Quorthon – 5 Reasons Why The Bathory Frontman Was One Of The Greatest Visionaries in Metal

1. Not Forgetting….He Also Invented Black Metal!

Source // metal-archives.com

What is still probably the most extreme music ever invented was fundamentally the brainchild of one Black Metal maverick.

For a short while Bathory became the  most extreme band in Metal and the terrifying triumvirate of Bathory, The Return….and Under The Sign Of Black Mark single-handedly developed Black Metal as a legitimate genre that would truly take flight in the early 1990’s. All the fundamental elements of Black Metal can be found spread across these three game-changing recordings. From the shrill shrieks and throaty rasp of Quorthon’s vocals to the satanic lyrics themselves a scene was born; the deformed and vicious offspring of Hellhammer and Venom’s clatter. The buzzing guitars, tremolo picking, virtually inaudible bass and frenetic drums forming a series of lo-fi (until Under The Sign Of The Black Mark‘s improved production at least) Punk/Thrash hybrids which aped UK forefathers Venom yet added a cold, steely aura that could only come from Scandinavia.

Fenriz of Darkthrone described Under The Sign Of The Black Mark “as the quintessential Black Metal album” and who are we to argue; without Bathory and without Quorthon’s unparalleled vision, Metal would be without one of it’s most shocking, compelling and taboo-breaking genre’s.