BATHORY
Genre(s) |
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Black/Speed/Viking/Thrash Metal |
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Origin |
Formed in |
Current label |
Status |
| Sweden (Stockholm) |
1983 |
Black Mark Production |
Active |
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Current line-up |
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| Quorthon: Vocals/Guitars/Bass/Drums/Keyb. | |||
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Former/past member(s) |
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Kothaar - Bass (1989-1991) |
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Additional notes |
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Witchhunter (ex- Sodom) jammed with Bathory for a few rehearsals, but never joined the band or played on any recordings. |
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Discography
| first demo |
Demo, 1983 |
| 1984 demo |
Demo, 1984 |
| Bathory |
Full-length, 1984 |
| 1985 Demo |
Demo, 1985 |
| The Return |
Full-length, 1985 |
| Lord of the Grave promo |
Demo, 1986 |
| Under The Sign Of The Black Mark |
Full-length, 1986 |
| Blood Fire Death |
Full-length, 1988 |
| One Rode To Asa Bay |
Video/VHS, 1989 |
| Hammerheart |
Full-length, 1989 |
| Twilight of the gods promo |
Single, 1991 |
| Twilight Of The Gods |
Full-length, 1991 |
| Jubileum 1 |
Best of/Compilation, 1992 |
| Jubileum 2 |
Best of/Compilation, 1993 |
| Requiem |
Full-length, 1994 |
| Octagon |
Full-length, 1995 |
| Blood on Ice promo |
Single, 1996 |
| Blood On Ice |
Full-length, 1996 |
| Jubileum 3 |
Best of/Compilation, 1998 |
| Katalog |
Best of/Compilation, 2001 |
| Destroyer Of Worlds |
Full-length, 2001 |
| Nordland I |
Full-length, 2002 |
| Nordland II |
Full-length, 2003 |
Thousand
of things has been said about that band, personally I consider that, apart from
the strong musical innovation in the black metal of album like "The Return"
(1985) and "Under the Sign of Hell" (1987) the Norwegian black metal
scene have created something unique and strongly superior to that acts, that I
still respect. The worst thing about Quorthon are his today retrospectives of
those albums, totally disinherited…it’s incredible, and demonstrate the
fucking stupid rockish attitude of bands like that and Venom ( a big FUCK-OFF of
to all those musically-correct idiots that still mythicize a punk-rock release
like "Black Metal"!the name means nothing to me...only shitty
children's stereotypes of who was playing about musical and theoretic themes
like those).
There is surely much more darkness in "The Rerurn" and "Under the Sign" then in all the Venom discography, a very primitive feeling, but I can’t understand how Quorthon can repudiate these albums as bad played and damaged by a poor sound, and Celtic Frost are always been an overrated band, apart from the innovative "Into the Pandemonium", so, if you need to know the real roots of black metal, you haven’t to listen to these grandpa, because Darkthrone’s "A Blaze.." "Transilvanian Hunger" and Mayhem "De Mysteriis" are a better explanation, this is music made by true believers, not fiction!!! Surely the riffs of "Under the Sign" were something completely fresh and new, the screaming voice something original, but after that choice the Bathory’s music changed, losing that path.
The
Bathory’s carrier changed when they left this pseudo-satanic attitude to
start the Viking-Epic concept, a picture of the ancient times of war and
sufferance.
"Blood, Fire and Death" wasn’t a clear album, I don’t think that
a speed-metal rifferama could be useful to describe the feelings that only the
song "A Fine Day to Die" was able to do.
It has been a passage from the speed-thrash-rock roots to the sound of the
next album.
"Hammerheart"
(Vote 9) is one of the most epic act in the metal history (1990), it’s
incredible the energy and the true emotions that it’s able to express, the
Quorthon voice tells myths and ancient historical
pictures of the Viking history, like a saga. There’s isn’t the strong
influence of the speed metal background that was the primary root of the
previous album and the music is surely less extreme but more visionary,
becoming the father of all the epic-Viking acts. Someone spoke of a Manowar
copy but it’s clear that the Hammerheart’s atmosphere is much more ethnic
and deep, the echo of a forlorn age of myths, blood and suffering for the
conquest of a decent living, fighting the nature and living under its rules.
"Twilight
of the Gods" (Vote 7) came out in the ’91 and it’s a difficult album,
sometimes too much static, with a massive gloomy sadness expressed under the
veil of the twilight myth. It wasn’t able to recreate the same incredible
feeling of "Hammerheart". It sound too prolix, and a bit boring, but
there are some moment of interest, where it’s possible to hear some
interesting ideas. Probably the production didn’t helped too much, making all
too much ethereal.
I
will not speak of the terrible-horrible speed-thrash Requiem ( Vote 4) and
Octagon (Vote 4) era of ’94, ’95, simply because with those album Quorthon
was contributing, together with his interviews, to destroy the Bathory myth...actually
all that remains of his music for me is: "The Return", "Under the
Sign of Hell", "Hammerheart", and the awesome album "Blood
on Ice" (1996 Vote: 8.5), a past recording of the Viking Era (1987-89)
together with new songs. This is a colder, a winter version, of "Hammerheart",
with a strong myth atmosphere surrounding the music, it’s like to be part of
an epic Saga of the Viking age, in the mist!
"Destroyer of Worlds", the last Bathory release, is nothing but a
collage of the speed-thrash shit of the Octagon-era and of the epic Hammerheart
wave, done only to fill the pockets of Quorthon.
