Bathory - Blood Fire Death (October 8, 1988)

[metalcore]

25 years ago today, the madness was unleashed.

[hell]

Dies Irae

Creed of eternal life I swore
Held my candle of life to the void
Risen from the dead I deaths powers wed
In the name of the one with horns on head
Sleep of eternity withdrawn as dark upon
The life of mine drew the very end so near

The price another life the gospel of the
Horned one to spread shore to shore
Eternally his words let hear

Be silent listen to the wind crying out the
Answer to all mankind call from other
Side speach of horned divine
To end your search in hope to find
As sure night divides the day and as sure day divides the night
Raging flames is allthat awaits us on the other side
Doomed the very moment he calls

See his star ablaze his children
On the night the flames reach for the sky
Night is comed to enter the never ending burning fire

Onto you all his word is given
Fear not reach to take his hand

Hear our master calling us his children
Eternal life is given death withdrawn
As wolves among sheep we have wandered
Victory lies beyond their spit and scorn
Even the heavens shall burn when we are gathered
Now when the flames reach for the sky

Dies Irae

[aquarius]

Hard to believe this is 25 years old, and even that 1993 is now 20 years ago.

[ChapelOfTorment]

Hard to believe this is 25 years old, and even that 1993 is now 20 years ago.

Not really for me. I mean, I'm a few months younger than this album, so that might be part of it, but something about this album always seemed ancient and timeless to me. From the first time I heard the Emperor cover version, that riff set after the initial acoustic section in "A Fine Day to Die" felt familiar yet distant to me, like I heard the melody in a previous life or something.

This album does tend to get bogged down in the middle with sounding a bit too much like generic thrash at times, but at its best, something about this album activates something deep inside my genetic memory. Not many other albums do that, at least not to the extent this one does. Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism and Thousand Swords come to mind in this regard, and both of those albums were heavily influenced by Bathory's 1988 opus.

[metalcore]

Modern black metal recipe. Add up the highlights of the past generation.

Hellhammer "Apocalyptic Raids"
Sarcofago "INRI"
Bathory "The Return"
Bathory "Blood Fire Death"
Slayer "South of Heaven"
Mercyful Fate "Don't Break the Oath"

[trystero]

that riff set after the initial acoustic section in "A Fine Day to Die" felt familiar yet distant to me, like I heard the melody in a previous life or something.

Same here, a lot of classic metal, especially European bands, have that familiar feel to their melodies and riffs. It is the same expression, the same music that mankind (or at least Indo-European derived populations) have been making forever.