About Bathory
Although Venom's Black Metal 1982 was the first record to coin the term, it was Bathory's early albums, featuring Satanic lyrics, low-fi production and an inhuman vocal style, that defined the genre. Bathory's subsequent releases, the self-titled debut, The Return and Under the Sign of the Black Mark are now regarded as major influences on the Norwegian bands which extended Black Metal's musical progression and popularity in the beginning of the 1990s.
The first signs of what was to follow appeared on what some fans consider to be Bathory's best album: Blood Fire Death, where on some of the tracks the pace had slowed down to allow for a more epic songwriting approach. It was also here that the Viking theme was introduced. Most of the musical elements of Black Metal were still present, however. It was with the release of Hammerheart that Bathory surprised many of its fans. The style had now drastically changed towards less aggressive, more epic and atmospheric music; the lyrics dealt with themes about Vikings and Scandinavia's Norse mythology. Bathory had become pioneers in yet another genre within the world of extreme music—that of Viking Metal. The style of Hammerheart was further perfected on the subsequent Twilight of the Gods and Blood on Ice.