Martin Eric Ain (born Martin Erich Stricker; July 18, 1967 – October 21, 2017) was a Swiss musician of American origin best known as the bassist of the influential

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 tran ...

bands

Hellhammer 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 ...

and

Celtic Frost Celtic Frost () was a Swiss metal music, heavy metal band from Zürich. They are remembered for their strong influence on the development of several metal subgenres, particularly extreme metal,Bukszpan, Daniel. ''The Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal' ...

. He used the stage name Martin Eric Ain throughout.

Biography

Ain was born in the United States and spoke English as a first language. In May 1984, pioneering extreme metal band

dissolved, but two of its members, guitarist/vocalist Thomas Gabriel Fischer and bassist Martin Eric Ain, went on to form

in June and release their debut, '' Morbid Tales'', in November of that same year. This was followed by '' To Mega Therion'' in 1985, arguably their most influential record, which did not feature Ain on bass, but stand-in musician Dominic Steiner. Ain returned after the album was recorded. In 1987, the band released the highly experimental '' Into the Pandemonium''. After a subsequent North American tour, financial trouble, personal tension between the band members and an ill-fated relationship with their record label led to the dissolution of the band. Six months later, Thomas Gabriel Fischer reformed the band with a new line-up, of which Ain was left out, and went on to record the widely derided '' Cold Lake'' in 1988. Ain returned once again for the recording of '' Vanity/Nemesis'' in 1990, the band's last original album for several years. Celtic Frost re-formed in 2001 and released the critically acclaimed ''

Monotheist Monotheism is the belief that one God is the only, or at least the dominant deity.F. L. Cross, Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Monotheism". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. A ...

'' in 2006, before ultimately disbanding following frontman Tom Gabriel Fischer's departure in 2008.September 9, 2008 – PRESS RELEASE
Retrieved from Internet Archive 6 January 2014. Ain died on October 21, 2017, following a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

."Celtic Frost bassist Martin Eric Ain dies at 50"
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Other activities

After amassing a small fortune in the 1980s from Celtic Frost's activities, Ain became an entrepreneur. He owned a successful DVD shop and bar in

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

called Acapulco. Ain was also a co-owner of the music club Mascotte, which has become well known for hosting upcoming international bands. Since 2004, he had become the host of the "Karaoke from Hell" show, taking place every Tuesday night at the Mascotte. Ain sang the lead vocals for the song "A Dying God Coming into Human Flesh" on Celtic Frost's final album, ''

''. He played a left-handed

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...

bass for the second half of the band's career. In 2012, the project "Lieder zum Schluss", under the moniker Graber, was released, a project he worked on with longtime friend Jan Graber. In 2015, Ain started a band along with fellow musicians and artists from the Zürich scene: Thomas Ott (a Swiss comic artist), Markus Edelmann (ex-

Coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into the manner or cause of death. The official may also investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...

), Stefano Mauriello, and Alain Kupper. The songs written and recorded by the group were released after Ain's death under the band name Tar Pond in 2019. The album is entitled ''Protocol of Constant Sadness'' and contains four songs. The band Tar Pond continues with Monika Schori taking over bass duties after Ain's death. In 2017, Ain collaborated with Swiss contemporary classical composer Balz Trümpy and his son Samuel Trümpy on "Der Dorn", which was released 2018. "Der Dorn" was released on a 7-inch vinyl, limited to 222 units.

References

;Other sources *

External links

Interview with Martin Eric Ain
''Broward-Palm Beach New Times'', October 19, 2006
"Metal Israel Exclusive Kinda Interview with Martin Eric Ain"
1967 births 2017 deaths Musicians from Santa Barbara, California American emigrants to Switzerland American people of Swiss descent Swiss people of American descent Swiss bass guitarists American male bass guitarists American black metal musicians Heavy metal bass guitarists Place of death missing 20th-century American bass guitarists Celtic Frost members 20th-century American male musicians {{Switzerland-musician-stub