OMG! How good is Bathory's Hammerheart?

[Kushantaiidan]

I just discovered bathory today.

Hooray!

They were so far ahead of their time! Hammerheart is a real epic Viking Metal album.

What other bathory albums are good? I've heard a few songs from their new one, and it now seems behind the times...

 

[Ahnasihn]

Under The Sign Of The Black Mark and Blood Fire Death kick some major arse! Heavy shit!

 

[Lutz]

Yep,
Hammerheart is great!
Have not heard thier other albums, so I cannot recommend anything.

 

[Eld]

Blood Fire Death!

 

[humus666]

i recommend you to get Graveland - Creed of iron if you like Hammerhearth...

 

[D Mullholand]

Indeed, isn't it? Like primal, hypnotic stuff, this Hammerheart album, the guy couldn't sing or play, but he had a spark for music back in 1989-1991 - it's repetitive, but not dead or static, and very evocative! I wouldn't even use the tag "viking-metal" for Bathory, because it's been watered down by cheese bands like Thyrfing and Mithotyn and Falkenbach...

The only album Bathory ever did in the style of Hammerheart was "Twilight of the Gods", a more progressive and "shamanic" variation of this music. If you haven't heard it, you must. The song "Under the Runes" never fails to impress. "Blood Fire Death" is also very nice.

Quorthon also tried to re-create the magic in 1996 by assembling the "Blood on Ice" album from unreleased material written in the "Hammerheart" period, but the result was bland and doesn't move me at all.

D Mullholand