One of the most influential bands from the genesis of black metal is Sweden’s Bathory. Opting for a more folk- and thrash-informed approach over the commonly-used esoteric and mystical elements of the genre, the band’s Blood Fire Death is still considered one of the greatest metal records some three plus decades after its inception. Fellow statesmen Mörk Gryning share in this tradition, and as such pay tribute to the seminal Bathory with their new song “A Glimpse of the Sky,” the second single from their forthcoming Hinsides Vrede.
Says the band, "This is our homage to Bathory - the 'Blood Fire Death' era. It's got a steady groove in contrast to most of the other songs on the album. The lyrics will speak for themselves: 'Ripped apart / Our hearts are fed to the vultures / The soil has been cursed / Our souls like silent statues of stone.'"
While the song has the compositional hallmarks of black metal such as tremolo picking and howled vocals, the second half features an acoustic guitar in the back of the mix, as well as a tune that reads more folk song than anthem of carnage. It is a fitting tribute to a band that many consider to have brought the advent of Viking metal to the scene, and stands up as a fine three-minute blast of blackness with plenty of meat on the bone.
Pre-order the album, due out on October 23 via Season of Mist, here. Hinsides Vrede is the first album from the band since their 2005 self-titled full-length. The new record comes three years after the group’s live reunion at Party San Open Air in 2017.
Stream the epic folk-black anthem “A Glimpse of the Sky”:
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