Bathory - The Return

One tends to notice that of the early Bathory records, the self-titled debut and the overrated Under The Sign of the Black Mark get the most praise, while The Return, Bathory's actual masterpiece and quite possibly the first true black metal album ever recorded, gets all but ignored. That's because most people only compare and judge superficial aesthetics, so the flaws of Under the Sign of the Black Mark appear minor when they are anything but, and the brilliance and importance of an album like The Return doesn't even register as it 'doesn't sound like black metal'.

On The Return, most of the unfortunate speed metal influences that plagued the first album are gone. As mentioned, even calling this proto-black metal like with do with Slayer or Hellhammer is a misnomer, as The Return IS black metal. Those claiming this album has less in common with Burzum and Neraines than with Celtic Frost are, once again, only judging superficial aesthetics, and not the substance of the music - which is clearly more Burzum than Venom, as even a black metal novice can tell.

Bathory's greatest, and perhaps the first black metal album ever recorded.

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