''Apocalyptic Raids'' is an EP by the

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri *Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internati ...

extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tra ...

band

Hellhammer Hellhammer was a Swiss 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 r ...

. It was recorded and released in March 1984, and was the band's only commercial release. The record was a major influence on the then-emerging

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, fe ...

and

black metal Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw ( lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an em ...

genres. It has served as an inspiration to such varied and respected bands as

Napalm Death Napalm Death are an English grindcore band formed in 1981 in Meriden, West Midlands. None of the band's original members has been in the group since 1986. But since ''Utopia Banished'' (1992), the lineup of bassist Shane Embury, guitarist Mitch ...

and

Sepultura Sepultura (, "grave")Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 17. is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte. Formed in 1984 by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera,Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 16. the band was a major force in the groove metal, thras ...

, both of whom recorded cover versions of "Messiah". Hellhammer split up only three months after recording this EP, and later regrouped as

Celtic Frost Celtic Frost () was a Swiss extreme metal band from Zürich. They are known for their strong influence on the development of extreme metalBukszpan, Daniel. ''The Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal''. Barnes & Noble Publishing, 2003. p.43 and avant-gard ...

. The EP would be reissued six years later as ''Apocalyptic Raids 1990 A.D.'', boasting new artwork and two bonus tracks.

Artwork

The cover art of ''Apocalyptic Raids'' is influenced by

German Expressionism German Expressionism () consisted of several related creative movements in Germany before the First World War that reached a peak in Berlin during the 1920s. These developments were part of a larger Expressionist movement in north and central ...

's stark aesthetic, combining

monochromaticity A monochrome or monochromatic image, object or color scheme, palette is composed of one color (or lightness, values of one color). Images using only Tint, shade and tone, shades of grey are called grayscale (typically digital) or Black and wh ...

with the band's blood-red,

blackletter Blackletter (sometimes black letter), also known as Gothic script, Gothic minuscule, or Textura, was a script used throughout Western Europe from approximately 1150 until the 17th century. It continued to be commonly used for the Danish, Norweg ...

-styled

logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wordm ...

Track listings

Tracks 5 and 6 were originally part of the now out-of-print ''

Death Metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, fe ...

'' (1984) compilation.

Credits

Original 1984 release

– producers **Satanic Slaughter (

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

) – V-Axe Holocaust (guitar), Dambuster Vocals (lead vocals) **Slayed Necros (a.k.a. Martin Ain) – Deadly Bassdose (bass), Backing Howling... (backing vocals) **Denial Fiend (a.k.a. Bruce Day) – Hellish Crossfire on Wooden Coffins (drums) *Horst Mueller –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

Apocalyptic Raids 1990 A.D.

* Tom G. Warrior – vocals, guitar, backing vocals * Martin E. Ain – bass, cover design * Bruce Day – drums * Horst Müller –

, mixing * Julia Schechner – layout * José Posada – illustrations * Karl U. Walterbach – executive producer

Charts

References

{{Authority control Hellhammer albums Noise Records EPs 1984 EPs 1990 EPs