Search - Bathory :: Norland

Raw, Primal, Epic, Magnificent

- Durrkk | Ohio/PA border USA | 06/03/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Swedish band Bathory has always been essentially a one-man-band project formed by Quorthon (Ace Thomas Forsberg) in 1983 when he was 17 years-old. Quorthon released 12 studio albums and 5 compilation albums in the next 20 years under the Bathory name, as well as 2 rock albums simply as "Quorthon."



His last two cds were the connecting viking metal albums NORDLAND I (2002) and NORDLAND II (2003). These releases ended up being Quorthon's swansong as he was found dead in June 2004 from heart failure (not drug or alcohol related).



Quorthon's musical output was a mixed bag of various styles of metal & rock -- horror speed, epic metal, thrash, folk acoustic and hard rock.



With the two NORDLAND albums Quorthon essentially reverted back to the epic style of 1990's HAMMERHEART and 1991's TWILIGHT OF THE GODS, as well as the epic metal featured on 2001's DESTROYER OF WORLDS. Although the NORDLAND project does not surpass the savage magnificence of HAMMERHEART, it far exceeds TWILIGHT, which only had two or three stellar numbers.



1.) "Prelude." This is a nice instrumental opening to the album.

2.) "Nordland." The titular song starts out with a powerful marching-like opening that lasts well over a minute. The main break riff is a bit weak but it doesn't last long; besides, the chorus is great. Quorthon actually SINGS on the song and it's not bad if you like his voice; in fact, it's kind of trance-inducing. One thing I love about Quorthon's vocals is that he morphs his voice to fit the needs of the song, whatever style it might be. In other words, he's not one-dimensional like too many extreme metal vocalists who are content to bark out their vocals in the same boring fashion song after song.

3.) "Vinterlot." This is one of the best songs on the cd. It begins with a crushing start/stop riff, similar to "Father to Son," with a low one-note vocal in the background. I love the low-sung vocals on the verses and the epic Viking break ("AAAHHHHHHH, OHHHHHHHHH," etc.).

4.) "Dragon's Breath." Another great song! I love the unique barked-out words of the verses.

5.) "Ring of Gold." This is an exceptional, beautiful & soothing acoustic number which proves that Quorthon can actually sing. Magnificent.

6.) "Foreverdark Woods." This one starts out with, of all things, a great mandolin melody and is mandolin-driven all the way through -- a standout track and one of my favorites.

7.) "Broken Sword." Although this number starts and finishes with great acoustic pieces it's primarily a speed metal piece. I hate mindless speed metal that has no soul. Although the speedy riffs/licks and drums start out that way Quorthon wins the listener over with his catchy melodies, especially in the vocal department. The closing acoustic piece is magnificent.

8.) "Great Hall Awaits A Fallen Brother." I wasn't too overly keen on this one at first but it's now one of my favorites on the cd. It starts out with a fairly generic driving metal riff but Quorthon somehow turns it into a masterpiece simply because he's an expert song-crafter. Once again, the verses and chorus feature catchy vocal melodies. The chorus effectively combines heaviness and acoustics. My favorite part kicks in at the 4:30 mark where Quorthon takes the listener on an unexpected 3-minute mellow-yet-heavy diversion, which features more soothing and trance-inducing melodies.

9.) "Mother Earth, Father Thunder." This is a solid epic viking number but standard fare if you're used to Bathory. I'm sure if you've never heard Bathory before you'd think it was stellar. Anyway, the first few times I heard the chorus I couldn't help giggling at the way Quorthon sings the line 'Mother earth father thunder' ultra-low in the background. Still, it's a fine piece.

10.) "Heimfard." A fitting and stellar instrumental epilogue -- seagals, waves and all.



Some have criticized that Quorthon was trying to repeat HAMMERHEART with the NORDLAND albums, but I don't agree. HAMMERHEART has a more savage edge, largely due to the lyrical themes, e.g. a barbaric Viking raid, etc. NORDLAND, on the other hand, is somehow more soothing and trance-inducing despite it's ultra-heaviness. Let me put it this way: The NORDLAND albums are simply the second and third chapters in Quorthon's Viking trilogy; they're more of the same, but definitely DIFFERENT. Quorthon wasn't repeating himself.



Bathory's brand of metal isn't for every one. It's very unique (songwise and production-wise) and completely non-mainstream or commercial. Quorthon released some weak material in the mid-90s with REQUIEM, OCTAGON and even BLOOD ON ICE, but ended his career with 3 great or near-great albums. My favorite Bathory recordings are as follows:



HAMMERHEART

NORDLAND I

DESTROYER OF WORLDS

NORDLAND II

TWILIGHT OF THE GODS

BLOOD, FIRE, DEATH



The rest I could take or (more likely) leave, but I highly recommend all the above albums, starting at the top. If you don't love HAMMERHEART you won't likely appreciate any of the others either."