Martin Eric Ain

• Name — Martin Eric Ain • Birth Name — Martin Erich Stricker • Born — 18 July 1967 • Birthplace — Santa Barbara, California • Died — 21 October 2017 • Place of death — Switzerland • Origin — Switzerland • Instrument — Bass guitar • Genre — * Extreme metal • doom metal • thrash metal • Occupation — Musician • Years Active — 1984–2017 • Past Member Of — * Hellhammer • Celtic Frost • Tar Pond

Ain was born in the United States and spoke English as a first language. In May 1984, pioneering extreme metal band Hellhammer dissolved, but two of its members, guitarist/vocalist Thomas Gabriel Fischer and bassist Martin Eric Ain, went on to form Celtic Frost in June and release their debut, Morbid Tales, in November of that same year. This was followed by Emperor's Return,To Mega Therion in 1985, arguably their most influential record, which did not feature Ain on bass, but stand-in musician Dominic Steiner. Ain returned after the album was recorded. In 1987, the band released the highly experimental Into the Pandemonium. After a subsequent North American tour, financial trouble, personal tension between the band members and an ill-fated relationship with their record label led to the dissolution of the band. Six months later, Thomas Gabriel Fischer reformed the band with a new line-up, of which Ain was left out, and went on to record the widely derided Cold Lake in 1988. Ain returned once again for the recording of Vanity/Nemesis in 1990, the band's last original album for several years. Celtic Frost re-formed in 2001 and released the critically acclaimed Monotheist in 2006, before ultimately disbanding following frontman Tom Gabriel Fischer's departure in 2008. Ain died on October 21, 2017, following a heart attack.