(EDITORS NOTES: I think TOM G. WARRIOR already explained the break up of CELTIC FROST, However, BLABBERMOUTH.NET has a sensationalist piece on this, as TOM WARRIOR has updated his blog).
FROM DELINEATION II: In late 2005, on the eve of the release of Celtic Frost's "Monotheist" album, Martin Eric Ain suggested that the three of us in Celtic Frost should form a limited liability company, in which all the band members would be equal partners and through which all business transactions, particularly international ones such as touring, merchandising, etc., would be conducted and monitored. I suppose this was the logical and professional thing to do, but I was skeptical inside. Probably due to the nature of our music and due to my - and indeed the band's - very humble beginnings, I still somehow wanted to see Celtic Frost as something of an underground entity. The concept of a corporation did not seem to fit this concept at all.
Nonetheless, the limited liability corporation was duly formed in May of 2006, the month "Monotheist" was released and we embarked on Celtic Frost's most extended tour ever. Ominously, the corporation was called "Ain GmbH", almost as if an omen. As intended, technically we all were equal partners. But in reality, there existed a fundamental flaw in the corporation's articles of incorporation which unhinged this utterly crucial foundation. We were given joint signature by two, meaning if two of the three partners agreed upon something, they could make a legally binding decision for the corporation. In a three-partner corporation, this tiny one-sentence stipulation encourages and enables the formation of lopsided alliances and special-interest affiliations (I am trying to word this nicely), instead of forcing us to act prudently and find a consensus between the three of us. I will blame myself forever for having missed this in 2006 and thus not having insisted on altering the stipulation to require joint signature by all three partners for any and all decisions.
Ain GmbH still exists and convenes once or twice a year, since Celtic Frost's albums and merchandising are still out there, on the market. The first such meeting after the group's spilt was held in August 2008. It was attended by Celtic Frost's manager Antje Lange, by the corporation's accountant, and by Martin and me. By means of a written proxy, Martin also represented Celtic Frost's final drummer, the third partner of the corporation. The meeting was a somewhat subdued and terse affair, but still very constructive and pragmatic.
That such pragmatism was not going to last forever was already evident by the fact that it was impossible for some ten months to get the minutes of the above meeting (designed merely to formally record the decisions already taken at the meeting) approved and signed by all three partners. How pathetic. This situation revealed the prevalent enmity and pettiness. It was a clear indication that the next meeting, to be held on June 29, 2009, was likely not going to be quite that constructive.
The rhetoric emanating from one of my former band mates in Celtic Frost in the days before the meeting served to confirm this assessment. How many times in the past did I swallow or ignore such insults and testosterone-induced vocabulary, for the sole purpose of keeping Celtic Frost operational. Now, however, I was at last able to look at such posture from a distance and with the appropriate detachment. In spite of the seriousness of the situation, the e-mail in question made me laugh spontaneously.
Nevertheless, notwithstanding the fact that we created, rehearsed, recorded, and performed unique music together for some five and a half years, it seems we are now unable to meet face to face. Such was the gist of the communications sent to Antje Lange. The relations between the three former members of the last ever Celtic Frost line-up are, apparently, at a low. Predictably, the meeting resulted in dispute, in further insulting rhetoric, and in an inability to arrive at a levelheaded consensus.
I left Celtic Frost, the group I myself formed with Martin, and in many ways the sum of my life's work, specifically to escape from megalomania, overblown egos, and chronic negativity, after all. And I do not wish to return to such an environment, even if it is only once a year. I wish to write and play music, no more and no less. Following this most recent meeting of the limited liability corporation, I thus relinquished all my financial claims resulting from the sales of Hellhammer's and Celtic Frost's entire catalogue and merchandising and transferred them to Martin Eric Ain and the final drummer of Celtic Frost (I had relinquished my rights to "Monotheist" some time ago already, for the very same reason). At the same time, I tendered my resignation from the corporation, effective immediately.
Some will call me crazy and some will never understand. So be it. It might not be possible to understand this from the outside at any rate. But this is the only way I will be able to avoid having to ever be involved again with another one of these demoralizing annual gatherings and with this disparaging situation.
New shores line the horizon.
Thanks-Stay Metal, Stay Brutal-\m/ -l-
Posts
![[Valid RSS]](http://www.blogger.com/valid-rss-rogers.png "Validate my RSS feed")
