TRIPTYKON — the occult/avant-garde metal project formed by former HELLHAMMER/CELTIC FROST singer, guitarist, and main songwriter Tom Gabriel Fischer (a.k.a. Tom Gabriel Warrior) — will release its second album, "Melana Chasmata", on April 15, 2014 (one day earlier internationally). The CD will be made available through a collaboration between the group's own label, Prowling Death Records Ltd., and renowned metal giant Century Media Records. This is the same label partnership already responsible for CELTIC FROST's final album, "Monotheist" (2006), HELLHAMMER's "Demon Entrails" demo compendium (2008), and TRIPTYKON's debut album, "Eparistera Daimones", and "Shatter" EP (2010).

"Melana Chasmata" is evolving to be a vastly varied and strikingly dark and heavy album. The album's title may be translated, approximately, as "black, deep depressions/valleys."

Songwriting, arrangement, and recording sessions for "Melana Chasmata" have occurred, intermittently, since 2011. Among the music available for inclusion on the album are songs such as "Boleskine House", "Stasis", "Gate To My Own Death", "Demon Pact", "Gehinnam", "Tree Of Suffocated Souls", "Unchristian Anthem", and many more. A final track listing for "Melana Chasmata" will be issued in due course, along with further details on both album and artwork.

Much like "Eparistera Daimones", "Melana Chasmata" is being produced by Warrior and TRIPTYKON guitarist V. Santura, and recorded and engineered by V. Santura at his own Woodshed Studio in Bavaria, Germany, as well as at TRIPTYKON's bunker in Zurich, Switzerland.

Says Warrior: "We have been working on 'Melana Chasmata' for some three years, in various shapes and forms. It's not an easy album by any means, and to me personally it reflects an extremely complex gestation period, musically, spiritually, and, due to certain circumstances in my life, emotionally. At the same time, the album unquestionably reflects the continuity I was longing for so much during CELTIC FROST's period of self-destruction and demise. Hearing TRIPTYKON creating such utter darkness again and exploring the potential of these new songs has been incredibly invigorating and inspiring."

Tom always had a talent for cringe-worthy song titles, and I see he continues with that tradition.

Tom always had a talent for cringe-worthy song titles, and I see he continues with that tradition.

The title is excellent and I like the balance between doom/gothic, black and death that Tom struck on the first Triptykon.

He's lucky his output is as good as it is or he'd be laughed off the planet for being so pretentious and OTT. Looking forward to this though, for sure

"The album will be extremely colourful. And all of these colours will be dark."

I never saw his attitude as pretentious, he just takes music very seriously, I've never seen him look down on other bands or artists or anything.

I'm pretty confident in this record kicking a lot of ass, but the one question I do have is whether or not they'll try and top that one riff from The Prolonging in sheer density/heaviness. Here's hoping they do.

I dont know what is wrong with me. I found the debut to have a good sound and a few catchy riffs but the rest was entirely forgetable. The same with Monotheist and really any CF album since Pandemonium.

That is the greatest. I love this dude.

I'm pretty confident in this record kicking a lot of ass, but the one question I do have is whether or not they'll try and top that one riff from The Prolonging in sheer density/heaviness. Here's hoping they do.

I really am deeply disturbed by any sort of Hellhammer bashing on a metal forum. Do you people even realize what it is exactly that you're doing when you say things like that? For shame.

Hellhammer is very important on a purely historical level, sure, but their music actually kind of sucks, influential or not. I prefer what Tom started doing with Celtic Frost by a long shot.