Celtic Frost, a towering name in the world of extreme metal, comes to Springfield to kick off its first North American tour in 18 years. The band, who plays at Jaxx Night Club in Springfield Tuesday, Sept. 12 and Wednesday, Sept. 13, names influences from The Who to Bauhaus. Martin Eric Ain, bassist and vocalist for Celtic Frost, recently took a moment to answer questions about the upcoming show.
Introduce the Band: This is Celtic Frost in its second incarnation. We are supposedly one of the most influential bands in the history of extreme metal. We are co-responsible for helping the black, death, doom and goethic metal genres to come into being. This second coming of the Frost is made up of Franco Sesa on drums, Tom Gabriel Fischer on lead vocals and guitar and myself on bass and vocals.
How did you form the band? It was formed in 1984, out of the ashes of the band Hellhammer, the band Tom and I had formerly played in.
Describe your sound: Heavy, dark, atmospheric, bleak.
Biggest musical influences: Ourselves, Angel Witch, Black Sabbath, Venom, Bauhaus, Joy Division, Sisters of Mercy, Dead Can Dance, Soeur Marie Keyrouz S.B.C., The Who, Roxy Music, Gyrgi Ligeti and all that we like to incorporate into our music.
Other influences: H.R. Giger, H.P. Lovecraft, Aleister Crowley, Eliphas Levi, Carl Theodor Dreyer, F.W. Murnau, Joe Coleman, Gaahl, Satan, Christ, Religion, the Occult and any other man-made stupidity we deem worthwhile.
Where have you toured? U.S.A., Canada, France, Germany, Switzerland, England, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Austria, The Netherlands, Belgium and Spain.
Anything special about the upcoming show? This will be the first time that we tour the North American continent in 18 years!
Future Plans: Touring in Japan and trying to make our music heavier while working on our upcoming live DVD project.
— Lea Mae Rice