Hammerheart is the fifth studio album by Swedish extreme metal band Bathory. It continued the previous album Blood Fire Death's transition away from black metal to what became recognized as Viking metal, and is considered a cornerstone work of the genre.[1] A music video was made for "One Rode to Asa Bay."
| Hammerheart | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 16 April 1990 | |||
| Recorded | June – August 1989 | |||
| Studio | Heavenshore Studio in Stockholm, Sweden | |||
| Genre | Viking metal | |||
| Length | 55:46 | |||
| Label | Noise | |||
| Producer | Boss Forsberg and Quorthon | |||
| Bathory chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background and composition
The song "Hammerheart" consists of the second theme in Gustav Holst's Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity.
Quorthon dedicated the song "One Rode to Asa Bay", about the Christianization of Scandinavia, to C. Dean Andersson, who had earlier sent some of his books to Quorthon. The village's name in the song, Asa Bay, comes from the pseudonym Asa Drake which Andersson used in some of his books.[2]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Shores in Flames" | 11:07 |
| 2. | "Valhalla" | 9:33 |
| 3. | "Baptised in Fire and Ice" | 7:57 |
| 4. | "Father to Son" | 6:28 |
| 5. | "Song to Hall Up High" | 2:30 |
| 6. | "Home of Once Brave" | 6:43 |
| 7. | "One Rode to Asa Bay" | 9:09 |
| 8. | "Outro" | 0:23 |
All tracks are written by Quorthon
The 2003 remastered edition combines tracks 5 and 6.
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 8/10[3] |
AllMusic called the album an "unqualified triumph for the pioneering Swedish act."[1]
Personnel
Bathory
- Quorthon – lead and backing vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, keyboards, synthesizers, special effects
- Kothaar – bass guitar
- Vvornth – drums, percussion
- The credited names "Kothaar" and "Vvornth" are pseudonyms used by various guest studio musicians, who played anonymously on several Bathory albums from 1988–1996.
Production
- Black Mark Production – executive production
- Quorthon – arrangement
- Quorthon and Tomas "Boss" Forsberg – production, recording, mixing
- Black Mark Production – publishing
- Julia Schechner – album design
- Sir Frank Dicksee – cover artwork, The Funeral of a Viking (provided by Manchester City Art Gallery)
Cultural impact
HammerHeart Brewing Co. is a brewery located in Lino Lakes, Minnesota whose name and branding was influenced by the album. According to co-founder Nathaniel Chapman, “All of our beer names are inspired by Norwegian lore and we want to keep that attitude.”[4] The themes of the brewery and its beer are focused on Norse and Celtic mythology, and heavy metal music.[5]
References
External links
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