Bathory: Under the Sign of the Black Mark

Black metal has a very murky history. Beginning with demonic inspired thrash and evolving into actual demonic worship, the history and culture surrounding the genre make for an interesting read to say the least. Now, when I’m asked to recommend a few albums of “quintessential” black metal,  I always point to a handful of albums. Among those albums, “Under the Sign of the Black Mark” is always near the top (as is “Bathory”). Why? Well, for starters, aside from this being an incredible listen, which we’ll get into shortly, this album, in my opinion, would be Bathory’s purest attempt at black metal ever. As it began, “Bathory” was an excellent display of blackened thrash metal with evil riffs and dark ideals. “The Return…” saw a little more thrash exude from their sound, but was no less evil in nature. “Under the Sign of the Black Mark” however, shifts to the black metal sound that most will associate with the genre. But, there’s a twist. What makes “Under the Sign of the Black Mark” so special (and the band in general for that matter) is that, even though the music on display here is indeed black metal, it has such many layers to its sound that makes it so much more than just black metal by definition.

The sound on “Under the Sign of the Black Mark” can only be described as intently above and beyond. I don’t just mean in your face, blasting noise that will burst your ear drums and leave your neck broken from too much headbanging (which is still possible), rather a complex mixture of sounds, styles and emotions. Quorthon unleashes his creativity like never before on this album, which as stated before, would help develop the truest sound of black metal. A sound that bands to this day still incorporate into their own (every time I listen to the band Countess, I think of “Call from the Grave”). However, what makes this album a true masterpiece is just how varied the sounds are layered throughout the album. This isn’t just a tremolo pick fest that morphs into one long winded song. This is black metal with catchy riffs, seamless rhythms and well executed solos. That alone, especially at the time, made this an anomaly of sorts, but it doesn’t stop there. The addition of Viking chanting displayed on “13 Candles” or the doomy (Viking I suppose) lead on “Enter the Eternal Fire” or the short, but spastic thrash riffs shown on “Chariots of Fire” show just how much creativity went into the song writing for this album.

I thought the production on “The Return…” saw great improvement, but on this album, it is even better. Somehow, all the instruments and sounds are able to stand out on their own, but, to my ear the drums seem to have been brought to the forefront of the sound. This offers a unique experience, as they don’t take away from the rest of the sound, but they demand your attention as they establish their importance to the flow of the music itself. You could argue that the drums on “Under the Sign of the Black Mark” are easily the driving force to the overall sound, a force that in and of themselves add their own layer to the music, but in the end help bring everything together.

“Under the Sign of the Black Mark’s” legacy will forever be set in stone as, not only one of the forefathers of true black metal, but it would also serve as the beginning of Quorthon’s journey into discovering another sound that he would go on to pioneer and mold: Viking Metal (more of a description rather than a gene, but we’ll get into that on a later date). I recommend this album every time I’m asked about black metal, as it should, but it will almost always be mentioned in the “top x” metal albums of all time as well and rightfully so. Enough’s enough. Go listen to this album if you haven’t already instead of reading about it.

Highlights: “13 Candles” “Enter the Eternal Fire” “Call from the Grave”

Rating: 5