The early work of Swiss band Celtic Frost is among the most influential heavy metal of the 1980s. Now those recordings will be immortalized in the Danse Macabre box set, out November 25th in North America.
The band’s complete recordings from 1984 through 1987 will be collected across seven colored LPs, a 7-inch single, and a cassette: Morbid Tales; To Mega Therion; Into the Pandemonium; Emperor’s Return (back on vinyl for the first time in 37 years); Tragic Serenades; I Won’t Dance (back on vinyl for the first time in 35 years); The Collector’s Celtic Frost (back on vinyl for the first time in 35 years); “Visual Aggression” (7-inch single with new artwork and on grey vinyl); and lastly the “Grave Hill Bunker Rehearsals” (4-track rehearsal demo from 1984 on cassette). A CD version of the set will also be available.
Additionally, the box set includes a 40-page book featuring new interviews with founding member Tom G. Warrior and drummer Reed St. Mark as well as rare and previously unseen photos from the era. Also included is a double-sided A2 poster, a ‘Necromaniac Union’ fan club enamel badge, a Danse Macabre sew-on woven patch, and a ‘Heptagram’ figurine USB drive containing MP3 audio of all the albums, including bonus tracks (vinyl release only).
Danse Macabre traces Celtic Frost’s history from their earliest post-Hellhammer rehearsal demos up through 1987’s Into the Pandemonium. Albums such as 1985’s To Mega Therion have been cited as influences by everyone from Kurt Cobain to the second-wave black metallers of the early 1990s. Celtic Frost would take a more commercial turn with 1988’s Cold Lake, but the recordings that came before it remain legendary.
The vinyl box set can be pre-ordered here, while the CD version can be pre-ordered here.
Below you can watch an HD version of the music video for “Circle of the Tyrants” and see the full CD tracklist.
Danse Macabre Artwork:
Danse Macabre Tracklist (CD version):
Disc 1
01. Human (Intro)
02. Into the Crypts of Rays
03. Visions of Mortality
04. Dethroned Emperor
05. Morbid Tales
06. Procreation (Of the Wicked)
07. Return to the Eve
08. Danse Macabre
09. Nocturnal Fear
Disc 2
01. Morbid Tales (1984 Rehearsal)
02. Messiah (1984 Rehearsal)
03. Procreation (Of the Wicked) [1984 Rehearsal]
04. Nocturnal Fear (1984 Rehearsal)
Disc 3
01. Innocence and Wrath
02. The Usurper
03. Jewel Throne
04. Dawn of Meggido
05. Eternal Summer
06. Circle of the Tyrants
07. (Beyond the) North Winds
08. Fainted Eyes
09. Tears In a Prophet’s Dream
10. Necromantical Screams
11. Return to the Eve (1985 Studio Jam)
Disc 4
01. Mexican Radio
02. Mesmerized
03. Inner Sanctum
04. Tristesses de la Lune
05. Babylon Fell (Jade Serpent)
06. Caress Into Oblivion (Jade Serpent II)
07. One In Their Pride (Porthole Mix)
08. I Won’t Dance (The Elders’ Orient)
09. Rex Irae (Requiem)
10. Oriental Masquerade
11. Sorrows of the Moon
12. The Inevitable Factor
13. In The Chapel, In The Moonlight (The Collector’s Celtic Frost)
14. One In Their Pride (Re-Entry Mix)
15. The Inevitable Factor (Alternate Vox)
Disc 5
01. Circle of the Tyrants
02. Morbid Tales
03. Dethroned Emperor
04. Visual Aggression
05. Suicidal Winds
06. Journey Into Fear
07. Visual Aggression (1988 Remix)