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Bathory was a Swedish
black metal Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw ( lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an em ...
band formed in Vällingby in March 1983. Eponymously named after the Hungarian countess Elizabeth Báthory, they are often considered pioneers of black metal (alongside
Venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a ...
and Mercyful Fate) and viking metal. The 1998 book '' Lords of Chaos'' described Bathory's first four albums as "the blueprint for Scandinavian black metal." Acts influenced by their early records include Mayhem,
Burzum Burzum (; ) was a Norwegian music project founded by Varg Vikernes in 1991. Although Burzum never played live performances, it became a part of the early Norwegian black metal scene and is considered one of the most influential acts in black m ...
, Darkthrone,
Gorgoroth Gorgoroth is a Norwegian black metal band based in Bergen. It was formed in 1992 by guitarist Infernus, who is also the only original member remaining, and the band have since released nine studio albums. Gorgoroth are a Satanism, Satanic band ...
,
Satyricon The ''Satyricon'', ''Satyricon'' ''liber'' (''The Book of Satyrlike Adventures''), or ''Satyrica'', is a Latin work of fiction believed to have been written by Gaius Petronius, though the manuscript tradition identifies the author as Titus Petr ...
, Immortal,
Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( e ...
,
Dark Funeral Dark Funeral is a Swedish black metal band from Stockholm, founded by guitarists Blackmoon and Lord Ahriman in 1993. They emerged during the second wave of black metal. Their lyrical themes have traditionally pertained to Satanism and anti ...
, Enslaved,
Marduk Marduk (Cuneiform: dAMAR.UTU; Sumerian: ''amar utu.k'' "calf of the sun; solar calf"; ) was a god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of the city of Babylon. When Babylon became the political center of the Euphrates valley in the time o ...
, Moonsorrow and
Dimmu Borgir Dimmu Borgir () is a Norwegian symphonic black metal band from Jessheim, formed in 1993. The name is derived from Dimmuborgir, a volcanic formation in Iceland, the name of which means "dark cities" or "dark castles/fortresses" in Icelandic ...
. Bathory abandoned the black metal style for their fifth album, '' Hammerheart'' (1990), which is often cited as the first viking metal album. The band continued in the Viking metal style for most of their remaining existence, although they experimented with a
thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...
style on the albums '' Requiem'' (1994) and ''
Octagon In geometry, an octagon (from the Greek ὀκτάγωνον ''oktágōnon'', "eight angles") is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A ''regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, wh ...
'' (1995). They stopped performing live early on and never toured; frontman, founder and main songwriter Tomas "Quorthon" Forsberg was the sole constant member and at times responsible for all instruments. Bathory ended when Forsberg died from
heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, ...
at the age of 38 in 2004.


History


Early years (1980s)

