Search - Bathory :: Destroyer of Worlds

Bathory's best

ceffalo | 06/12/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Destroyer of Worlds is a great album. I do not understand the remarks of another listener who thinks the album is crap. It certainly isn't. This is one of the best metal albums I've ever heard. Ok, the vocals aren't that great, but they accent this album perfectly. The production is a bit unpolished and the sound could possible use adjustment. Nevertheless, the finished product is utterly enjoyable metal music. The opener, "Lake of Fire", has a slow cadence but has a strong and heavy sound. Next comes that album's title song. Heavy bass and very heavy guitar come from that one, not to mention some of the best drumming I've ever heard. "Destroyer of Worlds" is a great song. True metal. The next track, "Ode", is a brilliant song complete with thunder. It starts on a slow and compelling acoustic journey and builds into heavy, thunderous wall of sound. "Pestilence" is a fast tempo, almost thrashy kind of song with superb soloing. Following it is "Bleeding", a slow and heavy song that hits like a hammer on anvil. Then, "109" comes at you with the pursuit of a WWII interceptor fighter plane which melds into the thrashiest song on the album. That song segues perfectly into the blistering "Death from Above." The song is pure adrenaline. Following that is "Kill, Kill, Kill." This song is very much like what you might hear from "Motorhead." It is strong and clever. Next is the heavy, heavy "Liberty and Justice." If you can stand the weight of this heavy metal you will be thoroughly entertained. Then there is "Krom." It begins with a nice bass intro that leads into a terrific thrasher. "Sudden Death" is a good and heavy bass driven song. Following that is "White Bones" with a terrific electric guitar intro that leads into another very heavy song. And last, but certainly not least, is the epic "Day of Wrath." It begins on a slow march to doom, melds into a heavy, heavy song which has a sudden cut off at about the 7 minute mark. It is so sudden that you might wonder if your CD player has failed.



IMO, there are few weak points on this album. It is filled with great heavy metal music and I consider "Destroyer of Worlds" to be a rival to Metallica's "Master of Puppets" for greatest metal album ever made."

One of the BEST Bathory albums -- Believe it

- Durrkk | Ohio/PA border USA | 06/03/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Before I got this recording when it was released in 2001 I had heard a lot of so-so reviews. People were saying that there was definitely a lot of good material on it, but there was also a lot of bad. Many also derided the less-than-polished production.

When I finally heard it I loved it! After hearing it several times, I then read the lyrics while listening to it again. The lyrical themes are great. "Destroyer of Worlds" is an ominous song about the birth of the atomic bomb, "Pestilence" is about the black death pandemic, while "Liberty & Justice" is a scathing commentary on the negative elements of American society (although I could do without the hockey song "Sudden Death").



My favorite Bathory recording is, of course, HAMMERHEART. I would have to rank this as my second or third favorite. I didn't really know what to expect after the disappointing OCTAGON (Bathory's previous studio outing), so I was pleased when DESTROYER assaulted my ears.



I admit the production is raw, but it certainly won't detract from a person's enjoyment of the recording (besides it's far better than the production on, say, Emperor's IN THE NIGHTSIDE ECLIPSE). Rough production is a Bathory tradition anyway; in other words, it sounds like Bathory.



There are a lot of epic-style numbers and savage ominous songs in the manner of HAMMERHEART. "Lake of Tears," "Destroyer of Worlds," "Ode," "Pestilence," "Liberty & Justice," "White Bones" and "Wrath of God" are all excellent metal tunes of this sort. Quorthon also literally belts out a bunch of brief thrash/punk tunes as well like "Bleeding," "Kill, Kill, Kill" and "Death from Above." Heck, you even get a decent biker tune -- "Krom." These songs are short bursts of primal aggression, pure and simple, and are superior to the similar material on OCTAGON. Check out "Bleeding" -- it's so over the top it's GREAT. I love it!



So what we have with DESTROYER OF WORLDS is basically the best of Bathory's two worlds and Quorthon destroys in both (pun intended). This was evidently Quorthon's intention (to please fans of both styles), and he has succeeded quite well.



I would describe DESTROYER OF WORLDS as: aggressive, artistic, primal, epic, naked and unpretentious.



Here's my ranking of my favorite Bathory albums, all of which I highly recommend, starting at the top:



HAMMERHEART

DESTROYER OF WORLDS

NORDLAND I

NORDLAND II

TWILIGHT OF THE GODS

BLOOD, FIRE, DEATH



The rest I could take or (more likely) leave. But each of the above albums feature some of the greatest moments in metal and are mandatory listening for any true fan."