Bathory is the project of one Quorthon a.k.a. Seth Forsberg who was given a chance to bring his Venom and Motorhead-influenced act to the masses via the Scandinavian Metal Attack compilation of 1984. This was one of the many projects of his father Borje Forsberg who ran Tyfon and later founded Black Mark Production which happened to be a Bathory title.
Bathory quickly established itself as an occult, raw, fast and evil black metal entity worshipped by the metal masses. Slagged to death by the critics, Bathory nonetheless forged on to ever bigger successes even though it was later revealed that the band used mega amounts of studio trickery and synthesizers to achieve the dark sound. First through circumstance and later through design, the 'band' refused to play live. Quorthon denied having played one live show (which occurred in the USA), being the son of Forsberg and many other things.
Indeed he was just going through the motions by the nineties as his solo album showed a man interested in cock rock and Black Mark complained it difficult to get the man to concentrate and record.
He also is a fan of classical music and a part-time club bouncer. Regardless of all the peripherals, Bathory (which only once announced Kothaar and Vvornth as members beside Quorthon) deserves the accolade for its black metal albums (first three) and Viking metal (next three) output. Blood On Ice was written approximately eight years before release, yet had seen many overdubs and alterations before actual release. The Jubileum albums featured their share of unreleased material. An album called Destroyer Of the World had also been announced for several years.
2002's Nordland I was announced as the first of two albums with Nordland II due in 2003. Nordland II with a different version of its predecessor's cover artwork appeared in May, 2003.
Thomas "Quorthon" Forsberg was found dead at his apartment in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden on Monday, June 7th 2004. The official cause of death was a heart attack. Rumours indicated the main reason was drug use. Black Mark announced June 3rd, 2006 as the release date for a box set called In Memory Of Quorthon. The package would contain three CDs, one DVD, a book and more.

BATHORY - NORDLAND I - BLACK MARK
Bathory's Nordland I is a concept album about Sweden which musically takes the solo act back to the days of Vikings and Norse gods, in this case 1988! The music is still quite rudimentary and Quorthon's out-of-tune vocals make Dave Mustaine's singing sound operatic in comparison. Nonetheless, what Bathory lacks in technical capabilities is made up for in the atmospherics. The narrative and effects complement the simplified music to bring the listener a certain mood and place one in the right frame of mind for Nordland I. Bathory is still, and always will be, an acquired taste, but Quorthon has at least delivered what is expected of him and nothing less. In this sense, Nordland I is less a landmark and more a stop in the midst of a journey. - Ali "The Metallian"