The impact of Swiss Extreme Metal forefathers, HELLHAMMER is one that still resonates around the global Metal scene today, such was their influence on the early Extreme, Death and Black Metal genres. In the 40 years that have passed since their humble beginnings in Nurensdorf, Switzerland, in May 1982, they have gained a mythically iconic status despite existing for a mere two years. However the band left a highly influential body of work behind, including the three demos “Death Fiend”, “Satanic Rites” and “Triumph Of Death” (all re-released in 2008 as the “Demon Entrails” demo retrospective), the seminal “Apocalyptic Raids” EP, and two tracks from the legendary Death Metal compilation. In light of this legacy, it is almost inconceivable that HELLHAMMER never performed this music on stage.
CELTIC FROST, the successor group formed by HELLHAMMER founding member Tom Gabriel Warrior and former HELLHAMMER bassist Martin Eric Ain, would sporadically play a HELLHAMMER song or two, and Warrior’s current band, TRIPTYKON, have played the occasional HELLHAMMER song live, but the vast body of HELLHAMMER’s work remained unperformed, until the inception of TRIUMPH OF DEATH. TRIUMPH OF DEATH consists of individuals who not only love the music in question but truly understand it. The lineup emulates HELLHAMMER’s final incarnation of April/May 1984, when the group had added an additional guitarist. To date TRIUMPH OF DEATH have performed numerous notable concerts globally and have brought the seminal music of HELLHAMMER to fans both old and new. Many of whom thought they may never see it live on stage.
TRIUMPH OF DEATH’s debut live release, “Resurrection Of The Flesh”, is the culmination of three concerts. Recorded in the spring of 2023 at Hell’s Heroes Festival in Houston, Texas, Dark Easter Metal Meeting in Munich, Germany and SWR Barroselas Metal Fest in Portugal, the album was produced by Tom Gabriel Warrior and TRIPTYKON’s V. Santura. The record captures the band at their primeval finest; raw, foreboding and heavy. The songs may date back four decades but here they are revealed to be still just as vital today as when they were written in the band’s infamous rehearsal bunker in the rural village of Birchwil, Switzerland in the early 1980s. From the thunderous opening chords of “Third Of The Storms (Evoked Damnation)” to the malevolent, morbid feedback of set closer “Triumph Of Death”, this album is a sixty minute document of the overwhelming power of the live performance of TRIUMPH OF DEATH, and it captures the spirit and intensity of these historic songs that have transcended decades to become revered and timeless.
Warrior: “This album is, most importantly, testament to the unique connection that exists between the audience and this band. HELLHAMMER’s music was an underground token in 1982 to 1984, often ridiculed and shunned, and we owe the fact that we are now able to perform it all across the globe entirely to grace, openness, and enthusiasm of those who make exactly these concerts possible. They give us as much as we given them, and my gratitude to them knows no limits.”
“Resurrection Of The Flesh” track listing:
- The Third Of The Storms (Evoked Damnation)
- Massacra
- Maniac
- Blood Insanity
- Decapitator
- Crucifixion
- Reaper
- Horus/Aggressor
- Revelations Of Doom
- Messiah
- Visions Of Mortality
- Triumph Of Death
Listen to the track “Messiah” below.
