Bathory (band)
Swedish extreme metal band
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bathory was a Swedish extreme metal band formed in Vällingby in March 1983. Frontman and sole songwriter Thomas "Quorthon" Forsberg was the sole constant member, and was at times responsible for all instruments.
Bathory | |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Vällingby, Sweden |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1983–2004 |
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Named after Hungarian countess Elizabeth Báthory, Bathory is considered a pioneer of black metal (alongside Venom, Hellhammer and Mercyful Fate)[2][3] and Viking metal. The book Lords of Chaos described Bathory's first four albums[a] as "the blueprint for Scandinavian black metal."[4][5]
The band stopped performing live early on in its career and never toured. Bathory dissolved when Quorthon died from heart failure at the age of 38 in June 2004.
History
Early years (1980s)
Bathory formed in Vällingby in March 1983.[6] Quorthon, a 17-year-old guitarist (then known as "Ace Shoot", a name inspired by sex jokes, two Motörhead songs – "Ace of Spades" and "Sharpshooter" – and Ace Frehley of Kiss), was joined by bass guitarist Frederick Melander ("Hanoi") and drummer Jonas Åkerlund ("Vans McBurger").[7] Åkerlund has stated that he and Melander, his cousin, were the original members of Bathory and that Ace, as he was known at the time, joined later on, when they were looking for a new vocalist/guitarist.[8]
Quorthon mentioned in a 1994 interview that other early band names, before using the Bathory name, included Satan, Death and Nosferatu.[9] According to Quorthon, he settled on the name 'Bathory' after a visit to the London Dungeon,[10] although Åkerlund says that it was also inspired and taken from the Venom song "Countess Bathory".[11] The Venom song was based on the life of Elizabeth Báthory who is believed to be one of the most prolific female murderesses.
The other band members hired a new singer in the winter of 1983-1984, as the drummer at the time was unsatisfied with Quorthon's vocals. Quorthon compared the new singer's vocals to a mix between Ian Gillan and Ronnie James Dio.[12] The singer was interviewed in 2001, where his nickname was revealed as The Animal.[13]
Quorthon worked part-time at the small record label Tyfon Grammofon, which was owned by his father, Börje "Boss" Forsberg (1944-2017).[11] In late 1983, the label was putting together a compilation of songs by Scandinavian metal bands.[14] 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.[15] Unexpectedly, the two Bathory tracks, "Sacrifice" and "The Return of Darkness and Evil", drew a great deal of fan mail.[16] Bob Muldowney gave the band a positive review in a July 1984 issue of Kick Ass magazine, saying the bands tracks showed "a very heavy sound [and] killer vocals."[17]
Soon afterward, Tyfon asked Quorthon to record a full-length album.[15] 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.[18] On 22 May 1984, they had their first and only rehearsal together before recording the album.[15] Two songs, "Witchcraft" and "Satan My Master", were recorded at the 22 May rehearsal and marked the first recording by the debut album line-up.[18] The two tracks were later released on the Jubileum Volume III album.[19] The debut album, Bathory, was recorded in June at Heavenshore Studio (a converted garage) in Stockholm[15] and released in October that year. The band worked on recording an EP in early November, under the working titles Necronomicon and Maleficarum, though the release of the four-track album, which included "Children of the Beast", "Crown of Thorns one the Golden Throne", "Crucifix" and "Necronomicon", was cancelled because it didn't show enough progress from their earlier material, and the release date of December would have been difficult to meet.[18]
Bathory released The Return...... in 1985 and stopped performing live that year, with Quorthon viewing organizing concerts as too much hassle.[20]
The band began to record the album Okkulta following the release of their previous album, but decided not to continue with it after recording several songs, as the album did not develop their sound further.[21] The following songs were recorded during the session: "Black Leather Wings, Hellfire, Majestica Satanica, Circle of Blood, Wicca, The Call from the Grave ... and Undead".[22]
Christian "Witchhunter" Dudek, of the German thrash metal band Sodom, joined Bathory for several months in 1986.[23]
The band recorded Under the Sign of the Black Mark in 1986 and released it the following year, while the next album, Blood Fire Death, was recorded and released in 1988.
