Of the first wave of black/death metal bands, Bathory ranks among the best with some intense songs and fantastic full-length albums while also taking a definite lo-fi approach to recording. The album quality on each of the first three records is definitely not audiophile stuff, but its at the same time a testement to what Quorthon, Bathory's sole member, saw as his type of metal. The sound would be copied almost exactly by the emerging Norwegian black metal scene in the 1990's.
The Return... is Bathory's second album and one of the first four albums that retained the same sound before Quorthon changed up the sound of Bathory and pretty much single-handedly created Viking Metal.
Like the s/t debut from Bathory, this album also starts out with a short intro track, haunting and at the same time strangely calming. In fact, there was a time I use to put this album on before I went to sleep and found myself drifting off to sleep on more than one occasion once the album looped on this track. It then launches into 'Total Destruction', a fast paced, almost pre-thrash thrash with vocals that are grating and harsh but that fit perfectly within the music and raw production style. Quorthon had his own style of singing for sure - short, choppy vocals spread out on each verse and chorus - never rushed and unique enough to make Bathory sound otherworldy.
Quorthon never lacked good material and there are a ton of great standout tracks on The Return... but it is still a comprehensive album. It is interesting to note that the quality of production actually went downhill on the first three releases - most likely on purpose - and on Bathory's next album Under the Sign of the Black Mark the production is even rougher than this effort and some songs require a few listens to even distinguish guitar tracks on them.
This is the cassette version of this great record, one that I take with me to my father's house whenever I visit as I only have a tape deck left behind in my room there. For being such an evil sounding record, its somewhat calming for me, a relaxing and pure record that remains one of my favorite efforts from the late, great Quorthon.
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