Blood Fire Death
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Piero Scaruffi | 5.5/10[2] |
Blood Fire Death is the fourth studio album by Swedish extreme metal band Bathory. It was released on 8 October 1988, through Music for Nations sublabel, Under One Flag. The album, although mostly black metal, includes some of the first examples of Viking metal.[1]
Background and recording
The lyrics to "The Golden Walls of Heaven" and "Dies Irae" are acrostics: the first letters of each line spell out words, namely "SATAN" (repeated eight times) and "CHRIST THE BASTARD SON OF HEAVEN".
The lyrics to "For All Those Who Died" were taken from a poem by Erica Jong, first published in her book Witches (1981),[3] while first three verses of "A Fine Day to Die" are taken from "Cassilda's Song" of Robert W. Chambers' "The King in Yellow".
The front cover comes from the painting Åsgårdsreien (1872) by Peter Nicolai Arbo.
Track listing
All tracks are written by Quorthon
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Odens Ride Over Nordland" | 2:59 |
| 2. | "A Fine Day to Die" | 8:35 |
| 3. | "The Golden Walls of Heaven" | 5:22 |
| 4. | "Pace 'til Death" | 3:39 |
| 5. | "Holocaust" | 3:25 |
| 6. | "For All Those Who Died" | 4:57 |
| 7. | "Dies Irae" | 5:11 |
| 8. | "Blood Fire Death" | 10:28 |
| 9. | "Outro" | 0:58 |
| Total length: | 45:41 | |
Note: The "Outro" is not listed on the cover, and is not included on the cassette release.
Critical reception
In 2009, IGN included Blood Fire Death in their "10 Great Black Metal Albums" list.[4]
Credits
- Quorthon – guitar and vocals
- Vvornth – drums
- Kothaar – bass
- Peter Nicolai Arbo – album cover painting, The Wild Hunt of Odin (Åsgårdsreien)
- Pelle Matteus – sleeve photography
References
- ^ a b Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Blood Fire Death - Bathory : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards : AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
- ^ Scaruffi, Piero. "The History of Rock Music. Bathory: biography, discography, review, links". scaruffi.com. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
- ^ "TheLeftHandPath.com - On Jos. A. Smith's illustrations for Witches + A statement from Black Mark Records". thelefthandpath.com. 16 April 2008. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
- ^ Ramirez, Carlos (6 January 2009). "10 Great Black Metal Albums – IGN". ign.com. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
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