Bathory formed in Vällingby in March 1983. Quorthon, a 17-year-old guitarist (then known as "Ace Shoot", a name inspired by sex jokes, two
Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a prec ...
songs –
Ace of Spades The Ace of Spades (also known as the Spadille and Death Card) is traditionally the highest and most valued card in the deck of playing cards in English-speaking countries. The actual value of the card varies from game to game. Design The or ...
and Sharpshooter – and
Ace Frehley Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley (; born April 27, 1951) is an American musician, best known as the original lead guitarist and co-founding member of the hard rock band Kiss. He invented the persona of The Spaceman (a.k.a. Space Ace) and played wi ...
of Kiss), was joined by bass guitarist Frederick Melander ("Hanoi") and drummer Jonas Åkerlund ("Vans McBurger"). According to Quorthon, he settled on the name 'Bathory' after a visit to the London Dungeon, although Jonas says that it was also inspired and taken from the
Venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a ...
song "
Countess Bathory Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility.L. G. Pine, Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty'' ...
". The Venom song was based on the life of Elizabeth Báthory who is believed to be one of the most prolific female murderesses. Before settling on 'Bathory', the band considered several names; including Nosferatu, Natas, Mephisto, Elizabeth Bathory and Countess Bathory. Quorthon worked part-time at the small record label
Tyfon Grammofon Black Mark Production (founded 1991) is an independent record label originally based in Berlin, later on with offices in Stockholm, Toronto and New York City etc. Black Mark Production today is a worldwide operating business placed in Villa Ham ...
, which was owned by his father, Börje Forsberg. In late 1983, the label was putting together a compilation of songs by
Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...
n metal bands. However, at the last minute, one of the bands backed out. Tyfon agreed to let Bathory appear on the record as a replacement. The album, called '' Scandinavian Metal Attack'', was released in March 1984 and was Bathory's first appearance on record. Unexpectedly, the two Bathory tracks "Sacrifice" and "The Return of Darkness and Evil" drew a great deal of fan mail. Soon afterward, Tyfon asked Quorthon to record a full-length album. His bandmates having moved away, Quorthon recruited Rickard Bergman from his former oi-punk band Stridskuk as bassist and Stefan Larsson from punk band Obsklass as drummer. On 22 May 1984, they had their first and only rehearsal together before recording the album. Two songs were recorded at the 22 May rehearsal: "Witchcraft" and "Satan My Master" making it the first recording of the debut album line-up. The debut album, '' Bathory'', was recorded in June at Heavenshore Studio (a converted garage) in Stockholm and released in October that year. Over the next four years, Bathory released a further three albums: '' The Return……'' (1985), '' Under the Sign of the Black Mark'' (1987) and ''
Blood Fire Death ''Blood Fire Death'' is the fourth studio album by Swedish extreme metal band Bathory. It was released on 8 October 1988, through Music for Nations sublabel, Under One Flag. The album, although mostly black metal, includes some of the first exa ...
'' (1988). Bathory's early work was dark, fast, heavily distorted and raw recording ( lo-fi). Quorthon's vocals were harsh, high-pitched and raspy with occasional shrieks and screams. The band's lyrics focused on 'dark' topics and included anti-Christian and '
Satanic Satanic may refer to: * Satan * Satanism * ''Satanic'' (2006 film), a 2006 American horror film * ''Satanic'' (2016 film), a 2016 American horror film * Operation Satanic, when the DGSE bombed the Rainbow Warrior in Auckland Harbour See also * ...
' references. These traits came to define
black metal Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw ( lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an em ...
and the band used this style on their first four albums. Quorthon said that the band were not Satanists but used 'Satanic' references to provoke and attack Christianity. With the third and fourth albums he began "attacking Christianity from a different angle", realizing that Satanism is a "Christian product" and seeing them both as "religious hocus-pocus". Quorthon described Bathory's early sound as a "mixture" of
Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped de ...
,
Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a prec ...
and GBH, singling out GBH's '' City Baby Attacked by Rats'' and Motörhead's ''
Ace of Spades The Ace of Spades (also known as the Spadille and Death Card) is traditionally the highest and most valued card in the deck of playing cards in English-speaking countries. The actual value of the card varies from game to game. Design The or ...
'' and ''
Iron Fist Iron Fist, Iron fist or Ironfist may refer to: Military * Iron Fist (exercise), an Indian Air Force exercise held in 2013 and 2016 * Iron Fist (countermeasure), an Israeli counter-weapon system * 20th Armoured Brigade (United Kingdom) or The Iron ...
'',DeathMetal.org
Interview: Quorthon (Bathory)
/ref> and was also influenced by the Exploited,
Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...
,
Disorder Disorder may refer to randomness, non-order, or no intelligible pattern. Disorder may also refer to: Healthcare * Disorder (medicine), a functional abnormality or disturbance * Mental disorder or psychological disorder, a psychological pattern ...
, Riot/Clone, Anti-Nowhere League, Kiss, and Exciter. The term 'black metal' came from Venom's 1982 album of that name. Many fans and reviewers have claimed Venom was an influence on Bathory, or even accused Bathory of copying Venom.Luxi Lahtinen
''BATHORY – An Epic Interview with Quorthon''
Metal-rules.com, accessed on 28 December 2012.
Quorthon often denied being influenced by Venom and claimed that he "heard Venom for the first time in late 1984 or early 1985" and never owned a Venom album. However, he admitted in an interview for '' Metal Forces'' that he first listened to Venom's ''Black Metal'' in 1983 and considered it "one of the best albums ever made." Bathory's early sound has always been associated with Slayer but Quorthon denied being influenced by them. Bathory stopped performing live in 1985, with Quorthon viewing organizing concerts as too much hassle. Although Bathory's fourth album, ''Blood Fire Death'' (1988), largely followed in the style of the albums before it, some songs had a very different style. These songs have a much slower tempo, acoustic passages, choral background singing, and lyrics about
Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
and
Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern peri ...
. Music critic Eduardo Rivadavia of
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...
describes this 'epic' style as "possibly the first true example" of Viking metal.


