TOM FISCHER: I Once Made The Mistake To Continue CELTIC FROST Without MARTIN AIN

The following is an amended excerpt from a recent discussion on the TRIPTYKON/CELTIC FROST discussion forum by the two bands' mainman, Tom Gabriel Fischer:

"I once made the mistake to continue CELTIC FROST without Martin [Eric Ain, bass]. It wasn't CELTIC FROST, in spite of the name, and the results were stunningly pitiful (to put it nicely). I will not repeat that mistake. Martin and I formed CELTIC FROST together, we determined the band's concept together, and we worked together on all but one ('To Mega Therion') of the important four CELTIC FROST albums.

"In 2005, Martin and I also signed an agreement which prohibits either one of us to continue as CELTIC FROST without the other one. We both have the same view on this.

"When I left CELTIC FROST on April 2, 2008, several parties suggested to me to continue CELTIC FROST on my own. It would have made sense from a business point of view. CELTIC FROST was very successful at the time, the band was a headliner, and the name opened doors all over the world. Leaving such a strong name behind, a name that took over two decades of often bitter and hard work to grow to that stature no less, was indeed very difficult for me. I had written almost all of CELTIC FROST's music and probably more than half of the lyrics. CELTIC FROST is my life's work [mein Lebenswerk]; it defined my life and my life defined it. It is still unbearable to think that CELTIC FROST no longer exists and never will exist ever again. That band was my life, my love, my emotions, my home, and my sanctuary.

"But to me, it would have been a shallow, cheap, and cowardish lie if I would have formed a 'surrogate CELTIC FROST' without Martin, in spite of the fact that I feel he had stood by and allowed CELTIC FROST to disintegrate. I am certain that I could have talked to Martin and that he might have agreed to let me continue with the name in spite of our agreement. But that still wouldn't have made it CELTIC FROST.

"No, I was — and am — convinced that the only correct and courageous manner of procedure is to accept reality: CELTIC FROST no longer exists, and CELTIC FROST was only truly CELTIC FROST with Martin and me.

"On the other hand, that doesn't prevent me from continuing as closely as humanly possible to CELTIC FROST. Among other things, that I created 'To Mega Therion' virtually single-handedly made me confident that there was sufficient Tom Gabriel Warrior in CELTIC FROST's identity to ensure that a new group of mine could be a true successor. This is my music, my passion, and my calling.

"For the successor of CELTIC FROST's 'Monotheist', we were going to make long-suffering live guitarist V. Santura a full member fo the band. And this is what I now did in TRIPTYKON. TRIPTYKON is to a very large extent my music and entirely my lyrics, and TRIPTYKON follows the concept I wanted to pursue with CELTIC FROST. We recorded and mixed TRIPTYKON's 'Eparistera Daimones' album at the studio we were going to use for the successor of 'Monotheist', it was engineered by V. Santura as originally intended for the successor of 'Monotheist', it contains much of the music I wrote for the successor of 'Monotheist', it uses the cover art and concept I originally proposed for the successor of 'Monotheist', and TRIPTYKON is working with the same webmasters, management, record company, concert agency, and crew as CELTIC FROST did.

"I was simply honest when I formed TRIPTYKON. The band that had been so important and special to all of us, CELTIC FROST, had ceased to exist, and any attempt to continue it with the same name would have amounted to an insult to our fans' (and my own) intelligence."

"Eparistera Daimones" was produced by Fischer and TRIPTYKON guitarist V. Santura. The album is currently scheduled for release in spring of 2010, through the group's own label, Prowling Death Records (home of HELLHAMMER and CELTIC FROST).

Although the group has so far proceeded in virtual concealment, the music for "Eparistera Daimones" has been described as akin to a bleak, black ocean of heaviness, accentuated by moments of unexpected grace. Songs tentatively set to appear on TRIPTYKON's debut album are, among others, "The Prolonging", "Myopic Empire", "Among Veiled Spirits", "Sepultus", "Abyss Within My Soul", "Goetia" and "A Thousand Lies".

TRIPTYKON will follow the release of "Eparistera Daimones" with a number of festival appearances and a full tour. The group's onstage debut is scheduled to take place as part of the renowned Roadburn festival in April 2010.

For further information, visit www.triptykon.net.