SWEDEN, BATHORY & SCANDINAVIAN METAL ATTACK

Today on the 6th of June is the National Day of Sweden and I will honor the fathers of the Swedish and Scandinavian scene today. Bathory!! With their three compilations “Jubileum Volume I-III” albums but also the split compilation the Swedish first print vinyl of “Scandinavian Metal Attack” (1984). Where Bathory made their first ever recording performance.

An old LP that used to belong to my older sister but she gave to me in the mid 90’s. Guess she bought it around 1991/92 (?) at the store that sold used records in our hometown. In 1995 I bought my very first Bathory CD the “Jubileum Volume II” (1992) album. At that same store where CD's and LP's were 50% cheaper then other stores with new records. The only Bathory songs I had heard up until this point were the ones that appears on the LP Sacrifice and The Return of Darkness And Evil.

To process Bathory from their primitive early 80's Black Metal to the Viking Metal era from the early 90's. It actually took me a few listens before I could fully appreciate the whole CD. But once I did... Oh fucking hell how amazing it was!!

I would play it nonstop again and again, over and over. It was such an eyeopening record and Bathory became one of my favorite bands from my home country. Later I read in an interview that one of my top-5 favorite Bathory songs The Golden Walls Of Heaven lyrics that the first letter of each line spelled out SATAN in every verse was great. For example:

"Silent watching gaze
Across the blackened plains
Two eyes like burning embers
Awaits the moment for the
North star to blaze

Sythanagon winged
Angel rides deaths wind
To cloudless sky
And sound a summon call of war
Now burn does the skyline"

and I thought that was the coolest thing. Hadn't discovered that in the booklet to the release because it ain't as apparent in the lyrics that's printed in the “Jubileum Volume II” booklet.

There's so many classic songs on “Jubileum Volume II” just to name a some of my favorites: Call From The Grave; The Return of Darkness and Evil; Die In Fire; Shores In Flames; Burnin' Leather; Possessed; Bond of Blood; Total Destruction; Twilight of the Gods etc.

Not long thereafter I bought “Jubileum Volume I” (1993). Once again later I discovered that the lyrics to another top-5 song of mine Dies Irae first letters spells out Christ The Bastard Son Of Heaven and the 15-16 year old me thought it was the coolest thing.

This album was even a little bit better in my opinion. It had so many amazing ones like: Odens Ride over Nordland; A Fine Day to Die; Sacrifice; War; Song To Hall Up High; Crawl To Your Cross; You Don't Move Me (I Don't Give a Fuck) Blood Fire Death etc. Also two other of my top-5 Bathory songs Equimanthorn and Enter The Eternal Fire. I could write every song!

The songs are perfectly chosen, who actually were voted by fans, all from Bathory’s 6 first records on both “Jubileum Volume I & II”. Sure songs like Hades; Necromancy; Born For Burning; Sadist; Massacre; Woman of Dark Desires; Of Doom...; Pace Till Death; Holocaust;  For All Those Who Died; Valhalla; Father To Son; Blood And Iron plus MANY are missing and would've been great. But still what one gets on these 2 compilation albums are very high value for ones money.

It actually took me a trip to Stockholm and the record store Sound Pollution to locate my two favorite Bathory albums "Blood Fire Death" (1988) and "Under the Sign of the Black Mark" (1987). Because finding them in my hometown wasn't happening except for the used one I found and “Jubileum Volume I”. Later I ordered "The Return....." (1985) and "Bathory" (1984) then finally I got "Hammerheart" (1990) "Twilight of the Gods" (1991).

By then "Blood On Ice" (1996) had already been released and one of the best songs from that album The Lake appeared on a compilation CD that came with an issue of Close-Up Magazine a Swedish metal mag. It actually took me a few years before I finally got and also liked "Blood On Ice" on CD because it didn't blow me away when I listened to it at one of the local record stores back in 1996.

All three compilations are essential to own just for the 8 previously unreleased 80's songs:

• Die In Fire and You Don’t Move Me (I Don’t Give a Fuck) recorded in 1983
• Satan My Master and Witchcraft recorded in 1984
• Burnin' Leather Rider; At The Gate Of Dawn and In Nomine Satanas recorded in 1987
• Crawl To Your Cross recorded in 1989

I also want to note that the versions of Sacrifice and The Return of Darkness And Evil is from the split compilation LP “Scandinavian Metal Attack”. I definitely prefer those recordings over the album versions they sound much better in my ears.

The 6 first albums will always be my favorites in the Bathory discography. Hence I think that “Jubileum Vol III” (1998) is more uneven then the two previous volumes.

The songs from the albums “Requiem” (1994) and “Octagon” (1995) and the two unreleased 90’s songs Resolution Greed and Genocide are good, but they all pale in comparison to the 2 previous compilations. I still think that the record is worth buying just for the unreleased 80’s recorded 2 songs and those from the amazing “Blood On Ice” (1996) album.

Have a great day and celebrate Sweden and Quorthon who died in 2004 on June the 3rd with some beer and Bathory!