Review by Felix on January 25, 2020.

It is a drama that Quorthon died much too soon, even though some of his works are really a pain in the ass. He was the chameleon of metal; his drastic stylistic changes were hard to understand but everybody with a predilection for great metal will find some jewels in Bathory's discography. Blood Fire Death belongs to the strongest efforts of Quorthon, at least for those who do not think that pure Viking metal is the ultimate sub-genre.

It is a drama that the album did not continue the bloodline of the perfect Under the Sign of the Black Mark. The songs are not too far away from those of the aforementioned monument. "The Golden Walls of Heaven" stands shoulder to shoulder with "Massacre", inter alia due to its straight verses. The stomping "For All Those Who Died" is a close relative of "Call From the Grave". Nevertheless, the more metallic sound and the longer duration of the single tracks give the album another flavor. Not to mention the elaborate and atmospheric intro which constitutes the acoustic complement of the classic artwork. Celestial choirs and whinnying horses make clear where Rob Darken once found his inspiration... Admittedly, the serious grandeur of the gatefold vinyl does not mean that the lone fighter is unable to make a joke. The beginning of "Pace 'till Death" picks up the squeaking riff of Venom's "Teacher's Pet". With a twinkle in his eyes, Quorthon sends greetings to his idols. But from an overall perspective, this is a much more serious work than the somewhat bizarre Under the Sign....

It is a drama that Blood Fire Death marks the point where the adventurous Swede began to lose his enthusiasm for sheer aggression. Let's face the ironic twist of fate: the two epic numbers of this album are absolutely brilliant, but in hindsight, they implemented the seed of lethargy in Quorthon's creative outputs. I know that many metal maniacs have built an altar for Hammerheart and Twilight of the Gods, but I don't share this point of view, because the overly dignified approach has not much in common with the rebellious touch that made heavy metal to something special. However, I don't want to digress. Blood Fire Death cannot be blamed for lameness and with the exception of wide parts of the pretty noisy "Dies Irae", all songs have an exciting aura. (At least "Dies Irae" deserves the honor that its excerpt "Even the heavens shall burn when we are gathered" might have inspired Marduk in their search for a fitting album title.) "For All Those Who Died", for example, scores with its overarching vehemence. Sheer power crushes the audience, despite the comparatively stupid mid-tempo rumbling.

It is a drama that the best track of the full-length offers. Indeed, a more dramatic song is hardly imaginable. Switching between soft choirs, which are accompanied by an emotional guitar, and thunderous, painfully intensive metal pathos, the song develops an unbelievable power and one sees raging flames before the inner eye. Apart from this emotional rollercoaster, the guitar work is extremely strong and Quorthon sings and screams more passionate than ever before. It is time for great emotions at the latest when lines like "With hair as white as snow / Hammer of steel / To set you free of your chains / And to lead you all / Where horses run free / And the souls of the ancient ones reign" mark the title track's point of culmination. "A Fine Day to Die" does not stand in the shadow of the titanic closer. After a silent intro, the song explodes, and harsh screams accompany brutal guitars. Space-filling leads roll out the carpet for Quorthon's hoarse, cruel and charismatic vocals. Finally, a melodic element is added as well.

It is a drama (but no unique event) that some medias did not understand the greatness of Blood Fire Death. The German Rock Hard spoke of ridiculous solos and hyper-perverse vocals while giving generously seven out of ten points. Okay, they tried to entertain the readers, but come on, stop writing - start your career as clown. I do not find any kind of ridiculous (but a lot of unleashed) solos and a kick in the ass of the mainstream is almost never "hyper-perverse", but a necessary act of resistance. The coarse and devastating production which lacks any form of nuances sets the right frame for such an act. Technical details are for wimps and maybe this was the thing that the joker of the Rock Hard was missing. But despite all these "dramas": the only truly tragic drama is the one I have already mentioned in the first sentence of this review. Quorthon, rest in peace.

Rating: 8.4 out of 10

Review by Allan on April 3, 2002.

Before trailing off from their black metal past, Quorthon/Bathory left this phenomenal album bridging the gap between their last album, “Under The Sign of the Black Mark”, and their next album, “Hammerheart”. “Blood Fire Death” moves its way through eight tracks of glorious Viking/Black metal and is still leaving its effects today.

Finally, Quorthon has decided that he isn’t going to do another album where the material is as fast as possible! It is on this album that Quorthon takes his musical visions and does a little bit of wandering into the Viking side of things. The first opening track, ‘A Fine Day To Die’, is one of the greatest opening songs for an album that I’ve ever witnessed. It tells you what the album is about, and sets the atmosphere for what follows. Almost every song on here has a very epic feel to it, accompanied by Quorthon’s black metal rasp. This definitely may not be what some people want to hear, but it fits the music terribly well. Following behind the black metal rasps are some backing vocals and choir work. This is definitely something that brings the songs credibility up a few notches. Somewhere in the middle of the album, Quorthon decides he isn’t finished with black metal, and leads a fast-paced assault on your eardrums. The tracks are well done, but it feels a little out of place with the amazing opening and closing of the album. Finally, the album closes with one of the greatest tracks that Bathory has ever done. The title track, ‘Blood Fire Death’, has an excellent epic atmosphere and overshadows what is to come on the bands next work of genius, “Hammerheart”.

“Blood Fire Death” is a stand out album for fans of more than just Bathory, but the genre of thrash and black metal. Mandatory listen for anybody to ever claim to like black metal, or anyone interested in the history of metal or Bathory.

Bottom Line: A highlight of Bathory’s career and a highlight for the genre. Groundbreaking and influential to many of today’s metal bands, consider this something you need to check out.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Originality: 10
Musicianship: 7.5
Atmosphere: 10
Production: 8
Overall: 9.5

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by Raphaël on July 21, 2025.

Thanks to Michael's excellent review, (go check his reviews, they're always insightful and so well written) I learned that "Heimat" can sometimes mean homeland or that refers to the German Race, which is usually not interpreted in the best way by the better of what humanity has to offer. The album is a strong statement of where the band stands, an answer to the question: which side are you on? A bit of my history with Heaven Shall Burn, they are an important band in my musical journey; their 2008 album "Iconoclast" had such an impact on young 17-year-old me! Back then, a song like Endzeit blew me away. That short string instrumental that immediately explodes in one of the most savage screams! Chills every time! The fact they always embraced their "core" influences was a big draw and made me get into more extreme forms of metal. So, in 2025, I feel like their strong anti-fascist messaging is now needed more than ever, with the spectacular fall of the "neoliberal world order" we are currently living through.

But politics aside (although, politics is a constant on the album so it will come back), how does the album sound? For fans of 2000's melodic death, this will be pure nostalgia filled joy! It's aggressive but filled with memorable melodies and has that hardcore authenticity and raw sounding energy. The album starts with a truly beautiful and emotional instrumental intro, those violin and cello does something to my cold heart, it makes you vulnerable and then; 'War Is The Father Of All' begins with an epic build up, drum rolls and choir included. The funky bass lines lead to groovy riffs and melodic leads that say "I love you In Flames". Also, the breakdowns on this one will make you headbang until your neck hurts. Lyrically already impactful, the lines: "Obliteration, Atrocities unbound, Kneel to the only one, For no man is mightier than the sword, Unerasable, It dwells within us", made me think of the military industrial complex that has overtaken what little influence we "common mortals" can have on the decisions our states take, with no regards for life. He then goes on to say: "Your gods are going down in flames, They're all material and nothing shall remain" highlighting the real reasons for all this carnage, behind religion or race, most wars are about control of the material world. That's my silly interpretation at least. The album continues with a flow of pure melodic death ragger until we get to song number five, the aptly named 'Empowerment'. Melodious punk vibes emanate from this one, filling me with hope and the will to fight! Accompanying classic melodeath leads are the line: "The time has come to choose your side, You stand or fall before their eyes, Conquer your fears, come face to face with the enemy". A song that tells you like it is, a modern Florence Reece composition, choose your side today! Another lyric that hits hard, this time from 'A Whisper From Above': "I had to walk among the brutes, and I felt nothing but disgust, Leading a double life amidst our murderous enemies, My downright lie, a bold disguise in the cruelest of all times, To save a few of the doomed". It perfectly describes reality nowadays. The mask we need to wear to go on business as usual, while watching the holocaust livestreamed on our phone. For the past 20 months and much earlier even, seeing people around you basically parroting our leader's discourse against immigrants or Palestine, can feel lonely but musicians can make us feel a bit more united with their message. To convey this message, we are transported back in time with In Flames worship leads, fast double kick drum, a tasteful short blastbeat and pure Gothenburg breaks.

Everything on this album flows in a coherent manner, even the Killswitch Engage cover is both a faithful adaptation, with guest vocal Jesse Leach, but still adds a Heaven Shall Burn twist of extremity. The heavy moments feel huge, the melodies are everywhere and impactful, down to the three instrumentals that cut the album perfectly, Marcus Bischoff's vocal performance is as savage as ever, the musicianship and song writing are on another level! This is a superb work of art with a message more important than ever, resist fascism at all cost! Let me just finish with their words: "Good or evil, there's nothing in between, I could not deny myself, We upheld life in the realm of the dead."

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by Michael on June 26, 2025.

"Heimat" is a German word that can have many meanings in English. So it can stand for "homeland", "home city" or "home" whatever this might be for the one or the other. Maybe it is a place where you prefer to be, the time you spend with your friends or something completely different. What often goes along with the term "Heimat" (at least here in Germany) is a negative connotation with the word because quite often it is used in more or less right-winged circles and doesn't mean too many pleasant things in my eyes. Unfortunately quite often "Heimat" means something that refers to the "German Race" and all the things that came along with that elitist race shit from 1933 (yes, of course that fuck existed already before) on and brought devastation over the whole world. And even more unfortunately this shit becomes more and more socially acceptable once again.

Heaven Shall Burn (who come from Thuringia, one of the federal states in Germany where the right-winged Nazi-party AFD got 32,8% too many votes in the last election) have provocatively called their 10th full-length album "Heimat" and not enough to call this album that way, the beautiful German landscape is burning and one of the most significant German animals, the deer, is screaming in anguish. May it be a metaphor for the decline of social values or whatever, this is a clear statement by the band that is always positioned against fascism.

And so does the music. Were they heavily influenced by bands such as Bolt Thrower, Entombed or Earth Crisis on their previous albums, they have put on some more melodic parts this time. Still the songs kick goddamn ass and are super aggressive, but the guitar leads are sometimes more like In Flames (but not that pussy-like as they got after "Lunar Strain"). A good example for that is "Confounder" which turned out into a super-groovy melo-death track. Here and there are some heavy Bolt Thrower blast beat attacks but that's just marginally.

When I heard "Empowerment" for the first time, I had to smile because I wanted to sing "Moootheeer" while walking in the streets. The intro is just a pure copy of that fabulous Danzig song but after some seconds the reference is over and we get to hear another melodic deathcore song with some catchy lines.

"War Is The Father Of All" kicks off with some orchestral vibes and reminds me personally of a good song by Machine Head. This groove, the guitars and the aggressive basic vibes really kick ass. It starts creeping but increases the tempo in the circa 7 minutes more and more. That's a track which could have been on "Burn My Eyes" or "The Blackening", too.

"Numbered Days" is a very brutal cover of Killswitch Engages' song from their "Alive Or Just Breathing" album from 2002. It is very close to the original but I would dare to say that it is even some nuances heavier and with Jesse Leach they have the Killswitch Engage vocalist with a  guest appearance. By the way, this is maybe the most "metalcore" song on "Heimat".

For all the guys who liked the more Bolt Thrower-like influences, there are also some heavier songs on the album like "Ten Days In May" (which is a fast galloping track with many blast beats) or "Dora" that is a very gloomy, creeping track with really a lot of Bolt Thrower vibes.

This album has become a great piece of music and actually I refuse to call it metalcore. There are more death metal parts in here as on many so-called death metal bands nowadays. And apart from the music the band once again has released a significant statement against racism which seems to be more important from day to day in these dark times.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10