Twenty-Five Years Ago Today, Bathory Changed Black Metal

Twenty-five years ago today, the metal world saw the release of Bathory's "Under the Sign of the Black Mark", the greatest black metal album released to date. There have been other great black metal albums since, but nothing has reached the classic status of Bathory's release twenty-five years ago. This album became the blueprint for black metal in the 1990's.

One of the main contributions to black metal was its variety. Each song on the album was unique in both style and sound but all left the listener bludgeoned. Even the groovier rock tracks like "Call From the Grave" are done with style and finesse, something all but lost with today's metallers.

Other albums came before this, but "Under the Sign of the Black Mark" almost single-handedly led to the rise of the second wave of black metal with bands like Mayhem, Burzum, Emperor and Darkthrone.

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Tags:  Bathory, Under the Sign of the Black Mark, black metal  

Jason Fisher    May 11, 2012