Bathory - Blood Fire Death

1988 release for Scandinavian black metal act. Eight tracks including, 'Odens Ride Over Nordland', 'A Fine Day To Die', 'The Golden Walls Of Heaven' & 'Pace 'Til Death'. Album Description

Not the Black Mark verison

Like the other 1 star reviews this is just for the fact that this is not the Black Mark "666" issue.The bonus song is the one minute or so of the low groaning/chant sound that ends other bathory CD's.On the good side the songs match the Table of contents unlike some of the Black Mark Cd's.The cover work for Odin's Wild Hunt is off color and no CD information.The other side of the cover is black.This is a not a bootleg and if you buy a used copy of the Black Mark reissue listed in Amazon make sure it isn't a Kraze Manufactured CD. August 4, 2008

Don't buy the Kraze Records version

I feel bad leaving a one-star review for an album that really is great, but I have to echo the previous commenter about the poor quality of the Kraze Records album available here on Amazon. The production quality of this cd is extremely low: bad sound, poorly scanned art, no album information, etc. The sound is really inexcusable. I hope no other metal fan buys this album from Kraze. The albums available from Black Mark are the way to go. Bottom line: great album, but this version is the pits. April 17, 2008

Great Album HORRIBLE sound quality!

This album is great, but the sound is crummy! Avoid this version released by "Kraze" records. Seek out the official release by BLACK MARK. There was no booklet and no factory seal, the whole packaging looks like a bootleg to be quite frank. Like I said the sound is "fuzzy"/"muddled" and not in a good kvlt BM way, but in a crummy bootleg sounding way. Hey Amazon, your customers deserve better! AVOID! April 8, 2008

If this is Bathory at their best... not my cup of tea

"A Fine Day to Day" and "For all those who died" are very good and memorable black metal tunes. My problem is that the rest of the CD is forgettable IMO. I will try a few other CDs by Bath before I give em up. March 21, 2008

A Metal Masterpiece!

The legendary fourth album by Bathory, Blood Fire Death begins in very subdued fashion, with acoustic strumming and melodic chanting, before breaking into the heavy stuff, which consists of great, powerful riffs, a medium paced, driving beat, and vocals somewhere between the fully blackened of Bathory's past and the cleaner approach on later albums, such as Hammerheart.

The pace picks up on "The Golden Walls of Heaven," and the guitar is less about riffing and more about wailing away. Album highlight "Pace 'Till Death" follows, one of the more aggressive tracks, which bleeds right into "Holocaust," such that any line between the two songs isn't noticeable. Slower, heavier riffs return on "For All Those Who Died," and this is really a style that Bathory does very well. The riffs remain compelling, and just grab your attention in a way that most bands cannot do, and I have difficulty explaining it, as the riffs aren't necessarily complex, but they just work so well with the music that you have to listen.

But the real highlight of the album is the driving title track "Blood Fire Death," which caps off the album at a good ten minutes in length.

I honestly can't say for certain what about this album appeals to me. I listen to very little black metal, which is where Bathory's roots lay, and there's no doubt that follow-up Hammerheart is much more accessible, but something about this album is very attractive. It blends the driving, riff approach of later records with the more aggressive approach of earlier ones, and clearly marks the transition between black metal and what would become viking metal. But at this moment, before Bathory is completely different, the sound takes on elements of both in a very powerful blending of styles.

A shame that there will be no more.

RIP Quorthon
1966-2004 February 2, 2008

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