Quorthon began working on a double album, which had the tentative title Valhalla. Some of the songs were Viking metal, while others were speed metal.[12] The band recorded two Queen covers, Now I'm Here and Ogre Battle, during the recording sessions.[24] Several of the songs taken from those sessions, including Burnin' Leather and Rider at the Gate of Dawn, were later released on the Jubileum compilation albums.[25]
Viking metal years (1990s)
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 and Norse mythology. Music critic Eduardo Rivadavia of AllMusic describes this 'epic' style as "possibly the first true example" of Viking metal.[26]
Quorthon also worked on an album called Requiem, which was unrelated to the later album of the same name.[12] He later said in a 1998 interview that only two or three tracks from the Requiem album had progressed to the stage where vocals were added.[25] The band felt that the Requiem sessions weren't "fresh or good enough."[27]
After Blood Fire Death, the band shed its early black metal style. Their fifth album, Hammerheart (1990), was the first "archetypical [sic] Viking metal album".[28] This was said to have been influenced by the American power metal band Manowar, although Quorthon described this rumour as "another total misconception", but admitted that "heavy Manowar beat seemed to perfectly suit my new ideas for lyrics at the time".[29] A music video was made for the song "One Rode to Asa Bay", which Quorthon regretted, in part because the released music video was "raw", rather than a proper mix.[12] The style of Hammerheart was continued on Twilight of the Gods (1991). Quorthon was unsure of what to do following the release of the album, describing it as "no exit except repeating ourselves", so the band took a break and released the Jubileum compilation albums, with the first release marking the tenth anniversary of the band.[12]
Several years later, Blood on Ice which was originally recorded in 1989, was completed in 1996 and released that year.
Thrash metal years (mid to late 1990s)
With Requiem (1994) and Octagon (1995), Bathory changed style once more, this time turning to retro-thrash in the vein of 1980s Bay Area thrash bands.
Transitional and return to Viking metal (2000s)
The 2001 release Destroyer of Worlds was a transitional album. Quorthon remarked in a 2003 interview that the album was "a mistake", as people did not anticipate the band's new direction, singing about "Harley Davidsons [and] ice hockey." The poor reception of the album led to a full return to the Viking metal style with the releases of Nordland I (2002) and Nordland II (2003).[21]
Quorthon's death
In June 2004, Quorthon was found dead in his home, apparently due to heart failure.[20] On 3 June 2006, Black Mark Production released a box set in tribute to Quorthon, containing "three CDs, one DVD, a book and a poster."[30]
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. The lineup included Abbath (Immortal), Apollyon (Aura Noir), Faust and Samoth (Emperor and Zyklon), Gaahl (Gorgoroth), Grutle Kjellson and Ivar Bjørnson (Enslaved), Nocturno Culto (Darkthrone) and Satyr (Satyricon).[31][32]
Musical style
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' references.[33] These traits came to define black metal[20] 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".[33]
Quorthon described Bathory's early sound as a "mixture" of Black Sabbath, Motörhead and GBH,[6] singling out GBH's album City Baby Attacked by Rats and Motörhead's Ace of Spades and Iron Fist,[34] and was also influenced by the Exploited,[35] Sex Pistols, Disorder, Riot/Clone, Anti-Nowhere League, Kiss,[36] Anti Cimex, Asocial, Mob 47[37] and Exciter.[22] 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,[38] or even accused Bathory of copying Venom.[39][6] 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.[6] 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."[40] Bathory's early sound has been associated with Slayer but Quorthon denied being influenced by them.[29]
Bathory's music is described as "primitive, evil, fast and raw." Their music also contained references to Satanism, and according to Alex Distefano of OC Weekly, "the band drew in dark forces" with its approach. The band's music has drawn comparisons to Hellhammer, Celtic Frost, Venom and Mayhem.[41]
