Band:	Celtic Frost
Album:	Monotheist
Style:	Avantgarde metal
Release date:	May 30, 2006
A review by:	jupitreas

01. Progeny
02. Ground
03. A Dying God Coming Into Human Flesh
04. Drown In Ashes
05. Os Abysmi Vel Daath
06. Obscured
07. Domain Of Decay
08. Ain Elohim
09. Triptych: Totengott
10. Triptych: Synagoga Satanae
11. Triptych: Winter (Requiem, Chapter Three: Finale)

The Emperor HAS Returned

It would probably not be too much of an over-generalization to say that Celtic Frost fans are divided into two groups. The first group is made up of extreme metal fans who see the Swiss band's seminal records like Morbid Tales and To Mega Therion as the major influence and inspiration on the black, death and doom metal genres that they definitely and unquestionably are. The second group consists of the people who love Celtic Frost for their fearless avant-garde attitude that manifested itself on Into The Pandemonium, when the band incorporated gothic, operatic and even industrial elements into their abrasive metal style.

Monotheist, Celtic Frost's comeback album after 16 years of absence, will definitely appeal much more to the afore-mentioned second group. Although the band still knows how to make ultra-heavy extreme metal, the emphasis this time around is not on dynamic metal riffing but rather on creating a very dark and oppressive ambience. Thus, I interpret Monotheist as being a take onto the currently blossoming ambient metal scene and it makes Celtic Frost part of the 'front-line' again - they're not just old-timers rehashing ideas. Seen in this light, Monotheist is a very impressive achievement indeed. The band either smashes the senses with music as heavy as To Mega Therion ("Ain Eliohim", "Progeny", "Os Abysmi Vel Daath") or soothes them with somber and beautiful pieces ("Obscured", "Drown In Ashes", "Incantation Against You"). Finally, they conjure up "Synagoga Satanae", some of the most menacing 14 minutes I have ever heard. Everything here is droning, dark and absolutely overwhelming - a real experience to behold.

With all this said, I am not sure how the first group of fans that I described in the beginning will like this album. If you are expecting unadulterated and underproduced rage, you won't find it here. This album is very heavy but it is a very deliberate and carefully designed kind of heaviness. My advice to those who do not see the greatness of this album at first is to listen to it more and try to appreciate it on its own terms. It's well worth the effort.