Morbid Tales

{{Infobox album

| name = Morbid Tales

| type = EP

| longtype = and studio album

| artist = Celtic Frost

| cover = Morbid Tales - Celtic Frost.jpg

| alt =

| released = November 1984

| recorded = 8–15 October 1984

| venue =

| studio = Caet Studio in Berlin, Germany

| genre = {{hlist|Thrash metal{{cite web |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=morbid-tales-mw0001966052|pure_url=yes}} |title=Celtic Frost - Morbid Tales review|last=Rivadavia |first=Eduardo |publisher=AllMusic|quote=With its highly focused thrash metal intensity and peculiar mix of satanic and esoteric lyrics, the album would sow the seeds of Frost's overwhelming influence in years to come. |accessdate=13 May 2003}}|black metal{{cite magazine |title=Black Metal Foundations Top 20: Celtic Frost, Morbid Tales |magazine=Terrorizer |date=February 2005 |last=Strachan |first=Guy |issue=128 |page=42 }}}}

| length = 24:51 (Mini-LP)
32:09 (LP)
50:02 (album version)

| label = Noise (Europe)
Enigma/Metal Blade (US)

| producer = Horst Müller, Tom Warrior, Martin Ain, Karl Walterbach

| prev_title =

| prev_year =

| next_title = Emperor's Return

| next_year = 1985

| misc = {{Extra album cover

| header = 1999 remastered edition cover

| type = EP

| cover = Celtic frost - 1999 - morbid tales remaster.jpg

| border =

| alt =

| caption =

}}

Morbid Tales is the debut album by Swiss extreme metal band Celtic Frost, released in November 1984. It was originally released in Europe on Noise Records as a mini-LP with six tracks, while the American release by Enigma/Metal Blade added two tracks, bringing it to the length of a regular studio LP. The band retrospectively refers to the LP release as the band's debut studio album.{{cite web |last1=RIVADAVIA |first1=EDUARDO |title=INFLUENTIAL CELTIC FROST DEBUT ALBUM 'MORBID TALES' TURNS 30 YEARS OLD |url=https://loudwire.com/celtic-frost-debut-album-morbid-tales-30-years-old/ |website=Loudwire |date=24 June 2014 |accessdate=18 August 2019}}{{cite web |last=Warrior|first=Tom|title=Rolling Stone Magazine's "The 100 Greatest Metal Albums Of All Time" Delineation II|url=http://fischerisdead.blogspot.com/2017/06/rolling-stone-magazines-100-greatest.html|quote=...it is of course a significant honour to find Celtic Frost's debut album Morbid Tales of 1984 featured as number 28 of Rolling Stone magazine's 'The 100 Greatest Metal Albums Of All Time'.|accessdate=7 June 2023}}

In 1999, a remastered edition of Morbid Tales was released on CD by Noise Records, which also contained the tracks from their 1985 EP Emperor's Return as well as a 2017 remastered edition released by the same label on CD and vinyl formats.

{{Album ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1Score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}

| rev2 = Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal

| rev2Score = 5/10{{cite book | last1 = Popoff | first1 = Martin | authorlink1 = Martin Popoff | title = The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties | publisher = Collector's Guide Publishing | date = 1 November 2005 | location = Burlington, Ontario, Canada | isbn = 978-1894959315 | pages= 67–68}}

| noprose= yes

}}

Legacy

The thrash metal intensity of Morbid Tales had a major influence on the then-developing death metal and black metal genres. It included elements that were adopted by the pioneers of both styles.{{cite magazine |url=http://loudwire.com/celtic-frost-debut-album-morbid-tales-30-years-old/ |title= Influential Celtic Frost Debut Album 'Morbid Tales' Turns 30 Years Old |last=Rivadavia |first=Eduardo |magazine=Loudwire |date=24 June 2014 |accessdate=3 February 2017 }} The band's bleak and dead serious fashion style was also influential, including their corpse paint face makeup. In 2017, Rolling Stone ranked Morbid Tales as 28th on their list of 'The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time.'{{Cite web|url=http://www.theprp.com/2017/06/21/news/rolling-stone-share-choices-100-greatest-metal-albums-time/|title = Rolling Stone Share Their Choices for 'The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time'|date = 21 June 2017}} Decibel placed Morbid Tales at #14 in their "Decibel Thrash Top 50". Contributor Jeff Wagner wrote about how the LP was "Hellhammer refined, but no less demented", and that it "remains as pure and primal as Celtic Frost would ever be."Wagner 2011, p. 10.

