Review by Rexorcist for Bathory - Bathory (1984)

Taking the initial fuzzy speed metal sound of Venom to the next step, Bathory made a name for himself as an essential of traditional black metal, also since he was one of the more blatantly anti-religious acts of the time.  It all started with a good practice run in developing the sound: his self-titled debut.  Now when I first heard this some time ago, I gave this four stars.  But now, I'm not so convinced.  Now I'm not really that bothered by the dated 80's metal production that overtook so many extreme acts of the time.  Thrash in general was loaded with it, and this is a blackened thrash album.  And yes, there's definitely some good thrashing here.  My major concern with the album is that these songs are short and yet extremely repetitive, becoming quite samey overtime.  Thankfully, Bathory knew what he wanted to develop AT THE TIME, and made many improvements later.  This is a catchy album with a good new vibe that worked out well, but in comparison to his later black works, this is pretty much just decent.

66/100.