Bathory were a Swedish black metal band formed in Vällingby in March 1983. Named after Hungarian countess Elizabeth Báthory, they are considered pioneers of black metal and Viking metal. The book Lords of Chaos described Bathory's first four albums as "the blueprint for Scandinavian black metal." Acts influenced by their early records include Mayhem, Burzum, Darkthrone, Gorgoroth, Satyricon, Emperor, Dark Funeral, Enslaved, Marduk, Moonsorrow and Dimmu Borgir.
Armed and Dangerous is the first EP by American heavy metal band Anthrax, released in February 1985 through Megaforce Records. The band produced the album with Carl Canedy and Jon Zazula acting as executive producer. This is the first Anthrax release to feature Joey Belladonna on vocals, and the first Anthrax release to feature Frank Bello on bass guitar.
Thomas Börje Forsberg, better known by the stage name Quorthon, was a Swedish musician. He was one of the founders, as well as the sole songwriter, of the band Bathory, which pioneered the black metal genre and is credited with creating the Viking metal style. A multi-instrumentalist, Quorthon wrote the music and lyrics on all of Bathory's albums and performed vocals and guitars.
Hall of the Mountain King is the fourth studio album by the American heavy metal band Savatage, released in 1987 under the direction of producer Paul O'Neill. It is their first album produced by O'Neill, who was assigned to the band after the tour in support of Fight for the Rock. Through Paul O'Neill's connections, he brought in Ray Gillen of Badlands fame, then briefly fronting Black Sabbath, to perform a vocal duet at the end of "Strange Wings".
Blood on Ice is the ninth studio album by Swedish extreme metal band Bathory. It was released on 27 May 1996, through Black Mark Production. It is a concept album.
Paul Stanley is a 1978 solo album from American musician Paul Stanley, the singer-songwriter is best known for serving as the rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist of hard rock band Kiss. It was one of four solo albums released by the members of Kiss on September 18, 1978, coming out alongside Peter Criss, Ace Frehley, and Gene Simmons. It is the only release out of the four Kiss solo albums to feature all original songs, as Simmons, Criss and Frehley each recorded one cover song on their albums.
Under the Sign of the Black Mark is the third studio album by Swedish extreme metal band Bathory. It was recorded in September 1986 and released on 11 May 1987 through New Renaissance Records and Under One Flag. It was a key album in the development of the black metal genre, and greatly influenced the Norwegian black metal scene that emerged in the early 1990s.
The Return…… is the second studio album by Swedish extreme metal band Bathory. It was released on vinyl on 27 May 1985, through Combat Records in the US. The Return…… had a significant influence on developing the black metal and death metal genres.
Bathory is the debut studio album by Swedish extreme metal band Bathory. It was released in October 1984, through Tyfon Grammofon. It is considered by fans and critics to be one of the contenders for the first black metal record.
Blood Fire Death is the fourth studio album by Swedish extreme metal band Bathory. It was released on 8 October 1988, through Music for Nations sublabel, Under One Flag. The album, although mostly black metal, includes some of the first examples of Viking metal. According to the book Black Metal: Evolution of the Cult by Dayal Patterson, Blood Fire Death began a second trilogy, an era Quorthon described as the "pre-Christian Swedish Viking Era".
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. A music video was made for "One Rode to Asa Bay."
Vicious Circle is the fourth album by the American hard rock band L.A. Guns. The first single was "Long Time Dead". The band supported the album with a North American tour.
Requiem is the seventh studio album by Swedish extreme metal band Bathory. It eschews the Viking metal style of Bathory's three previous releases for a thrash metal style that recalls many of the bands that initially influenced Bathory. This album marks the return of Bathory after Quorthon put the band on hold to record his first solo album.
Octagon is the eighth studio album by Swedish extreme metal band Bathory. It was released on 17 October 1995 through Black Mark Production. It continues the retro thrash metal style of the previous album, Requiem. It was reissued in 2003, with the first two tracks combined and "Winds of Mayhem" outro added.
Erase the Slate is the seventh studio album by American heavy metal band Dokken, released in 1999. It is the only Dokken studio album to feature former Winger guitarist Reb Beach and the last one with long-time bassist Jeff Pilson.
Planet Gemini is the second studio album by American heavy metal musician Michael Angelo Batio. Recorded at M.A.C.E. Court Studios in Chicago, Illinois, it was released in 1997 by his own label M.A.C.E. Music. Batio performed the majority of instruments on the release, as well as producing, engineering and mixing the album.
In Memory of Quorthon is a box set of three audio CDs and one DVD with remastered material from Bathory, Quorthon's solo efforts, and the Jennie Tebler project.
Bring 'Em Bach Alive! is the debut solo album by Sebastian Bach, his first after his departure from Skid Row. It was released in November 1999. It is mainly a live album composed of Skid Row songs of Bach's era; however it also includes five new studio recordings which are the first five tracks on the album including the single "Superjerk, Superstar, Supertears" and the promo single "Rock 'N' Roll".
Reflections of a Shadow is the sixth full-length album by the German heavy metal band Rage. It was released in 1990. The album was remastered by Noise/Sanctuary in 2002 with slightly altered cover art, and five bonus tracks, largely taken from the EP Extended Power.
Worship of the Gods is the second full-length album by Argentine pagan metal, folk metal band Tersivel. The album was released on October 27, 2017. The album refers to Julian, also known as Julian the Apostate, who was Roman Emperor from 361 to 363. He purged the top-heavy state bureaucracy and attempted to revive traditional Roman religious practices at the expense of Christianity.
