Cody Gaisser

DEATH FIEND

RATING: 5/10

A distorted, chaotic, and cacophonous demo, roughly played and roughly recorded, Death Fiend displays Hellhammer's serious metallic intent and punkish enthusiasm in full force. The sound of the band at this stage is characterized by pummeling distorted bass, buzzy guitar, sloppy drumming, and barked vocals.

Once its shaky drum intro is over, “Maniac” blooms into an infectious satanic rocker that stands out among most of the other early demos. “Angel Of Destruction” is more death-obsessed Satanism, on the verge of running off the rails at any given moment. “Hammerhead” is a gleefully stupid anthem celebrating some sort of invincible armored warrior who smashes people's skulls with a hammer (for Satan, of course); the guitar solo is downright bluesy and psychedelic, which is unexpected. “Chainsaw” sounds like unrehearsed garage rock; that riff bangs though. “Ready For Slaughter” also has a garage-y charm. The remaining songs are less memorable, and the recurring lyrical theme of killing people for Satan could grate on the nerves after a few tracks (unless you're a glutton for that sort of thing).

The playing is amateurish, the lyrics are juvenile, and the sound quality is dire, but the germ of great things to come is clearly present from the very first Hellhammer demo. Audiophiles beware, extreme metal maniacs rejoice. Death Fiend is promising but polarizing.

TRIUMPH OF DEATH

RATING: 5/10

Hellhammer's second demo Triumph of Death derives from the same sessions as Death Fiend (and the track list overlaps considerably). It is quite literally more of the same.

“Crucifixion” is senseless and brutal, but it leaves an impact. “When Hell's Near” is a punky thrasher you could probably dance to if you felt inclined, and I can't shake the feeling that Nirvana (known Celtic Frost fans) almost certainly heard this song. “Decapitator” has some good bone-headed riffs. “Blood Insanity” starts chaotic before settling into something approximating a groove, with guitar and bass being utilized as percussion throughout. “Triumph Of Death” begins as a martial dirge about the undead, before opening up into a percussive rager. Unfortunately, the riffs to “Power Of Satan” and “Reaper” lurch awkwardly without ever really finding proper footing.

There are some musical moments on these early Hellhammer demos that fans of extreme metal will likely find compelling. The moronic lyrical themes could use some diversifying though (as before, most of the songs are about murdering for Satan), and I can't help but feel that the first two demos would have benefited from being combined and edited down to nothing but the best half hour.

Depending on one's sensibilities, Triumph Of Death is something a listener is likely to either cherish or want to kill with fire.

SATANIC RITES

RATING: 6/10

After the departure of Urs Springer from Hellhammer, a 15-year-old bassist named Martin Eric Ain joined the group. With Ain, the band recorded their third and final demo Satanic Rites.

Satanic Rites is a clear step forward in every way. The production is cleaner, though still quite muddy with the vocals buried in the mix. There are even some echo effects here and there. The musicianship is greatly improved, with much tighter rhythms (even if the bass is sometimes inaudible); but the overall energy is still raw and malevolent. Fischer is finding his unique voice as both a singer and guitarist; and the lyrics show evidence that the band are familiarizing themselves with Greek mythology and the Bible.

The intro and outro show the first hints of studio experimentation in the band's music with the tape speed manipulated to create a low demonic vocal effect.

“Messiah” displays incremental progress in lyrical sophistication, with the band's recurring theme of satanic torment now allegorically standing in for cold war era anxiety about nuclear holocaust. “The Third Of The Storms (Evoked Damnation)” also revels in apocalypse, this time ambiguously nuclear or biblical, with imagery that seems almost poetic compared to the stuff of the band's prior demos. “Buried and Forgotten” shows the band really committing to the bit with a blasphemous Latin chant and more abstract lyrics foreshadowing weirdness to come. “Maniac” is tightened up significantly from the earlier version, bursting with rock and roll energy and satanic hostility.

“Eurynomos” falls back on the tired theme of demonic murder but handles the subject with slightly more literacy than before; the music also thrashes, which helps. “Triumph Of Death” exhibits signs of the guitar chaos for which Fischer would become renowned, but the drumming stumbles at times. “Revelations Of Doom” is an anguished metal assault with more apocalyptic lyrics describing Satan's victory over heaven. “Reaper” is performed less awkwardly here than on the band's earlier demos, but it's still one of the band's weaker songs. The title track “Satanic Rites” is, lyrically, a step backward into “murdering for Satan” territory. While it is clearly supposed to be evil and scary, it comes off more misogynistic and gross (Fischer knows this and will no longer play the song live). It's not great musically, either. The version of “Crucifixion” presented here is just as brutal and rocking as before.

Satanic Rites was influential on both the death metal and black metal genres, with three members of the band Mayhem even taking their stage names from the song titles. As such, it's fascinating from a historical perspective. As a listening experience, it's a roughly recorded demo tape of raw, sloppy metal with satanic lyrics, which is to say it appeals to niche tastes. A big step up from the band's earlier demos in almost all regards, Satanic Rites is still pretty polarizing stuff.

APOCALYPTIC RAIDS

RATING: 7/10

Hellhammer's demos were turned down by many record labels, but eventually got the band noticed by Noise Records, who would distribute the band's only commercial release – 1984's Apocalyptic Raids EP. The EP would later be reissued as Apocalyptic Raids 1990 A.D., with two added bonus tracks recorded in 1984 for the Death Metal compilation. Several of the songs here previously appeared on the band's demo tapes, but the versions here are superior in both performance and production.

The sound is still a bit muddy, but fuller overall than any the band's demos. The vocals are Fischer's strongest yet, especially harrowing on “Triumph Of Death.” His guitar sounds dense and heavy, and some songs even feature doubled lead overdubs that lend extra width to the mix. Ain's bass sounds a bit tubby and indistinct, but it's more audible than on Satanic Rites. Bruce Day's drumming has greatly improved overall, and there are some great thunderous accents on “Revelations Of Doom.”

Lyrically, the band have completely moved away from the “killing for Satan” motif of their early demos. The cold war allegory “Messiah” remains one of the band's best songs, “Massacra” mocks man-made faith, and “Horus/Aggressor” features Hellhammer's most cryptic lyrics yet.

Apocalyptic Raids was widely influential in extreme metal circles, with the song “Messiah” being covered by both Sepultura and Napalm Death. While the content of the music is still niche, the performances and production are as good as it would ever get for Hellhammer, who would disband shortly after these sessions. The short running time and general consistency of the material also work in this record's favor. While some of the band's demos wear out their welcome, Apocalyptic Raids never does.

HELLHAMMER