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We received these covers with seam splits from shipping. See the above image.
Bathory was formed in Stockholm in 1983. The band was founded by Quorthon, a seventeen-year-old guitarist, who was joined by bassist Hanoi and drummer Vans. After going through several name changes—starting with Nosferatu, then Natas, Mephisto, Elizabeth Bathory, and Countess Bathory—they eventually settled on the name Bathory.
That same year, Quorthon secured a recording opportunity with Tyfon Grammofon, convincing the label's owner to include two Bathory tracks on the Scandinavian Metal Attack compilation. These recordings garnered unexpected attention from fans.[citation needed] Impressed by the response, Tyfon Grammofon soon approached Quorthon to record a full-length album.
Although Venom's Black Metal (1982) was the first record to coin the term, it was Bathory’s early albums—with their Satanic lyrics, lo-fi production, and inhuman vocal style—that helped define the black metal genre. While many fans have speculated that Venom influenced Bathory, Quorthon stated in a 1985 interview with Kick Ass magazine that he had not heard of Venom until after the first Bathory album was released. He also expressed a general dislike for many of the era’s popular heavy metal bands, including Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. Instead, he cited Black Sabbath, Motörhead, and punk rock as the primary influences behind Bathory’s early sound.
Bathory’s self-titled debut album, followed by The Return… and Under the Sign of the Black Mark, are now considered seminal works that influenced the rise of Norwegian black metal in the early 1990s, helping to shape the genre’s musical evolution and expanding its global reach.
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