Cult Of Frost
Interview by Keith Clement
Greetings from MHF Magazine Charlie Taylor, How are you today?
– I am doing fine thank you for asking .
Cult of Frost is new to many metalheads around the world, can you Introduce the band for the readers?
-We are based out of Columbus , Ohio in the USA. We have Beau Barnett on bass and vocals , Chrys Cornetet on guitars and vocals , and myself Charlie Taylor on drums and no vocals haha!
Can you tell me how did it all began for you guys?
– I wanted to start a celtic frost tribute since the very first time they broke up in the 80s. What really made it solid for me was when a friend of mine Jim Konya from the band NUNSLAUGHTER died and a few of my friends from Cleveland had an all day memorial show for him and I saw a band called NECROMANIAC UNION , featuring my good friend Duane Morris , doing a Celtic Frost tribute . They only played a few shows and stopped playing because of personal reasons . They were the inspiration for me getting this thing going . Then , I was at a show featuring IMMOLATION , FULL OF HELL , and CAVALERA BROTHERS doing the Roots album at the Alrosa Villa I ran into Chrys and I knew he was a huge CELTIC FROST fan and I asked him if he had wanted to do this CELTIC FROST tribute with me . He was a drummer by nature but he said he wanted to play guitar and do vocals . I am a bass player by nature but I wanted to play drums. I asked him who we could get on bass and he immediately said Beau. That is how we got the band together . I came up with the name instantly. I wanted it to flow like CELTIC FROST and CULT OF FROST has the same amount of syllables so it was perfect. We decided that when we put this band together we would do the material from the HELLHAMMER demos from 1983 all the way through Into The Pandemonium 1987. We have since talked about doing some songs from the other CELTIC FROST albums. We also committed to writing originals as well in the style of prime era frost. As far as I know we are the only actual CELTIC FROST / HELLHAMMER tribute band here in the states .. I don’t know about the rest of the world.
In our earlier conversation you said that you got the approval of Celtic Frost, can you tell us that in detail?
-We made it a point to befriend the members of HELLHAMMER and CELTIC FROST because we are keeping their music alive . It was all really a blur , it happened so fast. We have all become really tight as friends . It is mindblowing and inspirational not only for Beau and Chrys but for myself as well , especially since I have followed the band since the early 80’s from the HELLHAMMER days. I met Tom , Reed , and Martin in June of 1986 at a record store where they were doing a meet and greet . Fast forward 32 years and now unfortunately Martin has passed but I still talk to Tom and Reed quite frequently and I am very grateful to have their friendship and brotherhood. Beau and Chrys feel the same .
You have toured extensively in 2017 in many cities, what are you plans for 2018?
-I wouldn’t say extensive but we have played 20 shows in 7 months in 7 states in 2017.We have also played two of those shows with Ron Marks from CELTIC FROST Into The Pandemonium era on second guitar. He has played The Usurper , Procreation Of The Wicked , and Babylon Fell with us. I would love to share the stage with the rest of the guys from CELTIC FROST . The plans for 2018 are to finish learning the remaining HELLHAMMER and CELTIC FROST songs that we need to complete our list . We also plan on more touring , hopefully getting more high profile shows …doing more interviews , and working on our debut album.
Have you planned to release your debut album this year, If so do you have any details on that?
-The writing process for our debut album at the midway point and hopefully we will have it released by summer of 2018. The music will appeal to CELTIC FROST fans and there are elements of VOIVOD mixed in with black metal which will also broaden the reach. Fear not , we will never stop playing HELLHAMMER and CELTIC FROST songs in our performances .
Do you currently have a deal with any label, or are you interested in signing a deal with our partner label Alpha Omega Management?
-We currently have no record label interest but we are on the hunt . We will go what with what is best for the band.
What are the plans for the band for 2018?
-As I may have stated earlier , We plan on doing more touring , finishing our album , making shirts and patches and other merch. We also hope to do more interviews . One of our goals is to actually get to hang out with Tom and Reed and all the other members we haven’t yet physically met. We are always in constant communication with the members of CELTIC FROST . They are all awesome guys . At some point we would love to have all of them collaborate with us…. 2018? Who knows.
Thanks for your time Charlie, it was a pleasure to know you and the band, do you have a message for the readers of the magazine?
-The feeling is mutual. What would I leave as a message for the readers ?
….Only the underground is real !!!
Check us out on facebook !
facebook.com/worshipcultoffrost
MHF Magazine/Keith Clement
