Thomas Gabriel Fischer

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Thomas Gabriel Fischer
Thomas Gabriel Fischer 2014.jpg
Fischer on stage with Triptykon in 2014
Background information
Also known as
  • Tom Warrior
  • Tom G. Warrior
  • Tom Gabriel Warrior
  • Satanic Slaughter
Born (1963-07-19) 19 July 1963 (age 61)
OriginSwitzerland
Genres
Occupations
  • Musician
  • songwriter
  • producer
Instruments
Member of Triptykon
Formerly of

Thomas Gabriel Fischer (born 19 July 1963), also known by the stage names Tom Warrior and Satanic Slaughter, is a Swiss musician. He led the extreme metal groups Hellhammer and Celtic Frost, and today is the frontman of the band Triptykon.

Contents

Career

Fischer (as "Tom Warrior"), along with Urs Sprenger (as "Steve Warrior") on bass and Pete Stratton (real name Peter Ebneter) on drums, formed the metal band Hammerhead in early 1982. Stratton was soon replaced by Bruce "Denial Fiend" Day (real name Jörg Neubart) and the band changed its name to Hellhammer the same year. In late 1983, bassist and songwriter Martin Eric Ain joined Hellhammer and the lineup of Fischer, Ain and Day recorded an EP, Apocalyptic Raids , as well as a series of demos for the German label Noise Records before disbanding in May 1984. Fischer and Ain joined forces once again and formed Celtic Frost, an influential avant-garde and extreme metal trio, in June 1984.

In 1985, Fischer was asked to co-produce and sing on the first demo, titled Death Cult, by fellow Swiss group Coroner. Fischer also wrote the lyrics for the recorded songs. Two of the members of Coroner formed part of Celtic Frost's road crew until 1986. In 1987, many conflicts within Celtic Frost led to a dissolution of the band.

Several months later, Fischer reformed the band with a completely new lineup. The band's 1988 release, Cold Lake , established a drastic change in Celtic Frost's music, switching from their classic thrash/death/black metal sound to a traditional heavy metal/glam metal sound, but greatly disappointed most fans. Fischer has stated many times that he takes the blame for the negative direction of Celtic Frost's music during this period, since he was too distracted with a personal relationship and let the other band members do what they wanted. Celtic Frost eventually disbanded in 1993.

A year after Celtic Frost was laid to rest, Fischer formed the EBM/industrial rock project Apollyon Sun.

In 2000, Fischer's book Are You Morbid?: Into the Pandemonium of Celtic Frost [1] received many favorable reviews, including this from Record Collector: "Intelligent, humble, questioning, insightful – the cultured side of extreme metal".

Sometime in 2001, Fischer and Martin Eric Ain met each other again and began writing music, with the aim of creating a new, dark and heavy Celtic Frost album in the vein of their work on To Mega Therion and Into the Pandemonium . The album, titled Monotheist , was eventually released in 2006.

Celtic Frost at Tuska Open Air 2006 Celtic Frost live at Tuska 2006 modified.jpg
Celtic Frost at Tuska Open Air 2006

Fischer also performed in Probot, Dave Grohl's collaborative project with various metal artists, on the song "Big Sky" in 2003.

In 2005, Fischer produced vocal (performed by Martin Eric Ain) and guitar tracks (Erol Uenala) for a "gothicized" version of Slayer's classic "Black Magic" recorded by Los Angeles–based gothic rock band Hatesex. The track appeared on their debut album Unwant.

Due to the internal conflict within Celtic Frost, Fischer left the band on 2 April 2008 and launched a new band named Triptykon. [2]

In 2008, he played guitars and bass for the cover song "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" from the 1349 (a Norwegian black metal band) album Revelations of the Black Flame and also co-mixed the album. In 2009, he co-produced their album Demonoir .

In 2010, Fischer was awarded in the Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards for Inspiration. [3] Fischer was ranked No. 32 out of 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Guitarists of All Time by Guitar World . [4]

He currently plays an Ibanez H. R. Giger series Iceman guitar. He also uses an Ibanez Tube Screamer overdrive pedal.

