Bathory

by Rob Ferrier

This record has a historical importance separate from its simple status as a musical statement. This album is regarded by many as the first black metal record, a genre that purported to take metal not simply into well-charted Satanic waters, but into the Nordic pagan past of these young Scandinavian men, eerily similar to the message Hitler once sent to an earlier generation of Teutonic teenagers. Unfortunately, the results were much the same. Scenesters, including members of this band, put their musical vision where their mouths were, encouraging themselves and others not only to kill but to burn dozens of Norway's historic wooden churches in a spasm of Nordic cleansing fire. The music itself has a certain lo-fi charm, and if you're into this sort of thing the raw power of this debut cannot be ignored. For others who may be looking for the sturm und drang fireworks of Slayer or Metallica, this probably won't do much for you. Whatever your predilection, this is eerie music, not so much for what's on the disc as for what it spawned. As a final note, the command of the English language these Nordic lads have is astounding. The lyrics, while uncomfortable, are several steps above what most American or English bands could do.