Viking metal years (1990s–2000s)

After ''Blood Fire Death'', the band shed its early black metal style. Their fifth album, '' Hammerheart'' (1990), was the first "archetypical Viking metal album". This was said to have been influenced by the American power metal band Manowar, although Quorthon described this rumour as "another total misconception". A
music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...
was made for the song "
One Rode to Asa Bay ''Hammerheart'' is the fifth studio album by Swedish extreme metal band Bathory. It continued the previous album '' Blood Fire Deaths transition away from black metal to what became recognized as Viking metal, and is considered a cornerstone w ...
". The style of ''Hammerheart'' was continued on '' Twilight of the Gods'' (1991) and ''
Blood on Ice ''Blood on Ice'' is the ninth studio album by Swedish extreme metal band Bathory. It was released on 27 May 1996, through Black Mark Production. It is a concept album. Background The master tapes were recorded in 1989, but the album was not ...
'' (recorded in 1989 but completed in 1996). With '' Requiem'' (1994) and ''
Octagon In geometry, an octagon (from the Greek ὀκτάγωνον ''oktágōnon'', "eight angles") is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A ''regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, wh ...
'' (1995), Bathory changed style once more, this time turning to retro- thrash in the vein of 1980s Bay Area thrash bands. However, the 2001 release '' Destroyer of Worlds'' was a transitional release that led to a full return to the Viking metal style with the releases of ''
Nordland I ''Nordland I'' is the eleventh studio album by Swedish extreme metal band Bathory. It was released on 18 November 2002 through Black Mark Production. It is a return to the Viking metal of Bathory's middle period, and features songs mainly conce ...
'' (2002) and ''
Nordland II ''Nordland II'' is the twelfth and final studio album by Swedish extreme metal band Bathory. It is the successor to '' Nordland I''. It was released on 31 March 2003, through Black Mark Production. It was also released as a limited digipak ...
'' (2003).


Quorthon's death

In June 2004, Quorthon was found dead in his home, apparently due to heart failure. He was known to suffer from heart problems in the past. On 3 June 2006, Black Mark Production released a box set in tribute to Quorthon, containing three CDs of his favorite Bathory and Quorthon songs, a 176-page booklet, a DVD with his long-form video for "One Rode to Asa Bay", an interview and some rare promo footage and a poster. Several Bathory tribute albums have been compiled by black metal artists, such as ''In Conspiracy with Satan – A Tribute to Bathory'' and ''Voices from Valhalla – A Tribute to Bathory''. In August 2004, several members of the Norwegian black metal scene gathered to perform Bathory songs in a set titled ''A Tribute to Quorthon'' at the Hole in the Sky festival in Bergen, Norway. These musicians included Abbath ( Immortal),
Apollyon The Hebrew term Abaddon ( he, אֲבַדּוֹן ''’Ăḇaddōn'', meaning "destruction", "doom"), and its Greek equivalent Apollyon ( grc-koi, Ἀπολλύων, ''Apollúōn'' meaning "Destroyer") appear in the Bible as both a place of d ...
( Aura Noir),
Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The wiktionary:erudite, erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a ...
and Samoth (
Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( e ...
and Zyklon),
Gaahl Kristian Eivind Espedal (born 7 August 1975), better known by his stage name Gaahl, is a Norwegian vocalist and painter. He is best known as the former frontman of Norwegian black metal band Gorgoroth. He is also the founder and lead vocalist ...
(
Gorgoroth Gorgoroth is a Norwegian black metal band based in Bergen. It was formed in 1992 by guitarist Infernus, who is also the only original member remaining, and the band have since released nine studio albums. Gorgoroth are a Satanism, Satanic band ...
),
Grutle Kjellson Kjetil Tvedte Grutle, better known as Grutle Kjellson (born 24 December 1973 in Sveio, Hordaland, Norway), is the bassist and vocalist of the Norwegian progressive black metal band Enslaved. Together with Ivar Bjørnson, they are the founding ...
and Ivar Bjørnson ( Enslaved), Nocturno Culto ( Darkthrone) and Satyr (
Satyricon The ''Satyricon'', ''Satyricon'' ''liber'' (''The Book of Satyrlike Adventures''), or ''Satyrica'', is a Latin work of fiction believed to have been written by Gaius Petronius, though the manuscript tradition identifies the author as Titus Petr ...
).


