Celtic Frost is often considered an influential band – but, primarily on metal bands. Case in point – helping trailblaze the black metal genre on the strength of such classic offerings as 1984's Morbid Tales and 1985's To Mega Therion. But in addition to metal subgenres, Celtic Frost appears to have had an unlikely influence on grunge.
A famous tale has made the rounds for years that supposedly at some point before Nirvana began work on Nevermind, a homemade cassette was enjoyed in their tour van – one side including Morbid Tales, and the other featuring the Smithereens' 1986 album Especially For You. This leads one to wonder, was combining the Sabbath-y riffing of the former EP with the Beatle-y power pop of the latter LP the musical recipe for Nevermind?
To be honest, upon close inspection, it sounds like Celtic Frost was more of an influence on Nirvana's Bleach album – both sonically and musically (do a side-by-side taste test between the Celtic Frost tunes "Procreation of the Wicked" and "Dethroned Emperor" with Nirvana's "Paper Cuts" and "Floyd the Barber" to catch my drift) rather than Nevermind.
And this would make more sense – it was Nirvana's Bleach-era drummer, Chad Channing, who supposedly turned Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic on to the Swiss metal band in the first place while he was still in the group (he left in 1990, eventually replaced by David Eric Grohl).
But enough of this analysis. Why don't we get the story straight from the horse's mouth via two exclusive new interviews on the subject: Channing and Celtic Frost's singer/guitarist Tom G. Warrior.
A famous tale has made the rounds for years that supposedly at some point before Nirvana began work on Nevermind, a homemade cassette was enjoyed in their tour van – one side including Morbid Tales, and the other featuring the Smithereens' 1986 album Especially For You. This leads one to wonder, was combining the Sabbath-y riffing of the former EP with the Beatle-y power pop of the latter LP the musical recipe for Nevermind?
To be honest, upon close inspection, it sounds like Celtic Frost was more of an influence on Nirvana's Bleach album – both sonically and musically (do a side-by-side taste test between the Celtic Frost tunes "Procreation of the Wicked" and "Dethroned Emperor" with Nirvana's "Paper Cuts" and "Floyd the Barber" to catch my drift) rather than Nevermind.
And this would make more sense – it was Nirvana's Bleach-era drummer, Chad Channing, who supposedly turned Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic on to the Swiss metal band in the first place while he was still in the group (he left in 1990, eventually replaced by David Eric Grohl).
But enough of this analysis. Why don't we get the story straight from the horse's mouth via two exclusive new interviews on the subject: Channing and Celtic Frost's singer/guitarist Tom G. Warrior.
A Chat With Chad
Greg Prato (Songfacts): How did you discover Celtic Frost and what were your initial impressions?Chad Channing: I first heard Celtic Frost from my friend Jason [Everman, Nirvana's second guitarist circa Bleach], who picked up Morbid Tales back in '84. Of course, we had the US LP version. My thoughts? Incredible! I loved that record from start to finish the first time I heard it.
Songfacts: What made bands like Celtic Frost unique at the time?
Channing: They ditched spandex for leather! And put a whole new meaning to heavy rock music.
Songfacts: Do you recall how the cassette w/ Celtic Frost's Morbid Tales on one side and Smithereens' Especially For You on the other side came to be?
Songfacts: What did the other members of Nirvana think of Celtic Frost?
Channing: I recall they liked it because it was so heavy.
Songfacts: Do you think that tape in particular may have influenced the album that became Nevermind? I believe Krist and Kurt have mentioned it as a possibility in interviews.
Channing: Honestly, a lot of records probably did. But yeah, Morbid Tales would certainly be on that list.
Songfacts: Do you think Celtic Frost had an influence on grunge bands overall, in particular, the Melvins?
Channing: I don't really know. I was super into bands like Slayer, Sodom, Destruction, Kreator, and of course Celtic Frost before I joined Nirvana and the whole grunge scene. So, I can only speak for myself.
Songfacts: How do you think Morbid Tales holds up today?
Channing: Just fine! Morbid Tales is one of the greatest metal records of all time. I freaking love that record.
A Talk With Tom
Songfacts: There's a famous story that at one point Nirvana listened to a tape in their tour van and one side was Celtic Frost and the other side was the Smithereens, which they said influenced the album that became Nevermind. Can you hear that influence?Tom G. Warrior: I've heard that story many times and I've actually heard it from people in the Nirvana camp themselves. That's something we never expected at the time and it's an honor, of course.
As far as influences, I'm not as preposterous as going to seek for influences of my music in other songs. But I do have a memory of, for example, when I heard "Heart Shaped Box" for the very first time when it came out, I thought, "Wow. It has the spirit of [Warrior's pre-Celtic Frost band] Hellhammer." Not in a way that they copied it or anything like that, but I just felt like I can hear the same spirit in this music, and maybe there's the connection. I don't know. But that's as far as it goes.
Warrior: Well, if that's true I feel very honored. But I'm not the kind of person who has to flatter my own ego. There's so much great music out there, I'm a discoverer myself.
To this day, I'm a record collector. I discover music from now and I discover bands that I didn't even know existed in the '70s. If you're serious about your passion in music, it's a constant process of learning new things and making exciting discoveries regardless of what you're doing yourself.
Songfacts: Although Celtic Frost is often credited with influencing several metal styles, did they also possibly influence grunge as well? Especially after hearing the Melvins and early Nirvana.
Warrior: If that is true, I can actually see that. Because in our own strange, awkward, underground way, there was something grungey – for lack of a better term – in our attitude and performance. Of course, years before grunge became an actual term.
November 3, 2023
Tom Warrior's current band, Triumph Of Death, recently issued a live album, Resurrection Of The Flesh: Triumph Of Death Live 2023.
Chad Channing offered this update on what he's up to musically: "Although Before Cars [a band in which Channing sings and plays guitar] is basically a two-piece, I am planning on doing an EP down the road. And also, I am working on a new project to be named at a later date."
Further reading:
Nirvana Songfacts Entries
Celtic Frost Songfacts Entries
Interview with Chad Channing
100 Greatest Songs Of Heavy Metal, An Excerpt
Interview with Tony Iommi
Interview with Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt
More Song Writing
