"Quorthon: In nomine satanas"
Tomas Ace Forsberg a.k.a Quorthon was a Swedish musician who founded the pioneering extreme metal band Bathory. He was formerly called Ace Shot and Black Spade before settling down to the name Quorthon. He composed music and wrote lyrics on all of Bathory's records. He served as a guitarist and front-man in Bathory for a long period of time before taking control of Bathory's entire music. He also released 3 solo albums in which he experimented with different sounds, displaying his versatility and unveiling a whole new side of him. He is worshiped by extreme musicians, most importantly for revolutionizing the sound of black metal which helped the genre to prosper. Also because Bathory along with bands like Heavy load and Manowar coined a new sub-genre called Viking metal, a genre constituting elements of black and folk metal.
Quorthon was born on February 17, 1966 in Sweden. He formed Bathory in 1983 in the suburb of Vallingby. Bathory was named after the ill-famed Hungarian countess, Elizabeth Bathory. Bathory's successful run began when they were included in the compilation album by Scandinavian metal bands through Tyfon Grammofon as a last minute replacement. Unexpectedly, they drew a lot of attention and won the hearts of many listeners. So as fan favorites, the record label asked them to record a full-length album. Quorthon recruited Rickard Bergman and Stefen Larsson as Bathory's bassist and drummer respectively to replace former members Fredrik Melander and Jonas Akerlund who had already moved away. They released their debut album "Bathory" in October 1984. By that time, Bathory had been doing live shows sporadically but Quorthon completely stopped playing live after a few because he didn't feel it right. Bathory released altogether 12 full-length albums before Quorthon's departure including a number of compilation albums.
Quorthon, before releasing his solo albums, had gained an ominous image which he puts as "the baby-eating, blood-drinking God of the bat cave". But it became evident through his solo albums and interviews that he was indeed nothing like people pictured him before. He loved reading books, painting and riding his Harley. To not much astonishment, he was anti-social and as he puts, didn't give a fuck about society. He had an open-minded taste in music and his ears weren't limited to just extreme genres.
Everything Quorthon touched turned into gold, whether it was black metal or viking metal. A lot of black, folk and viking metal bands sight Bathory as their main inspiration and the reasons for that are many. Most notable black metal bands like Mayhem, Darkthrone, Immortal, Burzum, Horna, etc were influenced by the sound of Bathory. Second wave black metal in particular has much to do with Bathory's sound and image. Bathory was an original act throughout its existense, Quorthon being the brain behind all the deeds. Whether it was that raw, low production sound or that mythical, epic viking sound, Bathory inspired extreme music in both ways.
On June 7 2004, Quorthon died in his apartment due to heart failure. It was speculated that he had been battling with heart problems for years then. He was such an intelligent, multi- talented musician with gifted music skills. He will forever be remembered as black metal would've been soulless without Bathory.
A tribute album named "In conspiracy with Satan- A tribute to Bathory" was released through No Fashion records in 1998 to honour the works of Quorthon in Bathory. The 15 tracked album consists of bands like Marduk, Lord Belial, Opthalamia, Dark Funeral, Emperor, Satyricon and many more. In Memory of Quorthon, which contained a box set of 3 CDs, a DVD, a poster and a 174 page booklet was released in 2006 by "Boss" Forsberg which featured Bathory's history, discography and background from the first recordings.
Born on: 17th February, 1966
Birthplace: Sweden
Band(s) involved: Bathory, Stridskuk, Agnosticum
Passed on: 7th June, 2004
Cause of death: Heart failure
Quorthon, before releasing his solo albums, had gained an ominous image which he puts as "the baby-eating, blood-drinking God of the bat cave". But it became evident through his solo albums and interviews that he was indeed nothing like people pictured him before. He loved reading books, painting and riding his Harley. To not much astonishment, he was anti-social and as he puts, didn't give a fuck about society. He had an open-minded taste in music and his ears weren't limited to just extreme genres.
Everything Quorthon touched turned into gold, whether it was black metal or viking metal. A lot of black, folk and viking metal bands sight Bathory as their main inspiration and the reasons for that are many. Most notable black metal bands like Mayhem, Darkthrone, Immortal, Burzum, Horna, etc were influenced by the sound of Bathory. Second wave black metal in particular has much to do with Bathory's sound and image. Bathory was an original act throughout its existense, Quorthon being the brain behind all the deeds. Whether it was that raw, low production sound or that mythical, epic viking sound, Bathory inspired extreme music in both ways.
On June 7 2004, Quorthon died in his apartment due to heart failure. It was speculated that he had been battling with heart problems for years then. He was such an intelligent, multi- talented musician with gifted music skills. He will forever be remembered as black metal would've been soulless without Bathory.
A tribute album named "In conspiracy with Satan- A tribute to Bathory" was released through No Fashion records in 1998 to honour the works of Quorthon in Bathory. The 15 tracked album consists of bands like Marduk, Lord Belial, Opthalamia, Dark Funeral, Emperor, Satyricon and many more. In Memory of Quorthon, which contained a box set of 3 CDs, a DVD, a poster and a 174 page booklet was released in 2006 by "Boss" Forsberg which featured Bathory's history, discography and background from the first recordings.
Born on: 17th February, 1966
Birthplace: Sweden
Band(s) involved: Bathory, Stridskuk, Agnosticum
Passed on: 7th June, 2004
Cause of death: Heart failure
HAIL QUORTHON!
ReplyDeleteHail Quorthon!!! The body maybe dead,but the magic lives on.��
ReplyDeleteREST IN POWER QUORTHON, THE VISIONARY & LEGEND
ReplyDeleteHAIL QUORTHON !
ReplyDeleteQuorthon's legacy will outlive all of us.
ReplyDeleteforever and ever he is in our heart , he is immortal and his soul around us
ReplyDelete