Fischer is a vegan. [5] He also states that he does not drink, smoke, or take drugs. [6]

Fischer was the personal assistant to H. R. Giger from 2007 until Giger's death. [7] He was a close friend of Giger and his wife Carmen, and continues to be active for the Giger estate, in the Fondation H.R. Giger, and as the co-director of the Museum HR Giger. [8]

Discography

Fischer at Hellfest 2011 Triptykon live at Hellfest 202.jpg
Fischer at Hellfest 2011

Hellhammer

Celtic Frost

Coroner

Apollyon Sun

Probot

Dark Fortress

1349

Triptykon

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Celtic Frost</span> Swiss metal band

Celtic Frost was a Swiss heavy metal band from Zürich. They are remembered for their strong influence on the development of several varieties of extreme metal and for their avant-garde approach to music more generally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hellhammer</span> Swiss extreme metal band

Hellhammer was a Swiss extreme metal band from Nürensdorf, active from 1982 to 1984. Although the band's sound and style were heavily criticized and poorly reviewed during their active years, they have been widely praised in retrospect and are often regarded as a key influence on black metal. In June 1984, Hellhammer disbanded but two of its members soon formed the influential extreme metal band Celtic Frost.

<i>Into the Pandemonium</i> 1987 studio album by Celtic Frost

Into the Pandemonium is the third studio album by Swiss extreme metal band Celtic Frost, released in 1987. The album marks the return of bassist and backing vocalist Martin Eric Ain, who appeared on 1984's Morbid Tales, but not the band's previous album.

<i>To Mega Therion</i> (album) 1985 studio album by Celtic Frost

To Mega Therion is the first full-length studio album by Swiss extreme metal band Celtic Frost, released in October 1985 by Noise Records. The cover artwork is a painting by H. R. Giger entitled Satan I. The album was a major influence on the then-developing death metal and black metal genres.

<i>Apocalyptic Raids</i> 1984 EP by Hellhammer

Apocalyptic Raids is an EP by the Swiss extreme metal band Hellhammer. It was recorded and released in March 1984, and was the band's only commercial release.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Eric Ain</span> American-born Swiss bassist (1967–2017)

Martin Eric Ain was an American musician best known as the bassist of the influential extreme metal bands Hellhammer and Celtic Frost. He used the stage name Martin Eric Ain throughout.

<i>Morbid Tales</i> 1984 EP and studio album by Celtic Frost

Morbid Tales is the debut record by the Swiss extreme metal band, Celtic Frost, released in November 1984. It was originally released in Europe on Noise Records as a mini-LP with six tracks, while the American release by Enigma/Metal Blade added two tracks, bringing it to the length of a regular studio LP. The band retrospectively refers to the LP release as the band's debut studio album.

<i>Cold Lake</i> (album) 1988 studio album by Celtic Frost

Cold Lake is the fourth studio album by Swiss extreme metal band Celtic Frost, released on 1 September 1988 by Noise Records. It features a new lineup, reformed by bandleader Tom Warrior with newly joined musicians Oliver Amberg, Curt Victor Bryant and a returning Stephen Priestly, who had previously played with the band in 1984 on the Morbid Tales EP. Despite it being marketed to exploit the mass appeal of glam metal, the album has more of a traditional heavy metal sound.

<i>Vanity/Nemesis</i> 1990 studio album by Celtic Frost

Vanity/Nemesis is the fifth studio album by Swiss heavy metal band Celtic Frost, released on 11 April 1990 through Noise Records.

<i>Monotheist</i> (album) 2006 studio album by Celtic Frost

Monotheist is the sixth and final studio album by the Swiss extreme metal band Celtic Frost. The album was released in May 2006 and was the first new recording released by the band in 16 years. Upon its release, the album was met with universal acclaim by music critics.

<i>Emperors Return</i> 1985 EP by Celtic Frost

Emperor's Return is the second release by the Swiss extreme metal band Celtic Frost. It was released in 1985 as an extended play and was their first record featuring American drummer Reid Cruickshank. The band's bleak publicity photographs from this period had an influence on the fashion and style of the developing black metal genre. The tracks of Emperor's Return were remastered and re-released in the 1999 edition of Morbid Tales and yet again remastered and included in the 2017 edition of To Mega Therion.

