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The debut album from the Swedish black metal pioneers. I was too young to experience this miracle, but when I first heard this, in the beginning of the 90´s, I was amazed by the sound. Compared to modern metal, this is probably shit, but in the beginning of the 80´s this was something big. With a big goat on the cover and satanic and evil lyrics, delivered from Quorthon´s dirty throat, this was something really new!
The sound is demo and the guitar riffs are "buzzing" in the background. The drums are also somewhere in the background, but the feeling is all there. Probably this album is recorded in a garage with not so good equipment. But what the hell: at that time I think no record company would dare to sign a group like this.
So what can I say: A real cult album!
Ranking: 9 / 10
BATHORY
The Return
The second album, and sound is pretty much the same as the debut, but I think the songs are stronger, with more quality in it. But since this aint the debut, the marks fall a bit.....
I cant stop wonder about how many bands Bathory inspired to make dark music. They did build the ground for extreme music together with a handful of more bands.....What would the world look like today without Bathory?
Ranking: 8 / 10
BATHORY
Under the Sign of the Black Mark
What a name of an album! Just taste it......
The year is 1986 and the sound of Bathory is taking a new form. The lyrics are
still evil, but some viking influences are to find here and there, and the music
are more "easy listening". The sound are still sounding demo, but
the instruments are better played this time.
The songs are even stronger: sometimes fast and sometimes slow (like "Enter the Eternal Fire", which is a great song).
One of Bathory´s strongest album (hmmm...everyone is strong)
Ranking: 9 / 10
BATHORY
Blood Fire Death
Two years later Bathory returns.......In style! This is one of my all time favorite albums! And thats big, `cause I am pretty hard to please when it comes to metal.
This album contains even more Viking and Oden stuff than before, and the music is more technical and more professional than ever. The opening song (after the intro where Oden rides over the Northland for a couple of minutes) "A fine Day to Die" is the best song Bathory ever performed. The rest of the songs are all classics: "The Golden Walls of Heaven" - a fast and brutal hymn about the dark force storming heavens gate, "Pace ´till Death" - also very fast and brutal, and of course the title song "Blood Fire Death" - a mid paced song about the Death for what shall become the false one´s fate....
Ranking: 10 / 10
BATHORY
Hammerheart
A totally new sound, and Bathory have finally find them self's a real studio with quality equipment......
This one is all through a viking epos: about battles, Valhalla, and how to be brave. Quorthon are no longer screaming out his lyrics. No, now he is singing with a clean and in fact nice voice. The song are slow and pounding, with pretty cool guitars.
Bathory changed the world once again with this epic sound, even if this one´s only from the year 1989.....thats amazing!
Ranking: 9 / 10
BATHORY
Twilight of the Gods
This is, as I see it, the last album of old Bathory. The newer albums (except "Blood on Ice", which contains old material) sucks.
This is in the same vein as "Hammerheart", and thats not a bad thing. No, but this one takes a step longer than the previous one. The sound is even more cleaner, but the lyrics and songs are a bit different. There are still Viking stuff to be found but also other stuff, like world problems, as Quorthon see it, as in the title song. A song about how people lost their religions world wide. It´s simply the twilight if the gods. Religion doesn´t mean anything nowadays. For better or for worse.....
Ranking: 8 / 10
BLIND GUARDIAN
Tales from the Twilight World
This is a band that plays power metal. They, and Helloween build the ground for this scene, and I must say that I am not a big fan of BG and have not listen to so many of their albums, yet.
This one, from 1991, is a standard power metal album with choirs, guitar melodies and a clean singing voice. Nothing more, just a average album. There are a few songs that sticks out more than the rest: "Traveler in Time", "Welcome to Dying" and some more.....
The lyrics are standard power metal: Tolkien, fantasy, and adventures. The cover is also standard: Some weird looking people (?) sitting, crawling around a fire, and of course painted by Andreas Marschall (who else?).
Ranking: 4 / 10
This is the only album I have heard from this group. I dont know much about them (and I am not so curious either....)
I heard the song "Godplayer" on MTV (!) once, on the no-more-excisting great program Headbanger Ball. I really liked that one, so I bought the album just beacause that song. And to be honest I have not really listened the hole album through. Well, I have, but only with one ear.....
But so far as I can tell, the rest of the songs are thrash/death/speed metal, and the singer sometimes sings with a usual voice which sometimes explodes into the sound of a screaming pig here and there.....
Ranking 4 / 10
The man Varg Vikernes, or Count Grishnackh, is a well known person in the black metal scene. With his deeds he and some more created the black metal scene as it look today.
Well, Burzum is one man project, and this album is containing his first demo and the first album. The production is raw, the drums are not so well played at some parts, and the voice sounds like a pig.... So, a shit album you think.....But, noooo!!! I love this one. I dont know why, but it is just great. The Burzum albums after this one isn´t great at all though (except "Det som engand var"), so if you`r getting curious, buy this album, not the other ones... There are no keyboards or special effects, just a drum, a bass, a guitar and a terrible voice.....Can it be much better!!??
This is early Norwegian Black Metal when it´s best!!
Ranking: 10 / 10
BURZUM
Det som Engang Var
In the same vein as the last album, but maybe more epic, spiced with some more keyboards. Varg´s screaming pig-like voice is still here. The lyrics, as one the debut, are Tolkien inspired (viewed from the dark side), with many orchs and other dark stuff.
It´s not reaching up the "Aske´s" level, but it´s not far from that.
Ranking: 7 / 10
