On Morbid Tales, Celtic Frost play a rather unique style. The majority of the tracks are riff driven, with almost no melody - all rhythm approach to the songs. Topped off with Tom's gruff grunts this easily fits into the proto-death/first wave of black metal field.
The two first songs on both sides define what the band is all about. On side A you have Into the Crypt of Rays.... a scorcher of a track that has an odd staccato type rhythm to it. While the pauses in the riffs may seem a bit odd at first, after a listen or two they become an integral part of the sound, easily one of their best works.
Side B begins with Procession (Of the Wicked). This track is the polar opposite of Into the Crypt of Rays. It is slow, deliberate, and plodding. The chaotic and stop/start style of the opening track is completely gone here, everything feels like it's done with absolute intention.
While both tracks sound quite different from each other, they are both instantly recognizable as Celtic Frost due to the guitar tone and vocals. These are the glue that hold everything together.
There is also a third side to the band, that being the ambient/experimental side. The introduction (Human) is a voice clip repeating over and over until Into the Crypt of Rays explodes in. The main attraction to this style though is Dance Macabre. This is nothing short of a noise/dark ambient piece, consisting of random noises and notes from a violin as well as other atmospheric elements. It may very well be my favorite track on the album because it's so strange, yet fits so well.
Morbid Tales is only 30 minutes long, but in those 30 minutes this young band would create something that many would go on to try and emulate... but no one (not even themselves) would ever truly reach this level again.
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