10 Best Viking Metal Bands Of All Time
3. Bathory
This Swedish extreme metal cult favourite first unleashed hell in 1983. Their first 4 albums, along with the work of English headbangers Venom, laid the foundations for the Scandinavian Satanic black metal craze during the mid to late 80s. With the releases of 1988's Blood Fire Death and 1990's Hammerheart however, the group established some of the earlier ventures into Viking metal. The group blended the aggression of black metal with cleaner vocals and more harmonious, acoustic compositions.
Despite dabbling in a retro-thrash sound, reminiscent of the 1980s Bay Area thrash scene, on Requiem (1994) and Octagon (1995), the group remained heavily entrenched in the Viking metal style for the rest of their run. Lyrics frequently focused on Viking wars, celebrations, gods and monsters.
Fronted by the legendary, multi-talented Tomas 'Quothron' Forsberg, Bathory didn't perform live again after 1985. Often responsible for every instrument, Forsberg continued to split eardrums with Bathory's brand of frenzied madness until his untimely passing in 2004.
Bathory have gone down as one of the most influential groups in metal history in the years since Quothron's death, leaving their mark on several genres they helped pioneer.