Hammerheart [Original recording reissued, Import]

Bathory | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 17, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued, Import
• Label: Black Mark Germany
• ASIN: B000001H3G
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #51,468 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hammerheart, December 11, 2006

By 

Rebecca Lyle (Garland, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hammerheart (Audio CD)

First and foremost, I must address the fact that I was almost retired from writing reviews for this site. The only thing that stopped me from doing so was this album, plain and simple. It's very important that if a piece of music exists that is, well, this important, then it is your absolute duty as a listener to help make others aware! This album is honestly that good. Those of you that have heard very little of Bathory's work probably know that Bathory was, at first, a black metal project. Their self-titled debut showcased great talent and basically gave birth to the black metal style (shreiking vocals, thundering drums, tremolo guitar picking, etc.). As many have noted, throughout releases Quorothon progressed as a songwriter and eventually took a huge turn in his songwriting. This is most noted with "Blood Fire Death", an album that has been noted as the very first "Viking Metal" album. Though "Blood Fire Death" was epic in its own right, I still feel it had the "black metal" feel that was presented most notably in previously albums. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying "Blood Fire Death" was a black metal album, I'm simply saying that he was still a little early in the transitional period. After "Blood Fire Death" comes "Hammerheart". I can't say enough good things about this album. Most of the vocals are done clean and sound magnificent. I'm not saying that Quorothon is a great singer. As a matter of fact, he's actually a little below average with his range, but the fact remains that he puts so much passion in what he's saying, you'll barely notice the lacking vocals. All instruments play their parts perfectly. I believe that there is only one word that can do justice to the songwriting in this album, that word is epic. Another element that sets this album apart from many many others, past, present and future, is the lyrics. The lyrics are absolutely stunning and are included in the booklet. I could go on and on about how great this album is, but I highly doubt any of you fellow shoppers have the time to read about it. Basically, I'm just going to say that if you're lucky enough to be looking at this page and don't own this album, do yourself a favor and pick it up!

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's the Vikings!!!, March 20, 2003

By 

Ilker Yucel "Kryptych" (Annapolis, MD United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hammerheart (Audio CD)

The second in the "Viking trilogy" by legendary Swedish black-metallers Bathory. This album has to be among the most epic recordings ever in the history of metal, encompassing all the grandeur and power of the Viking forefathers and the gods of the Asatru Bathory frontman Quorthon had idolized during this period. Expanding on the themes (both lyrically and musically) established by the previous album, "Blood Fire Death," this album speaks of warriors off to battle, Gods of thunder, and the cold lands of the Nordic mountains...everything a good viking-metal album should have. Most of the songs are six minutes or longer, abundant with brutal guitar riffs, pummeling drums, and Quorthon's screams (which have taken on a cleaner approach, sounding more like singing instead of the glass-gargling screech of previous Bathory albums). He even performs a variety of choruses for background vocals, which adds an eerie and epic effect to the overall music (it's all him, but it sounds like an army of choir singers). The production is a big improvement...still not as good as bigger metal bands, but definitely steps above the first several albums. The one complaint I have about this album is the eighth track, the hidden outro...it's the exact same outro used on "Blood Fire Death." Not having heard "Twilight of the Gods" (the third in the "Viking trilogy"), I don't know if this was done to keep the three albums in a conceptual framework to tie them all together...if so, then it's okay. If not, then it's just redundant. Aside from that, "Hammerheart" is an album to end all viking-metal albums. It is a call to arms, a call to glory, and a call to Valhalla. If you are a fan of epic-sized grand-scale metal, listen ot Bathory's "Hammerheart." You won't be disappointed.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A few things you should know about 'Hammerheart', January 4, 2010

By 

Edward Waverley - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hammerheart (Audio CD)

Metal doesn't get any better than this *stunning* tribute to the Northern archetype and the freedom it entails.

From the opening grandeur of 'Shores in Flames' and 'Valhalla', Quorthon turns to a more quotidian, personalised account of Norse existence, with 'Baptised in Fire and Ice' and 'Father to Son' exalting the bonds of blood and nature that tied ancient pagan communities together. The latter has blatently nationalist lyrics, which would probably have moralists expressing 'concern' if released today. But for all the efforts of the vampires of the Guardian (a bourgeois UK paper) to sink their pale teeth into metal, PC will never have any place in this form of music. It's amusing when 'AntiFa' punks try to judge metal by the same standards as their own repressive scene...'Hammerheart' will continue to inspire when such paltry souls have crumbled into dust. These punks will never understand that true nationalism means loving your own, not hating others. And nor will 'genre metallers' (looking for their latest fix of 'brutal technical' or 'tr00 kvlt') find much to interest them in Bathory's later work.

'Hammerheart' stands forever beyond modern dogmas - it lives in the old freedom of the North, which Tolkien called "the free days of old" and which C.S. Lewis described as "a vision of huge, clear spaces hanging above the Atlantic in the endless twilight of Northern summer...remoteness, severity." Quorthon pays tribute to this Northern spirit explicitly on 'Home of Once Brave', but the entire album is saturated in a spirit of pure northernness.

This is Bathory's greatest album, and Quorthon's most priceless legacy. Having created this stunning masterpiece, he can sleep well indeed.