Bathory

Essential Albums

Artist Playlists

About Bathory

When Bathory hit the metal underground in the ’80s, the Swedes sounded like wraiths from a shadowy hellscape. Their first three albums, including 1987’s Under the Sign of the Black Mark, defined Scandinavia’s black-metal scene thanks to their blurred guitars, tortured screeches and Satanic menace. It was a remarkable accomplishment considering that guitarist, singer and songwriter Quorthon (born Thomas Börje Forsberg) was a mere teenager when he started the project—named after Hungarian countess and alleged serial killer Elizabeth Báthory—in 1983. For Quorthon, however, black metal was only a first stop. With 1990’s Hammerheart, he once again started a new scene: Viking metal, a deeply heroic, power-metal-informed style rich in Norse folklore. Despite Bathory making detours into retro-thrash on mid-’90s efforts like Requiem, Quorthon’s passion for Viking metal only deepened, culminating in 2002’s Nordland I and 2003’s Nordland II, a two-volume set packed with mythological storytelling and orchestral heft. Sadly, Quorthon’s life was cut far too short when the 38-year-old died from heart failure in 2004. Ranking up there with titans like Venom and Mercyful Fate, Bathory are revered as one of extreme metal’s early pioneers.

ORIGIN
Vällingby, Sweden
FORMED
16 March 1983
GENRE
Metal
Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada