Nope. I still don't get it...

[Demilich]

Love for Bathory may have gone up since Quorthon's death partly because the outpour of "FUCK NOO!!!!!!" from the fans prompted them to check out a band they hadn't heard before. That was the case with me last June (or whenever, can't remember), so eventually I checked out Hammerheart. First listen: HOLY SHIT "Shores in Flames" fucking owns!

Took a little longer to appreciate the whole thing as I do now, but it's made it's way to my Top 3 of all time, and I dunno what the other two are, but you guys would probably think they were gay.

To sum it up:
Bathory didn't create extreme metal, 99% surely wasn't the first "Viking Metal" band, doesn't deserve many of these accolades that people heap upon them, but the music is FUCKING KILLER!

 

[KILL TULLY]

1: bathory rock

2: i think when people say bathory didn't create extreme metal they forgot to listen to the first 3 albums or somthing

 

[Russell]

I won't bother to comment on most of the original post seeing as it's gay, lying and uninformed (write about THIS album after 2 listens? Fuck off.) but this:
It contributes to album coherence. Ever notice how he also reuses a "Shores in Flames" riff in "Home of Once Brave"? The album is really mostly meant to be taken as a whole, and lyrical and musical recurrences make for good continuity. That said, I wouldn't have expected you to notice any subletities after TWO FUCKING LISTENS.

I like Bathory, yet I'm more than willing to concede that most of Zod's criticisms are fairly accurate. The impact, importance, atmosphere, and many other elements I think make up for these complaints, yet to deny they exist? That seems to me a knee-jerk reaction driven by insecurity in your own beliefs. If it isn't, why not accept Zod's opinion (even after two listens!) instead of calling his original post gay? It is his opinion, he's entitled to it, and surely he should be able to express it without being insulted?

 

[Demilich]

Nahhhh....

Quorthon can sing fine

 

[Russell]

He is very emotive, yes

*listens to twilight of the gods*

*air guitars to the bass break*

 

[Demilich]

I need to give that album a lot more time! So far my big three are

1) Hammerheart
2) Blood Fire Death / Blood on Ice (tie!)

 

[Russell]

Hammerheart is undoubtedly great. Recently I've mostly been listening to The Return when it comes to Bathory tho

 

[Demilich]

That's the one Quorthon said wasn't that good 'cause they were all alcoholics at that stage or something, eh? Haven't heard it in a while, listened to the s/t yesterday and it was pretty cool but I dunno if any of the first 3 can touch the later ones. Who knows?

 

[Erik]

OK so I'm grumpy at 6 AM and maybe not all of the insults were deserved, but Bathory > any other band, and this thread is still gay, lying, homosexual, etc, and fuck off this thread (I've been doing an exam for the past 8 hours so I'm grumpy again)

 

[Russell]

OK so I'm grumpy at 6 AM and maybe not all of the insults were deserved, but Bathory > any other band, and this thread is still gay, lying, homosexual, etc, and fuck off this thread (I've been doing an exam for the past 8 hours so I'm grumpy again)

You have eight hour exams? What do you study?

Rather you than me

 

[KILL TULLY]

Blond On Ice is fucking amazing fuck, by the way =)

 

[Erik]

You have eight hour exams? What do you study?

Rather you than me

It's "högskoleprovet", I think it's the equivalent of the American SAT test

 

[Papa Josh]

Listening to "Hammerheart" for the second time through. Here's what I hear:

1. Horrid production. I guess some people feel that a $3 production budget serves to enhance the atmospheric quality of a CD. To each their own.

2. Quorthon can't sing. There are parts that actually make we wince.

3. The chorus of "Father to Son" was completely lifted from Manowar's "Bridge of Death".

4. Simplistic music. The guitar and drum play on this CD are incredibly basic.

5. The lyrics, when not smothered in a thick layer of cheese, are redundant. They read as if Quorthon didn't actually know a great deal about Viking lore, and was forced to rehash the same themes over and over again.

From "Shores in Flames"

Tor of thunder way up high
Swing your Hammer that cracks the sky

From "Valhalla"

God of Thunder, Who crack the sky
Swing your Hammer, Way up high

From "Baptised in Fire and Ice"

I saw the Hammer way up high
Cause lightning in the rain

Yes, I get it. Thor had a hammer. He hammered in the morning... he hammered in the evening... he hammered all over this viking land.

There are some decent moments on this disc, but I'm hardly impressed. Clearly, I'm in the minority (at least on this board). That's cool. People like what they like, and they're entitled to whatever opinion they see fit to hold. So, you'll have to excuse me if I think you're all a bunch of crack-addicted deaf mutes, if you believe this holds a candle to anything that Opeth has ever done.

Zod

Now, I'll have to go back and read what I'm sure is the equivalent of either an all out flame war

or Erik having a heart attack.

 

[MFJ]

Personally, Blood Fire Death > Hammerheart.

 

[Demilich]

Personally, Blood Fire Death > Hammerheart.

With your tastes, it fucking baffles me that you'd say something like that.

 

[MFJ]

Hmmm what can I say. Blood Fire Death is a darker album and I just think it works out better than Hammerheart.

 

[Demilich]

To me, it doesn't flow from song to song as well as Hammerheart, and comes off more as a "collection of songs" than a complete album. It still fucking owns 99% of other music out there!

 

[Erik]

To me, it doesn't flow from song to song as well as Hammerheart, and comes off more as a "collection of songs" than a complete album. It still fucking owns 99% of other music out there!

This is true, but "A Fine Day to Die" is the second best song ever written, and "Blood Fire Death" is pretty fucking awesome, and the thrashers in the middle are the best Bathory ever did... And the album has amazing atmosphere. BFD is my pick too, but Hammerheart might eclipse it soonish, I dunno. BFD - Hammerheart - TotG are all pretty much flawless either way.

 

[NAD]

A Fine Day to Die, Holocaust, and Blood Fire Death tower above the rest of that album. It slowly grows on me with each listen, but I much prefer Hammerheart. Twilight of the Gods is very muchly good, but I've only heard it a few times.

EDIT: You know what, BFD is actually pretty even now that I think of it, so no song is really that much better than the rest. It just isn't as good as Hammerheart.

 

[Erik]

Apart from the ones you mentioned, "Dies Irae", "For Those Who Died" and "The Golden Walls of Heaven" are total highlights. "Pace 'till Death" is a bit weaker but it's that album's "light-hearted thrasher" and thrash it does, so well... Basically flawless album. Hammerheart is excellent throughout. on Twilight... I could have done without "Hammerheart" the song, but not really a big deal since it's more of an outro thing anyway.