As a big Bathory fan, this is a must. With such raw masterpieces of early black metal like Total Destruction and Winds of Mayhem, the sophomore outing of Bathory is just as important as the first. Although not as brilliant as the following Under The Sign Of the Black Mark, this has some cool black metal songs on it.
As with any Bathory release, there is hardly any production to speak of, but the only thing you miss is the drums, so it's not too bad...
There are quite a few songs on here, and so they are all in the sam evein. Songs like born For Burning and Total Destruction are the best though, as well as Possessed and The Return Of Darkness And Evil. Nice speed, and lovely proto-black metal screamy voice make this a nostalgic release of a time when there wasn't much around like this, I mean this is from 1985, and other stuff coming out then as good as this were Possessed's second album, Beyond the gates, To Mega-Therion by celtic Frost, and not even Reign in Blood or Scream Bloody Gore had come out yet!!
One of the albums that spawned an entire genre, Bathory is an institution unto itself, and recent reports suggest that the next album is out in May!! Long live Bathory!!
