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Bathory
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Bathory was a Swedish heavy metal band, and is regarded as one of the forefathers of the black metal and viking metal genres. The band's name is taken from the infamous "blood countess," Erzsébet Báthory.
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Even this promising start was not enough to sustain Bathory's momentum within such limited stylistic boundaries, though, and, having exhausted the possibilities rudimentary Black Metal with the first two albums, Quorthon realized that a creative facelift was now necessary. Sure enough, over the course of their third and fourth efforts, 1987's Under the Sign of the Black Mark and 1988's Blood Fire Death, Bathory re-focused its interests, away from rock and roll-based arrangements and towards a more purely European aesthetic. Besides incorporating symphonic elements drawn from classical music into their black and death metal, Quorthon's pseudo-band slowly abandoned most of the rote satanic/Christian-bashing lyrics of yore to embrace pagan themes and Viking mythology of his ancestors. This anthemic approach culminated in what many consider to be Bathory's finest hour, 1990's landmark concept opus Hammerheart. Not so much a quantum leap, the album actually represented an entirely new proposition in comparison to the band's humble origins, and provided the archetype for 1991's equally revered Twilight of the Gods. Confirming the impact of this vision, these two works helped ignite a surge of patriotism through music for countless Scandinavian youths to celebrate their cultural heritage.
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The first signs of what was to follow appeared on what some fans consider to be Bathory's best album: Blood Fire Death, where on some of the tracks the pace had slowed down to allow for a more epic songwriting approach. It was ... here that the Viking theme was introduced. Most of the musical elements of Black Metal were still present, however. It was with the release of Hammerheart that Bathory surprised many of its fans. The style had now drastically changed towards less aggressive, more epic and atmospheric music; the lyrics dealt with themes about Vikings and Scandinavia's Norse mythology. The album also featured the usage of the "triplet gallop beat", which has its roots in bands like Manowar (Different than the more steady gallop of Bands like Iron Maiden, albums like Manowar's Into Glory Ride foreshadow Bathory's later direction).
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Bathory was born in 1560 to a well-established family. Her family had produced many powerful people in her time, including the Kings of Transylvania and Poland. She was married off for political reasons to Count Ferencz Nadasdy. Before the marriage took place she became pregnant with a child from a peasant. She was taken away to a family castle under the excuse that she was sick. She had a daughter, which was given away.
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Credited as being one of the first Black Metal bands, Bathory was formed by Quorthon. Early albums include "Under The Sign of the Black Mark," "Requiem," "Hammerheart," and others. Bathory owns you. Early in 2004, Quorthon died from heart failure.
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Bathory began her sadistic activities with her maids, but soon began to seek other means to ensure a steady supply, as most of her victims did not live long and she killed multiple women every week. Left to her own devices after the death of her husband and supported by a few loyal servants, Bathory is said to have employed a number of procuresses and to have induced young female members of the lower gentry to stay at her castle in the search for victims. In 1610, the parish priest of Cachtice and monks living in Vienna complained to the Viennese courts about the cries emanating from Bathory's castle. When her estate was investigated, she was caught in the act of torture and numerous dead victims were found.
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Bathory