BATHORY - Hammerheart

Bathory has managed to set the template for the northern black metal, paradigmatically foreshadowing all the forms that would later be included in the genre: from ultrafast aggressive rhythms to bombastic orchestral melodies, reflecting an abundance of subjects related to Satanism and ancient pagan mythology.

Hammerheart is a special chapter in the history of Bathory and of metal in general. If on Blood Fire Death the epic elements were felt strongly, Hammerheart is in its entirety a masterpiece of the Viking metal genre. For the legions of fans accustomed with the aggressiveness of Bathory’s previous offerings, this album must have come as a shock. The speed and brutality of the first four albums were abandoned in favor of slow, melodious and elating passages.

I remember when I first heard this album, the music caught my attention and stimulated my imagination in a manner no metal had managed before; certainly the most original record I had heard until then. Even today, so many years later, after the advent of so many original and avant-garde bands, Hammerheart still has a special place in my heart.

Musically, Quorthon used an entire arsenal of elements meant to bring the best atmosphere: acoustic passages, distorted guitars, choirs, classic arrangements, atmospheric keyboards, incisive solos and uplifting vocals. All these combine ideally to create the perfect background for the lyric concept. Lyrics cover subjects of the Norse mythology and from the medieval period, such as a Viking attack on a remote shore (Shores In Flames) or the invasion of Christianity in the Scandinavian (One Rode to Asa Bay). Unfortunately the poor quality of production due to the extremely limited means available to Quorthon for recording this album sometimes has a negative impact on sound, but it is obvious that Quorthon has tried really hard to overcome these limitations.

Surely the incursion of Bathory in the Viking mythology has opened a new era in metal, and the direct or indirect influences of Hammerheart on bands that appeared in this genre in the last decade are still strongly felt.

Dragos P. Nota: 9