I’ve long had the feeling that Quorthon did the first Bathory recordings on a lark, and, pleasantly surprised by the positive reaction, continued to bang out strong albums with a seemingly offhand effort, tongue slyly in cheek. Many Swedes seem to have this very dry, lightly cynical sense of humor, and I could just imagine this booze/blow/women-loving punk rocker saying, Fuck it, let’s have a go at this metal thing. And without being totally serious about it (though not everyone picked up on this), he cranked out these kickass records, helped define whole genres (black metal, Viking metal), and became a legend in the process. Says a lot about his innate talent. Musically, this was savage thrash metal with grunting Gollum vocals; remember, back in the ’80s black metal was defined more by lyrical content and image, not really by musical qualities (bands like, say, Venom and Mercyful Fate really had little in common). Bathory was not influenced by Bay Area crunch, but more German thrash with an infusion of varsity-level evil juice. Rumors about drum machines have long surrounded this band, and I do wonder if they were used here. Maybe it’s better not to know, and just enjoy the many mysteries of Bathory.
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