Although the band's sound and style were heavily criticized and poorly reviewed during their active years,[2] they have been widely praised in retrospect and are often regarded as a key influence on black metal.

As he noted, a lack of extreme metal at the time meant that fans of Venom and Motörhead often had to resort to punk bands for similar sounds.

[7] After the exit of Stratton and drummer Jörg Neubart (aka "Denial Fiend" and "Bruce Day") joining in the ranks in autumn 1982, Hellhammer attempted to find proper rehearsal spaces, which proved difficult due to either exceedingly high rents or unavailable studio hours.

[14] Steve Warrior had been replaced by former Schizo bassist Martin Eric Ain, a change which marked the beginning of a serious and radical transformation in the band's music and lyrics.

Metal Forces, for one, absolutely loathed the group; that started a long-lasting feud between that zine and Warrior, which kept Celtic Frost from playing in England for a couple of years.

[5] Regarding the controversial status of his former band, Thomas said: Way back in 1984 and 85, when Martin Eric Ain and I recorded Celtic Frost's first two albums Morbid Tales and To Mega Therion, Hellhammer lasted on us almost like a curse.

[15] In November 2007, Tom Gabriel Fischer announced that the original master tapes of Hellhammer's demos (Death Fiend, Triumph of Death, and Satanic Rites) would be released as a 2CD/3LP package, titled Demon Entrails, in February 2008 with new liner notes on the complete history of Hellhammer, unreleased photos and artwork, and all tracks remastered personally by Tom Gabriel Fischer, Martin Eric Ain and Steve Warrior.

Tom Gabriel Fischer explained that the band contemplated releasing material they recorded at the time of the Triumph of Death demo sessions which would contain two songs.

Hellhammer covers by notable bands include Napalm Death,[19] Sepultura,[20] Samael,[21] Incantation,[22] Slaughter,[23] Behemoth,[24] and Gallhammer.