Bathory, perhaps more than any other band, have become shrouded in mystery. Having stopped performing live in 1985, that absence from the stage only added to their mystique, and over the years the dividing line between fact and fiction has become extremely blurred, and even more so after 1997 when Bathory effectively became the one-man-band of Thomas Börje Forsberg (“Quorthon”). Long overdue has been a book to give a detailed, bull-free account of Sweden’s most infamous band. That account has finally arrived in the shape of From Hades To Valhalla…Bathory: The Epic Story, an extensive book that gets its first ever publication in English, and if you want the full Bathory story look no further than José Luis Cano Barrón’s tome.
Being of a contradictory nature, Quorthon often gave conflicting reports in interviews, feeding different journalists different answers to different questions which has made the compiling of From Hades To Valhalla…Bathory The Epic Story rather difficult. Yet, author José has done a great job in untangling the web, diligently researching his subject and cross checking his sources until all that is left is the hard cold facts. There has been no invention here to cover up any ambiguity. For example, there’s always been some dispute as to whether the band were influenced by Venom; I’ve always thought they were, primarily because of song titles titles such as ‘Raise The Dead’ and ‘Sacrifice’ (along with the cover of Bathory) which sailed a tad too close to Newcastle’s finest. From Hades To Valhalla doesn’t give a conclusive answer, but the evidence is presented in an impartial manner with final judgement left to the reader.
Written in flowing prose, this is a very readable account that creates a definite sense of time and place. If you grew up anywhere near the ‘80s and in those pre-internet days when discovering new, heavy music was as much trial as error, then you’ll recognise yourself in the pages of this book. Aside from the prose, the book is also very well designed; it’s a joy to hold and it is very pleasing on the eye (despite the occult imagery) and is full of pictures and rare sketches of band logos that will have Bathory aficionados salivating. In fact, so full is this book that it feels far bigger than its mere 160 pages. An exhaustive and complete discography (including bootlegs and compilations) makes a fitting coda and concludes the most comprehensive Bathory book.
Separating the man from the myth, this is a fitting tribute to a true pioneer of extreme music. I doubt if we’ll ever see a book like this, or a man like Quorthon, ever again.
- From Hades To Valhalla…Bathory: The Epic Story is released via Pagan Records on 29th May 2024.
