Bathory- Blood, Fire, Death
- Hammerheart
- Twilight of the Gods

Blood, Fire, Death

Rating = ***
Type = Black metal/ thrash metal

This is Bathory's fourth album and it was made in 1989. This album reflects the early Metallica thrash craze at the time of it's production. The first real song "A Fine Day to Die" is a great song, probably the best on the album. Its mid paced and has a nice variety of well played riffs in it along with Quorthon's screaming, early-Immortal-like vocals (not quite as cutting as theirs though, and much easier to understand)and some nice acoustic playing and synthesizer. The rest of the songs aside from the last real one (there are sound effect instrumentals at the beginning and end of the album) are just thrash metal with black vocals, really fast simple guitar playing and a fast drum beat with no synthesizer or acoustic. The lyrics aren't really that great on this album, and some songs are just stupid like "Pace Til' Death" ( example: "Oh I hit top speed, Still its much too slow, The speed unconnect me, with the ground,... Limit, limit for you I'd die, At any pace at all, Mirror, mirror on the wall, I'm the fastest of 'em all"). There are also some other stupid things in the songs like in "Holocaust" there are clear vocals counting down10, 9 , 8, 7, etc, and then a blast off noise. Lots of people love this kind of music though so I can't say it's a bad album, just one that I don't appreciate as much as his others.

Hammerheart

This is Bathory's fifth album (1990) and definitely my favorite, a masterpiece. There are no thrash elements in this album at all, just great music. Quorthon sings in a mostly clear voice on this album, different from "Blood Fire Death" but also different from the fully clear vocals on "Twilight of the Gods". There are tons of sound effects intergrated intelligently into the songs like a church bell ringing in "One Rode to Asa Bay", waves crashing at the beginning of "Shores in Flames" etc. There is also tons of well played but not overpowering synthesizer work in every song. The guitars are still strong and powerful like on "Blood,..." and on "Twilight..." and nice mid-paced fairly simple riffs played although they are more for the background of the songs, the singing being the foreground in most cases. There is lots of nice acoustic playing dispersed between and throughout songs. Quorthon's singing is really great but like I said, its all clear vocals but done very nicely. The lyrics are incredible, some of the best I've ever read, very poetic lyrics about Oden and Vikings and the North, (example:
"Mother winter leaves the land and opens wide the seas,
the lukewarm wind does beckon me as it whispers through the trees,
It says, Set your sails and let me take your ship to foreign shores,
Take farewell to those near you and your land of the North,
The wild cold deep black oceans waves invite my hungry heart,
Cry not my love, I will return, only death can keep up apart." - Shores in Flames).

To me this is the epitome of Bathory- beautiful, powerful music.

Twilight of the Gods

Bathory's sixth album made in 1991. This album is less magnificent than "Hammerheart", and I can't exactly pinpoint why. I think it has something to do with the less focus on more folklore and Viking themes, it seems to take away a lot of the feeling. The music however is great, but more mellow than "Hammerheart". LOTS of acoustic playing, some synthesizer, Quorthon's great entirly clear vocals, and nice guitar playing make up this album. There are some sound effects but not as much as on Hammerheart, and less synth playing too. The lyrics are more reallity orientated now (as can be guessed by the album title quote from Friedrich Nietzsche) although with some folklore type songs about battles and gods. The last song ("Hammerheart") is a remake of "The Planets" by composer Gustav Holst with lyrics put to it, its a very nice classical song with Quorthon singing in it. This is a great album, but I liked "Hammerheart" alot better.

Blood on Ice

This album was recorded originally in 1988 between the Blood, Fire, Death and Hammerheart albums, and the music reflects this time period of Bathory's existence. The music is much in the same vein as Hammerheart, all the vocals are clear (they always make me picture a medieval bard singing a tale) and there is lots of acoustic guitar playing. Some of the songs are really catchy because of Quorthon's great singing and some of the choirs of singers. The guitar is really heavy and powerful, I'd say even better than on Hammerheart, and the riffs are moody and convey a very strong atmosphere and feeling. The album is all about the quest a man to avenge his destroyed village which ends up taking him through the valley of death, by the bottomless lake (which is so deep that it meets with the edge of the universe) and along the way meeting the woodwoman and the one eyed old man. Its very interesting and obviously very epic. There are tons of interesting sounds in the album corresponding with the progression of the quest. Its like a movie soundtrack in many places. In the song "One Eyed Old Man" an old man's voice recites the lyrics, his prophecy of the hero's victory. Lots of people would find this album cheesy when listened to just for the metal but when you listen to it as a quest illustrated by music and use your imagination the album becomes filled with feeling and emotion. The album cover illustrates the entire story.