Hellhammer

Hellhammer
Hellhammer's logo
Background information
Origin	Nurensdorf, Switzerland
Genres	Black metal, death metal
Years active	1981–1984
Labels	Noise, Century Media
Associated acts	Celtic Frost, Triptykon
Website	www.hellhammer.org
Past members	Thomas Gabriel Fischer Urs Sprenger Pete Stratton Jörg Neubart Martin Eric Ain

Hellhammer was a Swiss extreme metal band from Nurensdorf, active during 1981–1984. They are regarded as a key influence on black metal, and one of the founders of death metal. In June 1984, Hellhammer disbanded and founded another highly influential band, Celtic Frost.

Inspired by the music of Black Sabbath, Venom, Raven, and Motörhead, guitarist/vocalist Thomas Gabriel Fischer (a.k.a. "Tom Warrior"), bassist/vocalist Urs Sprenger (a.k.a. "Steve Warrior") and drummer Pete Stratton formed Hammerhead (later Hellhammer) in early 1981. Although Fischer was also "blown away" by the first two Discharge records - Why? and Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing - he "was not into punk at all."

After the exit of Stratton and drummer Jörg Neubart (a.k.a. "Bruce Day") joining in the ranks in autumn 1982, Hellhammer attempted to find proper rehearsal spaces, which proved difficult due to either exceedingly high rents or unavailable studio hours. In June 1983, the group recorded their first demo tape, Triumph of Death, for a mere $70. Despite being embarrassed by the end results, Hellhammer shipped their demo to a number of heavy metal magazines, such as Great Britain's Metal Forces; critical response toward them was generally favorable. Although rejected by the labels they sent tapes to, the band eventually caught the attention of newcomer Noise Records.