Review by Ben for Bathory - Blood Fire Death (1988)

Now here's a classic! Blood Fire Death is the last black metal album that Bathory would release and it was a ripper. First things first. Oden Rides Over Nordland is one of the absolute greatest intros to any album ever and when combined with A Fine Day to Die makes for a cracking opening to the album. Secondly, the artwork is fantastic and suits the epic scale of the album perfectly.

There are a few other classics on here as well with the shredding intensity of Dies Irae and the monstrous pre-Viking Metal era title track of particular note. The only downer is that there are (as is typical of Bathory albums) a couple of tracks that don't match the standard of everything else involved. In this case it's Pace Till Death and Holocaust. While these are still decent tracks, they make for a slightly less than perfect album. Still, if you like black metal, you’ve got to have this album! It's a shame Quorthon left this style behind from this point on. But then, he wouldn't have created the wonderful Hammerheart that followed shortly afterwards.