Nut Suite. Mini reviews of albums old and new. Minimum words. No fuss. No spoilers [?]. Occasional smugs.

Saturday, December 31, 2011

BATHORY / Twilight of the Gods (1991)

TotG continues and expands upon the Viking themed Hammerheart (1990) sound. As the title suggests, it's greatly inspired by classical compositions; he even uses Holst's Jupiter suite. It's soaring and epic in the very real sense of the word, being poetic and lengthy. The opening trilogy is one of the most beautiful pieces of music Quorthon has ever produced. Yes, beautiful, not blackly heavy. It has pounding drums and a sense of grandeur but is far removed from his usual cavernous sound. His acoustic guitar summons visions of ages past and his drums could guide longboats to distant shores. TotG was planned as the Bathory swansong album, and had that been the case, then it would've been a fitting farewell for the one-man-band that single-handedly spawned a number of genres.

Songs of Note: Twilight of the GodsThrough Blood By Thunder

5 ambitious and masterful progressions out of 5

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