<i>Tragic Serenades</i> 1986 EP by Celtic Frost

Tragic Serenades is an EP by the Swiss extreme metal band Celtic Frost released in 1986. The EP presented 3 reworked tracks from previous releases.

<i>Death Metal</i> (split album) 1984 split album by Helloween, Hellhammer, Running Wild, and Dark Avenger

Death Metal is a 1984 split album by the heavy metal bands Helloween, Hellhammer, Running Wild, and Dark Avenger. It contains the only recorded material by the German group Dark Avenger besides their 1985 demo tape. Despite its name, the musical style is not actually death metal.

<i>Satanic Rites</i> 1983 demo album by Hellhammer

Satanic Rites is the third and final demo tape by Swiss extreme metal band Hellhammer. It was recorded and distributed during December 1983. Along with Hellhammer's other releases, it had a major influence on the emerging death metal and black metal genres.

<i>Death Fiend</i> 1983 demo album by Hellhammer

Death Fiend is an unreleased demo tape by the Swiss extreme metal band Hellhammer. It was recorded in June 1983, along with the Triumph of Death demo, and later appeared on the compilation album Demon Entrails.

<i>Triumph of Death</i> (Hellhammer demo) 1983 demo album by Hellhammer

Triumph of Death is a demo tape by the Swiss extreme metal band Hellhammer. It was released in July 1983. It was recorded by producer Rol Fuchs in the band's rehearsal room on portable equipment sometime in June 1983, along with the material for the unreleased Death Fiend demo. The two demos were typically combined into one, simply called Triumph of Death. Along with Hellhammer's other demos, it had a major influence on the emerging death metal and black metal genres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apollyon Sun</span> Swiss industrial metal band

Apollyon Sun was a Swiss industrial metal band formed by singer/guitarist Tom Gabriel Fischer and guitarist Erol Unala in early 1995, after the termination of Celtic Frost, Fischer's prior group. The group was unofficially dissolved in 2001 when Fischer invited Erol Unala to contribute to the reformation of Celtic Frost. Their name is taken from the Celtic Frost demo "Under Apollyon's Sun".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Triptykon</span> Swiss extreme metal band

Triptykon is a Swiss extreme metal band from Zürich, formed in 2008 by Thomas Gabriel Fischer, founding member of the pioneering heavy metal bands Hellhammer, Celtic Frost and Apollyon Sun.

<i>Eparistera Daimones</i> 2010 studio album by Triptykon

Eparistera Daimones is the debut album by Swiss extreme metal band Triptykon, the most recent musical project of Thomas Gabriel Fischer, founding member of the pioneering heavy metal bands Hellhammer and Celtic Frost and industrial project Apollyon Sun.

<i>Melana Chasmata</i> 2014 studio album by Triptykon

Melana Chasmata is the second full-length album by Swiss extreme metal band Triptykon, released through Prowling Death Records /Century Media Records on 14 April 2014 in Europe and on 15 April 2014 in North America. The album was officially announced on 22 October 2013 by the band's frontman, Thomas Gabriel Fischer, on his official blog.

References

  1. Published by Sanctuary Publishing Ltd (29 Jun 2000) ISBN   1-86074-310-2; ISBN   978-1-86074-310-8
  2. "Former CELTIC FROST Frontman Launches TRIPTYKON". Roadrunnerrecords.com. 21 May 2008. Retrieved 24 May 2008.
  3. "Kawasaki Golden Gods Winners in Full!". Metalhammer.co.uk. 14 June 2010. Archived from the original on 18 June 2010. Retrieved 14 June 2010.
  4. "Guitar World's 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Guitarists of All Time". Blabbermouth.net . Roadrunner Records. 23 January 2004. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
  5. Grow, Kory (15 August 2019). "The Triumph of Tom G. Warrior". rollingstone.com.
  6. "A vegetarian / vegan special". Voicesfromthedarkside.de. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  7. "Deep Depressions: Tom Warrior on Suicide, Triptykon, HR Giger, and His Darkest Days". Noisey.vice.com. 14 April 2014.
  8. Debelic, Tomislav (16 August 2019). "Interview: Tom Warrior and Mia Wallace of Triumph of Death @ Wacken 2019". antichristmagazine.com.