TRIUMPH OF DEATH PROUDLY ANNOUNCE THEIR DEBUT LIVE ALBUM PERFORMING THE MUSIC OF HELLHAMMER ‘RESURRECTION OF THE FLESH’

20th September 2023 0 By Jon Deaux

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 (al 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.
PRE-ORDER HERE where you’ll also be able to listen to the track ‘Messiah’

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. In 2019 Tom Gabriel Warrior stated : Hellhammer will never return and will never be reformed. It is absolutely impossible to reform a band so closely linked to a very specific and unique period in time. But Hellhammer’s music exists, and it is an extremely important part of my life’s path. And I would like to play it onstage before my demise.

The resurrection of the music of Hellhammer had been an idea Tom Gabriel Warrior and Martin Eric Ain discussed for many years, sparked not least by their renewed collaboration in the reformed Celtic Frost in the 2000s. The first steps towards the realization of Triumph Of Death, named after Hellhammer’s most infamous song and intended to be a very respectful and authentic tribute to Hellhammer, were finally taken in 2014, and the band was officially founded in the autumn of 2018. Triumph Of Death consists of individuals who not only love the music in question but truly understand it. The line-up emulates Hellhammer’s final incarnation of April/May 1984, when the group had added an additional guitarist. To date, Triumph Of Death has performed numerous notable concerts globally and has brought the seminal music of Hellhammer to fans both old and new. Many of them thought they might 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 USA, 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, a 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 the grace, openness, and enthusiasm of those who make exactly these concerts possible. They give us as much as we give them, and my gratitude to them knows no limits.

Triumph Of Death

Tom Gabriel Warrior – voice/guitar

André Mathieu – guitar/vocals

Jamie Lee Cussigh – bass

Tim Iso Wey – drums

Resurrection Of The Flesh will be available as :

Deluxe CD mediabook
Double gatefold LP w/booklet and posters on black vinyl and B&W swirl (HMV exclusive)
Super deluxe double LP bookpack with bonus 7” (red vinyl) single plus posters

Tracklisting