''The Return……'' (full title ''The Return of the Darkness and Evil'') is the second studio album by Swedish

extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...

band Bathory. It was released on 27 May 1985, through Black Mark in Sweden and

Combat Records Combat Records was an American independent record label founded in 1982 and based in New York City. The label was made specifically for heavy metal and punk rock acts. Notable artists include: Megadeth, Circle Jerks, Nuclear Assault, OZ, ...

in the US. ''The Return……'' had a significant influence on developing the

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with tr ...

and

death metal Death metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep death growl, growling vocals; aggressive ...

genres.

Background

Quorthon Thomas Börje Forsberg (17 February 1966 – 3 June 2004),Date stated in the death notice for Ace Börje Forsberg that his family put in the swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter on 23 June 2004, the death notice also included the lyrics to the Batho ...

explained the album title as such: "We wanted people to just read out ''The Return……'' – as in a second album or a follow-up – and then flip the album over to look for a tracking list. Not finding one, what they got was this apocalyptic poem with the song titles woven into it. Only after listening through the album to the end would you get the full title of the album, ''The Return of the Darkness and Evil''".

Music

The staff of ''

Invisible Oranges ''Invisible Oranges'' is an American online music magazine dedicated to heavy metal news, band interviews and album reviews. It was founded by Cosmo Lee in September 2006 shortly after emigrating from San Francisco, California, United States t ...

'' described the sound on ''The Return'' as "100% pure

Venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

worship, with everything from

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...

riffs A riff is a short, repeated motif or figure in the melody or accompaniment of a musical composition. Riffs are most often found in rock music, punk, heavy metal music, Latin, funk, and jazz, although classical music is also sometimes based on ...

to titles swiped in part to make up the whole of the contents."

Reception

Since its release, the album has received acclaim as a landmark of the

first wave of black metal The first wave of black metal was a musical movement of black metal which lasted from around 1982 until 1991. Stylistically distinct from the genre's quintessential later sound, the earliest bands in this first wave played a primordial form of e ...

, along with their self titled-debut and third album, ''

Under the Sign of the Black Mark ''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 d ...

''. Eduardo Rivadavia of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

wrote of the album, "Like their eponymous debut of a year before, Bathory's 1985 sophomore effort, ''The Return......'', was an unbelievably coarse proto-black metal album influenced almost exclusively by the earlier works of Venom. But make no mistake: such was the genre's state of infancy at the time that, even though it was once again recorded under the most inadequate of circumstances at the auto repair garage Quorthon sympathetically baptized Heavenshore Studios, the album's impact still proved nothing short of revolutionary." In various interviews,

Fenriz Gylve Fenris Nagell (born Leif Nagell; 28 November 1971), known professionally as Fenriz, is a Norwegian musician, part-time music journalist and online radio host (with the show "Radio Fenriz")

Darkthrone Darkthrone is a Norwegian black metal band hailing from Kolbotn, Akershus. Formed in 1986 as a death metal band named Black Death, in 1991, Darkthrone transitioned to a black metal style influenced by Bathory (band), Bathory and Celtic Frost and ...

praised the album and defined it as "the essence of

". According to the staff of ''

'': "''The Return'' features some of the absolute worst drumming ever released by a legitimate record label. The fast middle section of 'The Rite of Darkness' even surpasses Mike Sus’ horrid timekeeping on Possessed’s debut. Legend has it that Bathory mastermind

was so

drunk Alcohol intoxication, commonly described in higher doses as drunkenness or inebriation, and known in overdose as alcohol poisoning, is the behavior and physical effects caused by recent consumption of alcohol. The technical term ''intoxication ...

during the recording of this record that he couldn’t remember even doing it. It definitely sounds like a

blackout Blackout(s), black out, or The Blackout may refer to: Loss of lighting or communication * Power outage, a loss of electric power * Blackout (broadcasting), a regulatory or contractual ban on the broadcasting of an event * Blackout (fabric), a t ...

drunk performed the pedestrian plodding and manic flailing to be found all over this record."

Track listing

The 2003 remastered edition combines tracks 1 and 2, and tracks 7 and 8, as well as adds the final Outro track.

Personnel

Bathory

(Thomas Börje Forsberg) – guitars, vocals, additional bass, production, cover design, back cover photography * Andreas Johansson – bass, back cover photography * Stefan Larsson – drums, back cover photography

Production

* Boss (Börje Forsberg) – production, recording, mixing * Gunnar Silins – front cover photography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Return, The Bathory (band) albums Black metal albums by Swedish artists 1985 albums Combat Records albums