The Sounds of the Decline of the West

 Oswald Spengler, the German philosopher whose ideas largely influenced the concept behind Celtic Frost's main subject matter - the downfall of our civilization. In his main work, 'The Decline of the West', Spengler proposed the notion that humanity as we know it is not in a state of progress but rather in its final stages, advocating what is known as a 'cycle theory', according to which new cultures continually arise, experience a period of prosperity and then complete and perish through a phase of decline. According to this idea, cultures are clearly definable, quasi-organic structures with a lifespan of around 1000 years - each of these so-called 'civilizations' has had very characteristic properties that shaped the thoughts and actions of its people. Having published the book in 1922, it obviously turned out that he was more than right concerning our present time, as his words proved to be quite prophetic - one can see this by observing the complete death of all values in modern society where ugliness, destruction and perversion are the new lords. It is only a question of time before this obsolete world completely collapses. 

When Celtic Frost released 'Morbid Tales', they would pay homage to Spengler by giving his name as a pseudonym to the violinist who performed on two of the album's songs.

 Source: CELTIC FROST ARCHIVE