Twilight of the Gods (album)

Twilight of the Gods
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 1991
RecordedApril 1991 at Montezuma Studio, Stockholm, Sweden
GenreViking metal
Length56:50
LabelBlack Mark
ProducerBorje Forsberg, Quorthon
Bathory chronology
Hammerheart
(1990)
Twilight of the Gods
(1991)
Requiem
(1994)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal7/10[2]

Twilight of the Gods is the sixth studio album by Swedish extreme metal band Bathory. It continues the exploration of the newly created Viking metal style, and also displays heavy epic doom and classical influences; it is titled after an opera by Wagner. It is a mid-tempo, more acoustic album than previous Bathory releases, though it follows on from Hammerheart. Of significance is Quorthon's total control of the album, playing all electric and acoustic guitar, keyboards, bass, and drum programming. The background vocals are a particular feature of the album, with Quorthon multi-tracking himself, as he did on Hammerheart, though on this album he sounds more like a chorus than previously.

The song "Hammerheart" is based on Gustav Holst's Jupiter from his 1918 The Planets suite; and likely, considering the patriotic & metaphysical themes, as well as the focus on remembrance, specifically inspired by "I Vow to Thee, My Country" in-which Holst further arranged the melody to make it suitable for use as a hymn.

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Quorthon, except "Hammerheart", music by Gustav Holst (excerpt of Jupiter, The Bringer of Jollity) with lyrics by Quorthon

No.TitleLength
1."Twilight of the Gods"14:02
2."Through Blood by Thunder"6:15
3."Blood and Iron"10:25
4."Under the Runes"5:56
5."To Enter Your Mountain"7:34
6."Bond of Blood"7:34
7."Hammerheart"4:40
8."Outro"0:23
Total length:56:50

The 2003 remastered edition combines tracks 1–3 as one track.

Personnel

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References

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  1. ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Twilight of the Gods – Bathory : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards : AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  2. ^ Popoff, Martin (1 August 2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 42. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.