“Twilight of the Gods” is often considered Bathory’s magnum opus in terms of their Viking metal era and although I still favor “Hammerheart”, I won’t disagree with the statement. This album is the culmination of everything Quorthon had been dabbling with ever since “Blood Fire Death”. The use of the thick guitar riffs, pounding drums, chants, acoustic guitars and folk elements are nothing new, but here, they sound so in tune with the narrative of the album, that I would say it is his most complete effort. In addition, Quorthon’s vocals seem to have improved overall. I’m not sure if he just simply discovered his range or if he sought any type of coaching, but it sounds very clean and on point.
The album opens with the 14-minute epic “Twilight of the
Gods”, a song that displays the aforementioned elements into a wonderful
experience. “To Enter Your Mountain” and “Through Blood by Thunder” are not as
long or on the scale of epic, but are equally as entertaining and show solid
song writing to create the Viking/folk atmosphere Quorthon sought. The one
thing I will say against this album is that the repetitiveness of the riffs
seem to drag on in certain songs. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but at
times I felt that perhaps a few seconds shaved off here and there may have
allowed songs like “To Enter Your Mountain” reach their climax more promptly. At
the end of the day, Viking metal fans will no doubt want to give this a listen,
but metal fans in general shouldn’t miss out on such a landmark release.
Highlights: “Through Blood by Thunder” “Twilight of the Gods”
“To Enter Your Mountain”
Rating: 4
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