Bathory (band)
| Bathory | |
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Quorthon in May 1987
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Vällingby, Sweden |
| Genres | Black metal, thrash metal, viking metal |
| Years active | 1983–2004 |
| Labels | Black Mark, Noise |
| Past members |
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Bathory was an extreme metal band formed in Vällingby, Sweden, in 1983 named for Hungarian countess Elizabeth Báthory. The band's frontman and main songwriter was Quorthon (Tomas Forsberg). Considered to be one of the most influential acts in heavy metal, Bathory's first four albums are considered to be "the blueprint for Scandinavian black metal". The band departed from this style on their fifth album, Hammerheart (1990), which is often cited as the first Viking metal album. Bathory continued in the Viking metal style throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, although the band returned to thrash metal with the albums Requiem (1994) and Octagon (1995). Bathory ended when Quorthon died from heart failure in 2004.
Bathory formed in Vällingby in 1983. Quorthon (then known as Ace, after Ace Frehley of KISS), a 17-year-old guitarist, was joined by bass guitarist Fredrik Melander and drummer Jonas Åkerlund. According to Quorthon, he settled on the name 'Bathory' after a visit to the London Dungeon, although Jonas says that it was taken from the Venom song "Countess Bathory". Before settling on 'Bathory', the band considered several names; including Nosferatu, Natas, Mephisto, Elizabeth Bathory and Countess Bathory. Quorthon worked part-time at the small record label Tyfon, which was owned by his father, Börje Forsberg. In late 1983, the label was putting together a compilation of songs by Scandinavian metal bands. However, at the last minute, one of the bands backed out. Tyfon agreed to let Bathory appear on the record as a replacement. The album, called , was released in March 1984 and was Bathory's first appearance on record. Unexpectedly, the Bathory tracks drew a great deal of fan mail. Soon afterward, Tyfon asked Quorthon to record a full-length album. His bandmates having moved away, Quorthon recruited Rickard Bergman as bassist and Stefan Larsson as drummer. On 22 May 1984, they had their first and only rehearsal together before recording the album. The debut album, Bathory, was recorded in June at Heavenshore Studio (a converted garage) in and released in October that year. Over the next four years, Bathory released a further three albums: The Return…… (1985), Under the Sign of the Black Mark (1987) and Blood Fire Death (1988).
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