First off, I would like to say that I LOVE Bathory and am glad that they finally got a tribute. I mean, this band was one of the architects of Black Metal, without Bathory the metal scene today would not look the same. I also quite liked the tribute CD itself…it’s a bunch of bands covering Bathory songs by the way.

Due to the fact that this is a V/A CD I will review each song individually (and briefly)…

Track 1: Marduk – In Conspiracy with Satan:
This track is typical Marduk, fast and raw. I’m not the world’s biggest Marduk fan, having hated ‘Panzer Division’ and ‘Fuck me Jesus’, but I really liked this track. It is probably one of Marduk’s best songs ever and a very good way to start off an album. 2:30 minutes long. Good – 8.5/10

Track 2: Ophthalamia – Sacrifice:
An annoying song from a bad band. Basically speed/thrash influenced Black Metal with a shitty singer screaming above it all; I hate music like that. The only good thing about this song is it’s length… 2:50. Poor – 4/10

Track 3: Gehenna – Reaper:
This song is completely different from the Gehenna you know and love. The music is more Trash Metal then it is Black Metal, the vocals don’t sound at all like typical Black Metal vox, and the beat is undeniably happy. Not a bad song, however, and it adds variety to this album… definitely a good thing, even if it is Thrash Metal… 2:50 minutes long. Good – 8/10

Track 4: Dark Funeral – Equimanthorn:
A very good song, much better than anything they did on ‘Vobiscum Satanas’, and a truly fitting tribute to Bathory. Typical Dark Funeral (in the best sense possible!), and quite good. With a very dark sound and well-done vox. Excellent – 9/10

Track 5: Emperor – A Fine Day to Die:
This is the best track on the CD by far, and one of my favorite Emperor songs ever! It starts off with an acoustic guitar and some pretty good clean singing/chanting… then the silence is broken by a loud riff and a scream, the way they broke the silence was nothing short of breathtaking… it’s utterly amazing, you really have to hear it to see what I mean. Besides that, the guitars are done very, very proficiently, as are the drums. Everything is extremely well produced and sounds great, and the vocals aren’t pushed to the background as they were in ‘Anthems…’ and ‘Nightside…’. Words can barely describe the majestic beauty of this masterpiece… This song alone made up for the price of the CD. I could go on writing about this song (hell, I could write a full 300 word review of this song alone!) but for the sake of brevity I will cut it short here. You must buy this CD, if only for this song. Impeccable - 10/10 (this track is also about 8 minutes long…)

Track 6: Lord Belial – Massacre:
Nothing special about this song. Completely typical Black Metal that sounds almost like an Immortal rip-off. The odd thing is that I’ve heard other songs by this band which are MUCH better than this one. It is a mystery to me why did the song like this. Don’t judge the band by this track alone, as it is not half as good as some of their other songs. A (relatively) bad song from a (relatively) good band. Average – 6/10

Track 7: The Abyss – Armageddon:
The worst song on the album, an insult to Bathory, and the worst song I’ve ever listened to in a long time. The music is simple, the drums are boring, and they have the worst singer in the world, he sounds like a 2 year old infant screaming its lungs out. I honestly can’t bring myself to listen to this song all the way through… the only use for this track would be as a method of torture. Will somebody please give the singer of this band a slap in the face the next time they see him? Complete and utter shit, to be disposed of – 0/10 (By the way, the drummer is Peter Tagtgren of Hypocrisy who is the owner of the Abyss studio…)

Track 8: Marduk – Woman of Dark Desires:
If the first song on this album was ‘one of Marduk’s best songs ever’ then this IS their best song ever. A rare display of musical talent from this band and some impressive singing coupled with great production… This is very, very different from their usual style.. Excellent – 9/10

Track 9: Nifelheim – Die in Fire:
This song is pure Thrash Metal. As with the Gehennah song, the beat is happy, the singing umm….different, and the music isn’t typical Black Metal style at all. It takes some time to get used to Hellbutcher’s singing, but it really is kinda cool once you get used to it. My only major complaint is that the riffs repeat each other over and over again, besides that, this is a good song (though it takes some getting used to). Good – 8/10

Track 10: Necrophobic – Enter the Eternal Fire:
This is one of those songs that I was prepared to hate, as I’ve heard many bad things about this band, but… I really fucking liked it. The music projects a sort of ‘evil’ atmosphere and is well-played and composed, the production is very good, and the singing is better than I expected, occasionally making use of clean vocals and deep-spoken parts. I am definitely looking forward to hearing more from this band. Very Good – 8.7/10

Track 11: Dark Funeral – Call From the Grave:
Another really good Dark Funeral song. This one is even better than the last, with better-sounding guitars and equally good production. One of the better songs on this disc… I’m just upset that Dark Funerals ‘Vobiscum Satanas’ didn’t contain songs more like this… Excellent 9.5/10

Track 12: Sacramentum – 13 Candles:
This another song that I was prepared to hate, and I was wrong again. This is a great song… I’m starting to think that Necrophobic and Sacramentum are the same band, as the music is VERY similar. Just about everything that I wrote about the Necrophobic song is applicable here as well. Very Good - 8.7/10

Track 13: Unanimated – Raise the Dead:
A good song from the well-known Black/Death crossover band. It repeats itself WAY too often, but besides that it’s not half bad. If you like this band and the style of music that they play then you will like this song. Good – 8/10

Track 14: Satyricon – Born for burning:
This song is basically built around one riff, which repeats itself over and over again for about 5 minutes. This song gets boring really fast, and it’s a shame because the riff they use is quite good… with some more riffs and a clearer song-structure it would be one hell of a song. The drums, too, are boring. Let’s just say that I expected more from Satyricon… Poor – 4/10

Track 15: War – War:
I hate this band and everything about them, their music, the image they project, and their brain-dead lyrics all annoy the hell out of me. I really can’t review this type of garbage… 0/10

Overall this is a solid collection with some good songs (and some bad ones) and a fitting tribute to Bathory. I was also pleased to hear material from Sacramentum and Necrophobic, two promising bands; I am looking forward to hearing more of them in the future. Also, Satyr (of Satyricon) seems to have as much reverence for Bathory as I do, I would like to end this with a quote…

‘ The significance of Bathory is unquestionable. For us… as fans of Bathory, the musical and lyrical magic of this tremendous act has been a great inspiration to create something on our own. We do this simply to honour something that has meant a lot to us.’ – Satyr on behalf of Satyricon

Pros: Some great tracks by great bands, nice packaging, it’s a Bathory tribute…
Cons: Some pretty crappy bands found their way onto this CD… namely Ophthalamia, The Abyss, and War .
Will likely appeal to: Anybody who likes Black Metal and also thinks that Bathory should be honoured with a tribute.

Overall: A solid collection and the good songs far outnumber the bad. Excellent - 9/10

© 2000 sauron anarazel