On this day in 1984 HELLHAMMER were putting the finishing touches to their only major release, the ultra cult Apocalyptic Raids. Recording began on the 2nd at Caet Studios, Berlin. Apocalyptic Raids was produced by Tom Warrior & Martin Ain, engineered by Horst Mueller.
Tom Warrior - SATANIC SLAUGHTER - V- Axe Holocaust / Dambuster Vocals
Martin Ain - SLAYED NECROS - Deadly Bassdose / Backing Howling
Bruce Day - DENIAL FIEND - Hellish Crossfire on Wodden Coffins
Released by Noise Records in Europe, Metal Blade in the US.
Only death is real...
...Well it's basically a line from the song "Messiah" which we wrote in 1983 in Hellhammer and it is probably extremely difficult for young people nowadays to understand but this was written during the time of the Cold War when the Soviet Union and America were basically staring down each other and there was a very real possibility that somebody would press the red button and the world would be obliterated by nuclear war. I mean it was in the media every day. It was in the news and everything and us young people at the time, we grew up with this constant realization that the next hour the world could be eliminated. There was such tensions always between the two super powers and a lot of Hellhammer's material reflects that kind of aura, that kind of feeling that was in the air at that time and "Messiah" even though it sounds like a religious song but it is very much about the Cold War and this fear of the destruction of the world and "only death is real" hints to that of course it's also true it's the only thing that's guaranteed in life. Death is something that unifies us all. Whether you're black or white or whatever. Whatever kind of being you are, even a stone on this planet eventually will be ground down to dust. Everything will pass on this planet. Death is the only thing that's a given, that's a guarantee on this planet for everything. That's really, that's the end of it.
- Tom Warrior interview, DC Heavy Metal, 2015