Bathory - Under the Sign of the Black Mark

Under the Sign of the Black Mark is, in a few words, a poorly done transition between The Return and Blood, Fire, Death. There are elements from both eras, but they are poorly executed and to be honest, the entire album reeks of the very same popular music tropes Bathory challenged with The Return. With Under the Sign of the Black Mark, Quorthon brings forth his third album of ultra-primitive black metal into the spotlight by taming its style towards that of conventional rock music, with more catchy and conclusive choruses and slightly more technique and gimmickry.

Obvious and predictable songwriting aside, the riffs themselves aren't that strong, the atmospheres are few and far in between, and overall, Under the Sign of the Black Mark does nothing The Return and Blood, Fire, Death don't do better. Is it a bad album? It depends. Is it influential? No. As mentioned, Under the Sign of the Black Mark is a regression towards rock 'n' roll, or at the very least more traditional heavy metal in the vein of Motörhead, but it can in no way be seen as an influence on the black and death metal scenes, particularly when The Return was released only two years prior.

Bathory's weakest, and most overrated, album.

Back to Bathory