Bathory
Octagon

THE REVIEW

Black metal was prophesied by Venom, RIGHT, but the band that, for me, outlined its features and compositional technique is Bathory (just listen, even briefly, to the music of Mayhem, Darkthrone, Marduk, and Dissection to understand how important the contribution of the Swedish band was), without taking anything away from other influencers of the most extremist fringe that heavy metal has ever had (Celtic Frost, Slayer, Sodom, and Mercyful Fate).

The leader and sole stable member, Quorthon (R.I.P.), was a great musician, not for his technical level but for his state of mind that he was able to transform into music, a state of mind filled with anger towards the Christian religion which, according to his thinking, eradicated Norse worship from Scandinavia, performing provocatively, complete with goats and five-pointed stars, to scream his opposition to Christianity.

After the thrash/black successes of the '80s ("Under the Sign of Black Mark" and "Blood Fire Death") and the viking ones from the early '90s ("Hammerheart" and "Twilight Of The Gods"), good Quorthon gave birth to two controversial records, "Requiem" (1994) and this "Octagon" (1995), records that mark a departure from the viking metal sound acquired in recent years in favor of a violent thrash metal in the Slayer style of "Reign in Blood" and Kreator's "Pleasure to Kill." "Octagon," like its predecessor, was ostracized by Bathory fans, accused of being sonically barren and lacking in new ideas. In any case, I don't consider it the best chapter of the band, but this record is decently crafted and it is precisely its “dirty” recording that makes it evil and sinister.

"Immaculate Pinetreeroad #930" opens the sonic holocaust unleashed by this work, with Quorthon screaming at the top of his lungs, supported by a drum with frenzied rhythms (it really is the case to say so) and a guitar with almost incomprehensible distortion. The melodic intro of "Born to Die" deceives the listener with a sulfurous guitar arpeggio and after about 30 seconds turns into a violent metallic beat. "Psychopath" is stylistically similar to the previous track while "Sociopath" and "GRCY" lead the band back to the massacre of the unlucky listener's eardrums. Following is "Century", a (let’s say) quieter piece, "33 Something", the most violent on the record and also the most boring for my taste, and "War supply." "Schizianity" is one of my favorites, with its doom atmosphere that approaches Black Sabbath's "Master of Reality," and "Judgement of Posterity" returns with its thrash school hammering. The work concludes with "Deuce" (a Kiss cover), very nice and well played.

I reiterate that it is not the best album birthed from Quorthon's mind, lacking originality and at times repetitive, but it is nonetheless a step in the history of Bathory and if it had been musically more elaborate it would have received more resounding applause from critics and their fans.