Bathory had several stylistic changes throughout its career. Initially a black metal act, the band began to explore more progressive and experimental styles, starting with their fourth album Blood Fire Death (1988), which is regarded as a key influence in the early development of Viking metal.[26] Subsequent albums, including Hammerheart (1990) and Twilight of the Gods (1991), saw Bathory move from the black metal style of their first four albums towards Viking metal with progressive textures,[42][43][44] while the latter album also leaned towards epic doom and classical influences.[45] The band continued in the style of Viking metal for most of their remaining existence, although they experimented with a thrash metal style on the albums Requiem (1994) and Octagon (1995). Eduardo Rivadavia of AllMusic wrote: "Bathory's development from the rawest form of embryonic black metal, to thrash, death, and back to its self-devised Viking-themed black metal, has mirrored and regularly defined the genre's very evolution."[46]
Legacy
The book Lords of Chaos described Bathory's first four albums[a] as "the blueprint for Scandinavian black metal."[4][5] Black metal acts influenced by Bathory's early records include Mayhem, Burzum,[47] Darkthrone[48] and Frost of Satyricon.[49] Ambient rock band Vision Eternel also cited Bathory as influential,[50][51] singling out the albums Hammerheart and Twilight of the Gods.[52]
A Bathory box set was released in June 2006.[30]
Swedish black metal band Watain played a live tribute to Quorthon and Bathory at the Sweden Rock Festival in 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 on 12-inch vinyl album, the latter in 1300 numbered copies with four tracks, "A Fine Day to Die", "The Return of Darkness and Evil", "Rite of Darkness" and "Reaper" on Side A and three tracks "Enter the Eternal Fire", "Sacrifice" and "Born for Burning" 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.[53] In 2016, the staff of Loudwire ranked them 36th on their list of the greatest heavy metal bands of all time.[54]
Band members
- Core member
- Quorthon (Thomas Börje Forsberg) – vocals, guitars, bass, occasional drums, songwriting (1983–2004)
- Principal creative force of Bathory. He performed the majority of instruments on most studio recordings, often using pseudonyms in the early years. Quorthon remained the sole consistent member until his death in 2004.[55]
- Early members
- Vans McBurger[12] (Jonas Åkerlund) – drums (1983–1984). Later became an acclaimed music video and film director.[56]
- Frederick Melander (also known as "Freddan" or "Hanoi") – bass (1983–1984)[55]
- The Animal (1983) – vocals[13]
- Ribban (Rickard Bergman) – bass (1984)
- Stefan Larsson – drums (1984–1986)
- Andreas Johansson ("Adde") – bass (1985)
- Christer Sandström – bass (1986–1987)
- Christian "Witchhunter" Dudek – drums (1986)[23]
- Paul Lundburg – drums (1986–1987)
- Session / pseudonymous members
- Kothaar – credited as bass (1988–1996, studio only)
- Vvornth – credited as drums (1988–1996, studio only)
- The identities behind these pseudonyms were never officially revealed; Quorthon stated in a 2003 interview that he believed that he played the bass on the Hammerheart album.[57]}}
Timeline
Bathory’s line-up was unstable in its first years, but after the mid-1980s Quorthon largely worked alone. From Blood Fire Death (1988) onward, most recordings featured him performing nearly all instruments, with occasional use of anonymous session musicians.
Lineups
| Period | Members | Releases |
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| 1983 |
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| 1983 |
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| 1983 |
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| June 1983[19] |
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| January 1984 |
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| 1984 |
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| 1985 |
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| September 1986 | ||
| 1988 – 1990 |
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| 1991 |
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| 1994 – 1996 |
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| 2001 – June 2004 |
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Discography
Studio albums
- Bathory (1984)
- The Return...... (1985)
- Under the Sign of the Black Mark (1987)
- Blood Fire Death (1988)
- Hammerheart (1990)
- Twilight of the Gods (1991)
- Requiem (1994)
- Octagon (1995)
- Blood on Ice (1996)
- Destroyer of Worlds (2001)
- Nordland I (2002)
- Nordland II (2003)
Compilation albums
- Jubileum Volume I (1992)
- Jubileum Volume II (1993)
- Jubileum Volume III (1998)
- Katalog (2001)
- In Memory of Quorthon (2006)[60]
Notes
- Bathory (1984)
- The Return...... (1985)
- Under the Sign of the Black Mark (1987)
- Blood Fire Death (1988)