In the commentary for Darkthrone's album Panzerfaust, Fenriz cites this album along with Bathory's Under the Sign of the Black Mark and Vader's Necrolust as key riff inspirations.{{cite magazine |url=http://www.decibelmagazine.com/record-rules/darkthrone-panzerfaust/ |title=Darkthrone - Panzerfaust |last=Bennett |first=J. |magazine=Decibel |date=2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101109090636/http://www.decibelmagazine.com/record-rules/darkthrone-panzerfaust/ |archivedate=9 November 2010 |accessdate=29 January 2017}}

"Danse Macabre" was later sampled in the demo track "Totgetanzt" from their 2002 demo album Prototype.{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.metal-archives.com/albums/Celtic_Frost/Prototype/287926|title=Celtic Frost - Prototype|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Metallum|access-date=22 June 2016}}

Track listings

All music by Thomas Gabriel Fischer, all lyrics by Thomas Gabriel Fischer and Martin Ain, except where noted.

=Original Mini-LP version=

{{Track listing

| headline = Side one

| title1 = Into the Crypts of Rays

| note1 = Fischer

| length1 = 4:46

| title2 = Visions of Mortality

| length2 = 4:49

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Side two

| title3 = Procreation (Of the Wicked)

| length3 = 4:02

| title4 = Return to the Eve

| length4 = 4:05

| title5 = Danse Macabre

| length5 = 3:51

| title6 = Nocturnal Fear

| length6 = 3:35

| total_length = 24:51

}}

=Full-LP American version=

{{Track listing

| headline = Side one

| title1 = Into the Crypts of Rays

| note1 = Fischer

| length1 = 3:39

| title2 = Visions of Mortality

| length2 = 4:49

| title3 = Dethroned Emperor

| note3 = Fischer

| length3 = 4:37

| title4 = Morbid Tales

| length4 = 3:29

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Side two

| title5 = Procreation (Of the Wicked)

| length5 = 4:04

| title6 = Return to the Eve

| length6 = 4:07

| title7 = Danse Macabre

| length7 = 3:52

| title8 = Nocturnal Fear

| length8 = 3:36

| total_length = 32:09

}}

=1999 CD remastered edition=

{{Tracklist

| total_length = 50:02

| title1 = Human (Intro)

| note1 = intro to "Into the Crypts of Rays"; originally joined as one track, CD reissue split this into two tracks

| length1 = 0:41

| title2 = Into the Crypts of Rays

| length2 = 3:39

| title3 = Visions of Mortality

| length3 = 4:49

| title4 = Dethroned Emperor

| length4 = 4:37

| title5 = Morbid Tales

| length5 = 3:29

| title6 = Procreation (Of the Wicked)

| length6 = 4:04

| title7 = Return to the Eve

| length7 = 4:07

| title8 = Danse Macabre

| length8 = 3:51

| title9 = Nocturnal Fear

| length9 = 3:36

| title10 = Circle of the Tyrants

| length10 = 4:27

| title11 = Visual Aggression

| length11 = 4:10

| title12 = Suicidal Winds

| length12 = 4:36

}}

=2017 remastered edition bonus tracks=

{{Tracklist

| title10 = Morbid Tales (1984 Rehearsal)

| length10 = 3:41

| title11 = Messiah (1984 Rehearsal)

| length11 = 4:45

| title12 = Procreation (Of the Wicked) (1984 Rehearsal)

| length12 = 4:14

| title13 = Nocturnal Fear (1984 Rehearsal)

| length13 = 3:54

}}

Personnel

Credits adapted from the original editions.{{cite AV media notes |title=Morbid Tales |others=Celtic Frost |year=1984|type=LP sleeve |publisher=Noise Records |id=N 0017 |location=Berlin, Germany}}{{cite AV media notes |title=Morbid Tales |others=Celtic Frost |year=1999|type=CD booklet |publisher=Noise Records |id=N 0325-2 |location=Berlin, Germany}}

;Celtic Frost