4. Celtic Frost - Morbid Tales
Celtic Frost were always wilfully obscure. Even on this their debut where they wear their Venom influences on their studded leather wrist bands (whatever happened to those?), they manage to conceive something singularly twisted and elegant which was delightfully out of step with the Zeitgeist. What immediately set The Frosties apart from the herd in the speed obsessed days of the early '80s was their willingness to put the brakes on and grind out a Sabbathesque slow groove which showered sparks from the speakers. Procreation Of The Wicked hints at Diamond Head's Am I Evil, if Diamond Head had been possessed by a legion of Satan's minions and were tripping their elbows off on Magic Mushrooms. Possibly the earliest example of Death/Black Metal this album is a study in brutal simplicity. Any pretence at finesse is eviscerated mercilessly, although there is a modest sprinkling of the avant-garde which would make their later albums so intriguing. Danse Macabre, for example, is a mosaic of sound effects, textures and bizarre pandemonium. Celtic Frost were always uniquely vicious and innovative and never more so than on Morbid Tales. They certainly made better albums, but this was the blueprint which launched a thousand bands.