Triumph of Death Announces Debut Live Album, “Resurrection Of The Flesh”

Image credit: Joe Daly

Across many tumultuous decades, the specter of Switzerland’s Hellhammer has lurked in metal’s shadowy corners, a phantasm of raw power whose resonating influence still echoes loudly through metal’s endless taxonomy of genres. Hellhammer erupted majestically in the early '80s, flared brightly and then vanished, only to leave behind a legacy that rivals the Pyramids in terms of both permanence and the casting of very long shadows. And while Hellhammer may never storm the stage again, their legendary founder Tom Gabriel Warrior has taken up the blazing torch of their music into the modern era with Triumph Of Death.

For the past several years, Triumph of Death have been playing one-offs and festivals around the world, refining and occasionally reimagining Hellhammer’s classic anthems. At long last, they have committed some of these live performances to the proverbial tape. Resurrection of the Flesh, Triumph Of Death’s debut live album, dives headfirst into the primordial fury of three transcendent shows in the spring of 2023. From Houston's fiery depths, through Munich's gothic sanctuaries, to the thrashing frenzy of Portugal's shores, Resurrection… charts an arresting journey through time. Each taut, pulverizing track serves up a blistering reminder that Hellhammer's surging pulse beats as strongly today as it did back in the 80s, and the production coaxes riffs and rhythms as waves of seismic force, while maintaining pristine clarity of the melodies and subtler dynamics.

From the tempestuous squall of Third Of The Storms (Evoked Damnation) to the grinding vitality of Triumph Of Death, the album is not so much a trip down memory lane as an adrenalized joyride though the dark hellscape of early-80s European death metal - one where the guitars bite harder and the drums thunder with ancestral might.

For Warrior, this isn't just about resurrecting songs from the crypts of time. It's about a bond, an unspoken pact between the band and their legions of followers. "This album is," Warrior states, "most importantly, a testament to the unique connection that exists between the audience and this band. Hellhammer's music was an underground token in 1982 to 1984, often ridiculed and shunned, and we owe the fact that we are now able to perform it all across the globe entirely to grace, openness, and enthusiasm of those who make exactly these concerts possible."

With "Resurrection of the Flesh", the ancient behemoth stirs once more, and it demands to be heard.

Resurrection Of The Flesh will be available on November 10 on Noise/BMG.