Blood Fire Death is the fourth album by Bathory, which continued the transition towards more epic songwriting begun on the band's previous album. It is often considered to be the first work in the Viking metal genre, and it is also considered by many fans to be Bathory's finest work. The ninth track is not included on the cassette release.

The lyrics to "The Golden Walls of Heaven" and "Dies Irae" are acrostics: the first letters of each line form phrases, namely "SATAN" (repeated 8 times) and "CHRIST THE BASTARD SON OF HEAVEN," respectively.

The lyrics to "For All Those Who Died" were taken from a poem by Erica Jong, first published in her book, Witches (1981).

The 1999 and 2004 re-issue of the album In The Nightside Eclipse by Emperor contains a cover of "A Fine Day to Die", recorded during the Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk sessions. Later, Ihsahn, Emperor's frontman, covered "For All Those Who Died" with his wife Ihriel in their joint project Peccatum on The Moribund People.

Track listing

1. "Odens Ride over Nordland" – 2:59
2. "A Fine Day to Die" – 8:35
3. "The Golden Walls of Heaven" – 5:22
4. "Pace 'till Death" – 3:39
5. "Holocaust" – 3:25
6. "For All Those Who Died" – 4:57
7. "Dies Irae" – 5:11
8. "Blood Fire Death" – 10:28
9. "Outro" – 0:58

Credits

• Quorthon – electric guitar, percussion, vocals, lyrics
• Kothaar – bass guitar
• Vvornth – drums
• Peter Nicolai Arbo – album cover painting, The Wild Hunt of Odin (Åsgårdsreien)
• Pelle Matteus – photography

Notes and references