In popular culture

The Swedish black metal band Watain played a live tribute to Quorthon and the band Bathory at the Sweden Rock Festival 2010. The resulting recording was the limited-edition album ''Tonight We Raise Our Cups and Toast in Angels Blood: A Tribute to Bathory'' with 7 tracks, and was released on 23 February 2015. It was also released as 12" album, the latter in 1300 numbered copies with four tracks, "A Fine Day to Die" (10:48), "The Return of Darkness and Evil" (4:36), "Rite of Darkness" (2:19) and "Reaper" (2:46) on Side A and three tracks "Enter the Eternal Fire" (7:14), "Sacrifice" (4:06) and "Born for Burning" (7:11) on Side B. The release proved very popular with Swedish public, with the limited vinyl edition reaching number 1 on the vinyl chart. The album made it also to number 2 on the national Sverigetopplistan chart, the official Swedish Albums Chart in February 2015.


Band members

* Quorthon (Thomas Börje Forsberg) – vocals, guitar, bass guitar, drums, percussion, keyboards, synthesizers lyrics, composer (1983–2004; died 2004) * The Animal (Björn Kristensen) – vocals (1983) * Freddan/Hanoi (Frederick Melander) – bass guitar (1983–1984) * Vans McBurger ( Jonas Åkerlund) – drums (1983–1984) * Ribban – bass guitar (1984) * Stefan Larsson – drums (1984–1986) * Adde – bass guitar (1985) * Christer Sandström – bass guitar (1986–1987) * Paul Pålle Lundburg – drums (1986–1987) * Kothaar – bass guitar (1988–1996) * Vvornth – drums (1988–1996) Timeline


Discography


Studio albums

* '' Bathory'' (1984) * '' The Return……'' (1985) * '' Under the Sign of the Black Mark'' (1987) * ''
Blood Fire Death ''Blood Fire Death'' is the fourth studio album by Swedish extreme metal band Bathory. It was released on 8 October 1988, through Music for Nations sublabel, Under One Flag. The album, although mostly black metal, includes some of the first exa ...
'' (1988) * '' Hammerheart'' (1990) * '' Twilight of the Gods'' (1991) * '' Requiem'' (1994) * ''
Octagon In geometry, an octagon (from the Greek ὀκτάγωνον ''oktágōnon'', "eight angles") is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A ''regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, wh ...
'' (1995) * ''
Blood on Ice ''Blood on Ice'' is the ninth studio album by Swedish extreme metal band Bathory. It was released on 27 May 1996, through Black Mark Production. It is a concept album. Background The master tapes were recorded in 1989, but the album was not ...
'' (1996) * '' Destroyer of Worlds'' (2001) * ''
Nordland I ''Nordland I'' is the eleventh studio album by Swedish extreme metal band Bathory. It was released on 18 November 2002 through Black Mark Production. It is a return to the Viking metal of Bathory's middle period, and features songs mainly conce ...
'' (2002) * ''
Nordland II ''Nordland II'' is the twelfth and final studio album by Swedish extreme metal band Bathory. It is the successor to '' Nordland I''. It was released on 31 March 2003, through Black Mark Production. It was also released as a limited digipak ...
'' (2003)


Compilation albums

* ''Jubileum Volume I'' (1992) * ''Jubileum Volume II'' (1993) * ''Jubileum Volume III'' (1998) * ''Katalog'' (2001) * ''
In Memory of Quorthon ''In Memory of Quorthon'' is a box set of three audio CDs and one DVD with remastered material from Bathory, Quorthon's solo efforts, and the Jennie Tebler project. The track list was selected by "Boss" Forsberg. The album cover was drawn by K ...
'' (2006)


Notes


References


Bibliography

* *


External links


Bathory on Black Mark Production
* Bathoryat
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bathory Swedish black metal musical groups Swedish thrash metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1983 Musical groups disestablished in 2004 Musical groups from Stockholm English-language singers from Sweden Musical quartets 1983 establishments in Sweden 2004 disestablishments in Sweden Noise Records artists Black Mark Production artists