Warthur For the final album of the classic viking metal trilogy that began with Blood Fire Death, Bathory occupy a space closer to the epic narrative thrash metal of Blood On Ice than the preceding Hammerheart, which still retained certain elements of their former black metal style. Less immediately gripping than the preceding albums, the album has a melancholic and contemplative atmosphere, with slow thrash riffs and long acoustic interludes emphasising this. It's said this was intended as the band's swansong, and I can believe it: it masterfully captures an air of wistful nostalgia for past times which can never be reclaimed. Not quite a classic by my reckoning, since I really have to be in a receptive mood to fully appreciate it, but still a grand finale to the journey begun in Blood Fire Death.

Warthur Originally, Bathory had recorded Blood On Ice as a followup to Blood Fire Death, but on reflection Quorthon was concerned that the loyal Bathory fanbase wouldn't embrace that album's folky-thrashy-operatic brand of epic storytelling metal. So instead the band released Hammerheart, which took a similar approach to songwriting but added masses of black metal riffs to create an incredible wall of sound, and a revolutionary album which served as the blueprint for much Viking metal to come. (In particular, Enslaved's career has been based on first learning to match the sound of Hammerheart, and then taking its progressive inclinations still further.)

Leaning more and more towards long, epic tracks based around the sagas of the pagan North and more or less abandoning the band's Satanic past, Hammerheart completes the sonic transformation begun on Blood Fire Death in admirable form and is the second masterpiece from Bathory's classic Viking metal era.

Warthur This was almost, but not quite, the follow-up to Blood Fire Death, but was pulled at the last minute when Quorthon decided Bathory fans would feel cheated at such a radical shift in style. Eventually it came out in 1996, after Quorthon's first solo album and Bathory's Requiem and Octagon got people used to the idea of the man playing a combination of thrash and traditional metal as is presented here. There is little in evidence of Bathory's prior black metal style on this album - in fact, it's a narrative concept piece with numerous quieter segments, including a bit of Tolkienesque narration in One-Eyed Old Man. A little pretentious? Perhaps, but it's a fun ride nonetheless and by and large it's an enjoyable listen. But it's not on a par with Bathory's extreme metal work.

Warthur Bathory's fourth album is a staggering advance in their sound, which puts their preceding proto-black metal works into the shade. With clearer than ever production bringing out the complex thrash-influenced side of Quorthon's guitar playing, the album sits right on the knife-edge between blackened thrash and "thrashened black", with the lyrical themes leaning more on Viking themes than ever before (though a few Satanic spots creep in here and there). Though Quorthon's vocal performance is, if anything, even more bestial than ever before, Blood Fire Death sees the band moving on to lyrical themes which they clearly take more seriously than the Satanism, vampires and Countess Bathory worship of preceding albums. A classic of the genre.

J-Man Looking back on Bathory's debut from today's perspective, it's almost difficult to believe that such an album was released in 1984. With just under 27 minutes of lo-fi, fast-paced metal riffage, Quorthon and company truly paved the way for the upcoming second wave of black metal with this groundbreaking debut. Everything from the vehemently anti-Christian lyrics to the intentionally terrible sound of the production would later become a staple in black metal's future, and I'd even venture to call Bathory the first full-blown black metal album. Although it contains a strong influence from thrash and speed metal, there are enough defining black metal characteristics to make it worthy of that title. Bathory is a very flawed album in my eyes, and I do think Quorthon would make better music later on, but this is still a landmark of extreme metal and an essential purchase for those interested in black metal.

Since I wasn't even born yet when this was released, the only way I can listen to the album is in retrospect. Having already been familiar with many second-wave black metal bands when I first listened to Bathory, I already had the advantage of understanding the impact this release would have on future black metal releases. The lo-fi production, raspy vocals, buzzing guitar tones, fast riffs, and sinister lyrics are all here, and this can probably be considered one of the most influential albums in extreme metal. It's clear right from the beginning that this is a highly ambitious, but (at least in my opinion) imperfect, observation - while the buzzing guitar riffs and savage production are an interesting gimmick, there aren't a whole lot of particularly captivating musical ideas throughout the album's short duration. There are some memorable riffs scattered throughout the 27 minute duration, but that still isn't quite enough to grab my attention. Compositionally, this strikes me as a rather shallow release, and while I won't be one to deny Bathory's historical impact, it is a rather flawed effort in my eyes.

Even though you'll have a tough time finding too many black metal albums more important than this one, it's never been one of my favorites. Quorthon would improve as a songwriter over the next few years, and I think those curious about Bathory can definitely find better than this. A confident, original, and groundbreaking debut without doubt, but not the most satisfying as far as I'm concerned. The songwriting is a bit underdeveloped and the production lacks any sort of definition, though the unique ambition still shines through on this effort. 2.5 - 3 stars are deserved for this original, albeit severely flawed, debut.