More albums from Bathory
About Bathory
Hometown
Vällingby, Sweden
Formed
March 16, 1983
Genre
Metal
When Bathory hit the metal underground in the ’80s, the Swedes sounded like wraiths from a shadowy hellscape. Their first three albums, including 1987’s Under the Sign of the Black Mark, defined Scandinavia’s black-metal scene thanks to their blurred guitars, tortured screeches, and Satanic menace. It was a remarkable accomplishment considering that guitarist, singer, and songwriter Quorthon (born Thomas Börje Forsberg) was a mere teenager when he started the project—named after Hungarian countess and alleged serial killer Elizabeth Báthory—in 1983. For Quorthon, however, black metal was only a first stop. With 1990’s Hammerheart, he once again started a new scene: Viking metal, a deeply heroic, power-metal-informed style rich in Norse folklore. Despite Bathory making detours into retro-thrash on mid-’90s efforts like Requiem, Quorthon’s passion for Viking metal only deepened, culminating in 2002’s Nordland I and 2003’s Nordland II, a two-volume set packed with mythological storytelling and orchestral heft. Sadly, Quorthon’s life was cut far too short when the 38-year-old died from heart failure in 2004. Ranking up there with titans like Venom and Mercyful Fate, Bathory are revered as one of extreme metal’s early pioneers.
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