As with the other released on here, this is the original version of the album / EP and not the expanded version.

BMG’s lovingly curated and luxurious new box set is rammed to its massive metal gills – seven gorgeous sounding remastered LPs/EPs on fancy schmancy vinyl, one 7”, one cassette [ Grave Hill Bunker Rehearsals], a 40 page hardback 12”x12” book with lots of cool photos and a short oral history of Celtic Frost Mark I, a “Necromaniac Union” enamel badge, a large two-sided poster, a snazzy Heptagram figurine USB stick with everything on MP3 plus extra tracks and a patch for your battle jacket – gives you pretty much everything the band produced during their mercurial 1984 to 1987 age of innovation. Only CELTIC FROST could create an album which kicks off with a singular cover of a new wave song ( WALL OF VOODOO‘s “Mexican Radio”) and immediately follow it up with the mournful tragedy of “Mesmerized”. Finance is provided by PayPal Credit (a trading name of PayPal UK Ltd, Whittaker House, Whittaker Avenue, Richmond-Upon-Thames, Surrey, United Kingdom, TW9 1EH). If there is a problem with Celtic Frost in this period it isn’t our problem but unfortunately theirs. A friend gave me a massive stack of NMEs from the mid-80s recently and Fine Young Cannibals seem to appear on the cover more than The Fall, Everything But The Girl or The Smiths, let alone Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine or Coil.Black and Death metal with occasional hints of doom and ambient and strong lyrics too, an intelligent and professional touch that put Celtic Frost above many at the time. The real important factor here, however, is not what metal looked like or even what its subject matter was, but that it was engaged in a process of breaking away from mainstream rock all the way through the 1970s and gearing up for a decade in which it consistently created sounds that had never been heard before. Celtic Frost would take a more commercial turn with 1988’s Cold Lake, but the recordings that came before it remain legendary.

Marble vinyl with silk screen print on Side B) Visual Aggression (7” single with new artwork and on grey vinyl) Grave Hill Bunker Rehearsals (Four track rehearsal demo cassette from 1984) 12” x 12” 40 page book of brand new interviews with founding member Tom G Warrior and drummer Reed St Mark. Out of all of the bands who rose to prominence during the NWOBHM years, the most important from our point of view are Venom. From the very beginning, Triptykon when we play live, it’s always 50/50; 50% Triptykon music/50% from the Celtic Frost catalog. The reason why we played Hellhammer music in Celtic Frost at the time was because we had just formed the band and there wasn’t enough material to fill a full rehearsal. It’s more of a rock n’ roller, with an interesting use of backing vocals in the chorus as well as some background recordings.The set encompasses their material from 1984 to 1987 and includes the band's classic albums alongside a handful of rarities and goodies, such as some releases back on vinyl for the first time in 30+ years. But as we saw with Black Sabbath, new doors can be kicked open with very little in the way of planning, with revolutionary results; perhaps what is more interesting is looking at which artists stride purposefully through these doors that have arguably only been booted open accidentally. My friend Calum Harvie from the UK made brand new interviews about that particular period of Celtic Frost with me and Reed St.