Bathory
Hammerheart

THE REVIEW

I hold a deep respect for the music and the project that Thomas Forsberg carried on with coherence, awareness, and, yes, great talent for so many years. Twice during his long career, he paved new roads within the extreme Northern European rock scene, spawning a myriad of clones but also quality artists who gloriously dominated the "heavy" scenes during the prolific nineties.

Today we find ourselves surrounded by dozens of acts that play with vikings and epicness without understanding anything about it, musically having the consistency of cotton wool while the lyrical aspect shines with acute infantilism, so I find it right to cling to the wonders of this theatrical work, the ideal soundtrack for a book of Icelandic sagas, the immortal "Hammerheart."

Immersed in reading the "Saga of Vigdis" (Sigrid Undset, Norway) or the "Saga of Hrafnkell" (Iceland), I can only feel the call of Quorthon's choruses, his massive chords, the thunderous drums, his clumsy voice, imprecise yet warm, vibrant, passionate like few others. And then the first acoustic rustles of "Shores In Flames" resonate, followed by those woody and mighty riffs, wild like the atmospheres painted by the commander on his invincible "Knörr," fearless in challenging the currents of the Norwegian Sea to free himself from Harald Hårfager's aegis and reach the shores of the lonely Faröe!

"Valhalla.." also opens with the acoustic-electric duet, exploding vehemently yet thoughtfully, with that way of distorting the six strings that will become a symbol of viking-metal, sounds that engulf, filling the heart with swirling melodies, elevated in the leaden northern skies by the exquisite, epic, poetic chorus. In the solos, Quorthon's guitar sounds like a bagpipe among rocky slopes, sketching fiery yet romantic harmonies, lost in the love for the history of the North.

Continuing, one encounters the metallic colonnades of "Baptised In Fire And Ice", a hammering crucible of sharp riffs, bitter melodies that chase the solemn and Wagnerian choruses. The closure leaves us with another dark and wistful solo of absolute class.

With "Father To Son," we reach the emotional pinnacle, sepulchral voices and buzzing guitars slice through the air menacingly, giving way to a threatening bridge that explodes with Viking rage while the Stockholm leader's voice sings sentimental lyrics hinting at the importance of the family unit in Scandinavian society of the period (793-1000 A.D.). The sweetness of "Song To Hall Up High" tortures with its gripping melancholy, a symbol of the band's love for national mythology, a brief journey painting glorious funeral rites, boats burning and disappearing into the depths of the northern ocean..

The ground shakes with "Home Of Once Brave", sturdy, slow and jagged riffs… A ride towards black mountains, dominated by forests teeming with nocturnal animals. And yet silent fjords can be seen, ice tongues reminiscent of the Jostedalsbreen (Norwegian glacier), all dominated by a song narrating courageous and extreme deeds. The structure of this slow-song will inspire many great Nordic bands, names you already know!

Grand dramatic finale with the well-known "One Rode To Asa Bay" tinged with lyricism introducing us to the arrival of the men from the East, the loss of something precious.. Dark and shadowy keyboards stand out against a horizon of solid and grim electric grunts where Forsberg ventures onto softer vocal coordinates, closer to the classic heavy-metal eighties flavoured. Tears fall copiously in the tormented finale from solos that spawn marble notes guided by sly yet weighty riffs and the sound of mysterious bells.

Great passion for "Hammerheart" is what I feel, a work that sets my dreams to music, that concretizes the visions of an ancient civilization for which I feel love and respect. A memory for those who left suddenly.