Samael

In terms of black metal, Switzerland is known for giving the world two bands:  Hellhammer/Celtic Frost, and SAMAEL, hailing from the city of Sion.  Samael formed in 1987, and played in the raw old-school black/death style made famous by their fellow countrymen.  They released several excellent demos in the late 1980s, such as 1987's Into the Infernal Storm of Evil and 1988's Macabre Operetta.  These albums showcased the extreme black/death sound of early Samael.

Samael covering the classic Hellhammer song, "The Third of the Storms"

In 1988, Samael released the EP Medieval Prophecy.  This featured a pretty faithful cover of Hellhammer's "The Third of the Storms" (see above).  Samael's fame in the black metal underground only grew.  In 1989, the demo From Dark to Black just cemented their reputation.  By the nineties, Samael was releasing full-length studio albums, such as 1991's Worship Him and 1992's Blood Ritual.

The very atmospheric "Sleep of Death", off of 1991's Worship Him

Samael's very famous "After the Sepulture"--which is off of 1992's Blood Ritual

After Blood Ritual, Samael began to get more creative with their black metal sound.  Not afraid to incorporate varied tempos, electronic manipulation, and non-traditional black metal vocals, the albums since Blood Ritual have stretched the very idea of what black metal can accomplish.  1994's Ceremony of Opposities is a true masterpiece in this regard.  By the time of 1996's Passage, however, the genre of black metal is barely present in Samael's sound, and they have begun to enter a realm all their own.

"Baphomet's Throne" is Samael at perhaps the peak of their black metal creativity

This track from 1996's Passage shows the shift away from black metal...

Since the time of 1996's Passage (an incredible album in its own right), Samael has simply expanded their sound to include more and more non-black metal elements.  At this point, they are more or less a electronic/industrial metal band with occult/black metal influences.  In terms of the development of black metal, their first few years (1987-1992) are the most noteworthy.

Select Discography:

Into the Infernal Storm of Evil (demo) (1987)
Macabre Operetta (demo) (1988)
Medieval Prophecy EP (1988)
From the Dark to Black (demo) (1989)
Worship Him (1991)
Blood Ritual (1992)
Ceremony of Opposites (1994)
Passage (1996)

Next time: SCHIZO and first wave Italian black metal

Celtic Frost

Allegedly, Hellhammer broke up on May 31, 1984, and CELTIC FROST formed the very next day.  Or so the story goes.  Hellhammer was about primitive, raw extreme metal, and Tom Warrior and Martin Ain felt they had achieved all they could with that band.  So Celtic Frost was born.  In 1984, they introduced themselves to the world with Morbid Tales.

"Into the Crypts of Rays," one of the best Celtic Frost songs.  Ever.

The sound was an extension of what Hellhammer had been doing.  Less primitive and visceral, but still bearing that old-school death/black vibe.  With the early material, Celtic Frost stuck to this template.  After Morbid Tales, the Emperor's Return EP came out in 1985, featuring more of the same.

The link says it's from Morbid Tales, but it's really from Emperor's Return

 Changes in Celtic Frost's sound began to happen with the 1986 album To Mega Therion.  On this album, there was a stronger move away from the primitivism of Hellhammer while still retaining a strong old-school black/death feel.  At the same time, CF began to incorporate symphonic elements and their music took on a grander, more epic atmosphere.

This song illustrates the evolution of CF's sound

The 1987 album Into the Pandemonium marked a pretty big shift for Celtic Frost.  More progressive than their earlier stuff, CF were now using clean vocals, female singing, more of the symphonic sounds, and the songs themselves sounded less old-school.  It's a great album, but not very black metal.

"Babylon Fell" is one of the few songs off of the album that would really fit into my discussion on black metal

After Into the Pandemonium, Celtic Frost put out the 1988 glam album Cold Lake, and more or less became irrelevant until they broke up in 1993 and re-formed in the 2000s.  Their 2006 album Monotheist was a great return to form.  It is very much in the vein of To Mega Therion and, to a lesser degree, Into the Pandemonium.

Select Discography:

Morbid Tales EP (1984)

Emperor's Return EP (1985)

To Mega Therion (full-length) (1986)
Tragic Serenades EP (1986)
Into the Pandemonium (full-length) (1987)

Next time: NME

Hellhammer

HELLHAMMER is an important and unique band in the history of black and death metal because--despite the short lifespan of the band--they have hugely influenced so many extreme bands down to this day.  The band formed in 1982 as Hammerhead before changing their name to Hellhammer.  The lineup shifted a bit, with members coming and going, but it all centered around Tom Warrior (born Thomas Gabriel Fischer).  Hellhammer was all about creating primitive, extreme metal influenced by Black Sabbath, Motorhead, and Venom.

"Death Fiend," from the 1983 demo Triumph of Death

In 1983, Hellhammer had recorded the demo Death Fiend (which initially went unreleased), and they released the demo Triumph of Death in June.  This showcased a sound that noticeably differed from what Venom was doing, yet at the same time the influence of the British black metal pioneers could be heard.  Hellhammer's was a raw and dirty sound, much less influenced by the NWOBHM production values so clearly present in Venom's work.

From the Satanic Rites demo, this is "Eurynomos"

In 1984, however, Martin Ain joined the band on bass and became a major contributor to the sound of Hellhammer.  The resulting demo was Satanic Rites.  The raw, dirty edge is still present, but there's a little more of the vicious speed associated with black and death metal.  After this demo, Hellhammer went on to release their one proper studio release: the EP entitled Apocalyptic Raids.

"The Third of the Storms," from 1984's Apocalyptic Raids

By this time, Hellhammer's mark had been made on the metal underground.  The rawness of their style, the evil of their lyrical content, the intensity  of their music--these hallmarks of black metal played a big role in the genre's sound during the 1980s.  But Tom Warrior and Martin Ain began to feel limited by the more primitive aesthetic of Hellhammer and wanted to do something different, more expansive.  Thus, Hellhammer broke up in May of 1984....only to shortly re-form as Celtic Frost in June (more on that legendary band at a later date).

The evil bastards of Hellhammer

Select Discography

Death Fiend (demo) (1983)

Triumph of Death (demo) (1983)

Satanic Rites (demo) (1983)

Apocalyptic Raids EP (1984)
Demon Entrails (demo compilation) (2008)

Tomorrow: MERCYFUL FATE