Bathory (band)

Bathory
Quorthon in May 1987[1]
Quorthon in May 1987[1]
Background information
OriginVällingby, Sweden
Genres
Years active1983–2004
Labels
Past members
  • Quorthon
  • Frederick Melander (Freddan/Hanoi)
  • Jonas Åkerlund
  • Ribban
  • Stefan Larsson
  • Adde
  • Paul Pålle Lundburg
  • Kothaar
  • Vvornth

Bathory was a Swedish heavy metal band formed in Vällingby in March 1983. Named after Hungarian countess Elizabeth Báthory, they are considered pioneers of black metal (alongside Venom and Mercyful Fate)[2][3] and Viking metal. The book Lords of Chaos described Bathory's first four albums[a] as "the blueprint for Scandinavian black metal."[4][5]

Bathory abandoned the black metal sound for their fifth record, Hammerheart (1990), which is often cited as the first Viking metal album.[6] The band continued in the Viking metal style for most of their remaining existence, although they experimented with a thrash metal style on the albums Requiem (1994) and Octagon (1995). They stopped performing live early on and never toured; frontman, founder and main songwriter Tomas "Quorthon" Forsberg was the sole constant member and at times responsible for all instruments. Bathory ended when Forsberg died from heart failure at the age of 38 in June 2004.

  1. ^ "Bathory – Under the sin". Bathory.nu. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  2. ^ "Essential Black Metal Albums". Heavy Music Headquarters. 21 April 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  3. ^ "Heavy Metal Culture — 10 Metal Bands that Broke Up too Soon". Heavy Metal Culture. 4 July 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  4. ^ Moynihan, Michael; Søderlind, Didrik (2003) [1998]. Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground (revised and expanded ed.). Venice: Feral House. p. 21.
  5. ^ Nelson, Dan (2008). All Known Metal Bands. McSweeney's. ISBN 978-1-932416-92-3. Bathory
  6. ^ Maisano, Anthony (16 April 2014). "Today in Metal: 'Hammerheart' by Bathory turns 24 years old". Metalinsider.net. Retrieved 20 May 2016.


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