Ned Raggett in his review for AllMusic wrote, "The bombastic 'Innocence and Wrath' starts To Mega Therion off on just the appropriate note – Wagnerian horn lines, booming drums, and a slow crunch toward apocalypse. ... With that setting the tone, it is into the maddeningly wild and woolly Celtic Frost universe full bore, Warrior roaring out his vocals with glee and a wicked smile while never resorting to self-parodic castrato wails. 'The Usurper' alone is worth the price of admission, an awesome display of Warrior's knack around brute power and unexpectedly memorable riffs." According to Raggett, "other prime cuts" include "Circle of the Tyrants", "Dawn of Megiddo", "Tears in a Prophet's Dream", "Eternal Summer" and "Necromantical Screams". Raggett concludes his review by stating that the album "is and remains death metal at its finest".[2]
Legacy
The album was a major influence on the then-developing death metal and black metal genres.
Canadian journalist Martin Popoff considers the album "a black metal landmark" and "the most consistent example of early death metal that exists". He remarks how "the band had decided to delve more into the extreme" and praised Tom Warrior's "surprisingly accomplished" lyrics and the mix of death, black and doom metal with a pinch of ambient music.[3]
Decibel magazine ranked To Mega Therion #21 in their "Decibel Thrash Top 50" list. Writer Nick Green praises both its "purer" thrash metal tracks such as "Circle of the Tyrants" and the experimental edge of "Necromantical Screams."[7]
Track listing
All songs written by Tom G. Warrior, except where noted.
Side one
No.
Title
Length
1.
"Innocence and Wrath"
1:02
2.
"The Usurper"
3:24
3.
"Jewel Throne"
3:59
4.
"Dawn of Megiddo" (Warrior, Martin Ain) (Consistently misspelled as Dawn of Meggido on re-releases)
5:42
5.
"Eternal Summer"
4:29
Side two
No.
Title
Length
6.
"Circle of the Tyrants"
4:36
7.
"(Beyond the) North Winds"
3:04
8.
"Fainted Eyes"
5:00
9.
"Tears in a Prophet's Dream" (Celtic Frost, Steve Warrior)
2:30
10.
"Necromantical Screams" (Warrior, Ain)
6:06
Total length:
39:52
Personnel
Celtic Frost
Tom G. Warrior – guitars, vocals, effects, co-producer, assistant engineer
^The band's debut Morbid Tales was initially released as a six-track EP, while the American release added two additional tracks as an LP. The band retrospectively refers to the American release as their first studio album.[5][6]
^Pitchfork Staff (10 September 2018). "The 200 Best Albums of the 1980s". Pitchfork. Retrieved 24 April 2023. ...To Mega Therion, their sophomore album, which spread apocalyptic visions over ungodly, vicious thrash metal.
