To Mega Therion
To Mega Therion is the second studio album by Swiss extreme metal band Celtic Frost, released in 1985. It followed Morbid Tales from 1984 and came before Into the Pandemonium in 1987. The title is Greek for "the great beast", a phrase found in the Bible and also used as a nickname by Aleister Crowley.
The record has been a major influence on both death metal and black metal, and some listeners rank it among the finest albums of the 1980s. Its sleeve carries Satan I, a painting by the Swiss artist H. R. Giger, which suits the band's dark, heavy approach. For anyone tracing how thrash edged towards the more extreme sounds that followed, this is a key stop on the way.
To Mega Therion: tracklist and credits
10 tracks · 40:23Tracklist
- 1Innocence and WrathThomas Gabriel Warrior1:03
- 2The UsurperThomas Gabriel Warrior3:26
- 3Jewel ThroneThomas Gabriel Warrior4:05
- 4Dawn of MegiddoMartin Eric Ain and Thomas Gabriel Warrior5:47
- 5Eternal SummerThomas Gabriel Warrior4:34
- 6Circle of the TyrantsThomas Gabriel Warrior4:39
- 7(Beyond the) North WindsThomas Gabriel Warrior3:07
- 8Fainted EyesThomas Gabriel Warrior5:06
- 9Tears in a Prophet’s DreamMark, Sprenger, Warrior2:33
- 10Necromantical ScreamsMartin Eric Ain and Thomas Gabriel Warrior6:04
- Produced by
- Horst Müller, Thomas Gabriel Warrior, Tom G. Warrior
- Recorded at
- Casablanca, Berlin
- Recorded
- 14–28 September 1985
- Engineered by
- Horst Müller
- Labels
- Banzai Records, Noise
- Length
- 40:23
Line-up
- Wolf Bender · French horn
- Reed St. Mark · percussion, timpani, drums (drum set)
- Dominic Steiner · bass guitar
- Thomas Gabriel Warrior · guitar, vocals, background vocals, other vocals
- Claudia Maria Mokri · vocals · guest
- Horst Müller · guest
- Urs Sprenger · guest
From MusicBrainz and Wikipedia. Only what the sources record is shown.
More from Celtic Frost
Full discography →
The best of 1985
All of 1985 →
More on Banzai Records
The label →
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date only month precision available
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 1985 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | October 1985 | |
| Wikidata | 1985 | |
| US release | 1985 | earliest US date |
20 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | CA | Banzai Records | original | |
| 1985 | DE | Noise International | original | |
| 1985 | US | Combat | original | |
| 1986 | US | Combat | other | |
| 1987 | US | Combat | 088561809126 | other |
| September 1988 | DE | Noise International | 4006030003130 | other |
| 1990 | BR | Woodstock Discos | other | |
| 1993 | US | Futurist | 090861104924 | other |
| 16 April 1997 | DE | Noise Records | 4006030003130 | other |
| 1998 | US | Noise Records | 701301003126 | other |
| 1999 | IT | Earmark | 8013252612015 | other |
| 1999 | US | Noise Records | 701301003126 | other |
| 25 October 1999 | DE | Noise Records | 4006030032628 | other |
| 2004 | US | Sanctuary Records | 823107400821 | other |
| 2005 | RU | Sanctuary Records | 4601250329642 | other |
| 2006 | JP | Sanctuary Records | 4988002519729 | other |
| 2006 | GB | Noise Records | 5050441801525 | other |
| 3 August 2010 | XW | Noise Records | 5414939504778 | other |
| 30 June 2017 | XW | Noise | 4050538214260 | other |
| 30 June 2017 | XE | BMG | 4050538214246 | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · upscaled: minor: best source 1535x1496, upscaled to 1500 (x1.00)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 1535×1496 | upscaled: minor: best source 1535x1496, upscaled to 1500 (x1.00) |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |