BATHORY - NORDLAND II
Black Mark - 2003
By Rodrigo Escandon
Let's be honest here, since Twilight of the Gods Quorthon and musical entity of Bathory had nothing really going for itself. With four greatest hits albums released (the three Jubilem's and Katalog and three duds of studio albums, Bathory had become a joke. It all changed with last year's Nordland I evoking memories of past glory and giving the feeling that maybe Quorthon was back. With every intention of releasing a second part to Nordland, it was going to be really interesting to find out if the second would be just as good or better than the first. Sadly that is not the case as Nordland II fails to capture the energy that was found in the first album.
The overall pace in this one is a lot slower and lacks the passion and fire that was prevalent in their previous offering. What is found here are long mid-tempo ballads with the traditional elements of orchestration, choirs, heavy riffs to drive oneself into sleep. This material just sounds boring and I get the "If it isn't broken why fix it" formula. There are some good moments like "The Land" with great riffs and melodies, the intensity of "Death and Resurrection of A Northern Son" (but I would have preferred that middle section being axed) and the 10-minute "The Messenger" with a very cool guitar melody jumping in throughout the song. However, these songs just pale in comparison to the ones found in Nordland I and the fact that you have to go through so much mediocrity to get to these songs really don?t make it worth my while.
With other albums in this genre like the new Moonsorrow simply blowing Norldand II away, I would suggest to avoid this one. If you already have the first part then you are not missing anything at all.
Black Mark Website
Bathory Unofficial Website
Black Mark - 2003
By Rodrigo Escandon
Let's be honest here, since Twilight of the Gods Quorthon and musical entity of Bathory had nothing really going for itself. With four greatest hits albums released (the three Jubilem's and Katalog and three duds of studio albums, Bathory had become a joke. It all changed with last year's Nordland I evoking memories of past glory and giving the feeling that maybe Quorthon was back. With every intention of releasing a second part to Nordland, it was going to be really interesting to find out if the second would be just as good or better than the first. Sadly that is not the case as Nordland II fails to capture the energy that was found in the first album.
The overall pace in this one is a lot slower and lacks the passion and fire that was prevalent in their previous offering. What is found here are long mid-tempo ballads with the traditional elements of orchestration, choirs, heavy riffs to drive oneself into sleep. This material just sounds boring and I get the "If it isn't broken why fix it" formula. There are some good moments like "The Land" with great riffs and melodies, the intensity of "Death and Resurrection of A Northern Son" (but I would have preferred that middle section being axed) and the 10-minute "The Messenger" with a very cool guitar melody jumping in throughout the song. However, these songs just pale in comparison to the ones found in Nordland I and the fact that you have to go through so much mediocrity to get to these songs really don?t make it worth my while.
With other albums in this genre like the new Moonsorrow simply blowing Norldand II away, I would suggest to avoid this one. If you already have the first part then you are not missing anything at all.
Black Mark Website
Bathory Unofficial Website
