammer, Mr. Slaughter soon aligned himself with similarly named demons, such as drummer Denial Fiend and bassist Slayed Necros, which may not seem like much, except for the fact that every single black metal band to follow throughout the 80's and early 90's would also use comparably extreme pseudonyms. They'd also be influenced by the early rumbling chaos that was Hellhammer.

Ready For Slaughter in '83

Widely credited as pioneers of extreme metal, Hellhammer did however only last until '84, and the following day Celtic Frost was formed, but before that moment three demos were released throughout '83, namely, 'Death Fiend,' 'Triumph of Death' and 'Satanic Rites.' Twenty four years after the bands demise Century Media Records decided to release a two disc (also three LP) set of those demos titled, 'Demon Entrails,' which is a name of a song the band had wrote, but never recorded in '84.

Assuming you're a younger lad that didn't get into metal until more recently and generally only listen to nowadays crap the bulk of this compilation will not make much of an impression on you. The raw, catchy, mid-paced simple and sloppy Satanic mess that was Hellhammer wont hit home with everyone, it is however this early pioneering noise that inspired all the greats of the late 80's and early 90's who in turned inspired newer bands these days. I mean, its not rocket science, but if should be fairly obvious that everything that was great about metal in the golden years and even the few cool bands nowadays can all be traced back to Bathory, Celtic Frost/Hellhammer and Venom.

The twenty nine tracks that grace this set run for nearly two hours, which may be a bit much to take in at once, but like all good things subsequent spins reveal more interesting details. Sometimes its just the little things too. We've got song titles like 'Maniac' & 'Eurynomos,' which of course were the chosen pseudonyms for two other notable Mayhem members, while there's lots of other surprises to discover, such as similar sounding riffs, guitar tones or song arrangements in bands that came after, or vocalists that sound like Tom Fischer and of course bands like Warhammer and Apokalyptic Raids who strive to sound exactly like Hellhammer. Its all good fun and its interesting detecting later bands influences. At least for me.

Out of the three demos the 'Satanic Rites' demo stands out as being absolutely stunning in my opinion with a thick bulldozing guitar tone, aggressive vocals and more than enough old school metal bad assery to go around. The 'Triumph of Death' & 'Death Fiend' demos sound a bit different though. Opting for a more punkier rehearsal sound they might take a slight bit more effort to fully appreciate and they are by no means as catchy as the aforementioned demo, but they still are enjoyable in their chaotic who gives a fuck whatever style. I dig that.

'Demon Entrails' serves as a metal history course, which all should enlist in, especially if you happen to be a fan of really anything that might get labelled as extreme metal today, because frankly, this is where it all started.