Courtesy of Los Mejores Rock
In 1990, the band Bathory took an important leap in its international projection with the release of 'Hammerheart', the album published by Noise International that some critics consider the beginning of Viking Metal. This work once again evidenced the visionary character of the group's leader, Quorthon, who had already defined the foundations of Black Metal with his four previous albums - the eponymous one from 1984, 'The Return' (1985), 'Under the Sign of the Black Mark' (1987) and 'Bood Fire Death' (1988).
The company that distributed the vinyl in Spain was the independent DRO, which for a time was in charge of the Noise catalogue. His team did the same with the promotional visits of several of the label's leading artists - such as Kreator, Sepultura or Tankard -. His job was to organize in Madrid for all of them the round of promotional interviews with the specialized media in the capital.
Leo Cebrián Sanz, who at that time was an occasional correspondent for the Barcelona magazine 'Metalik.O', had the opportunity to be one of the journalists who interviewed Quorthon at the DRO offices. The same day that colleague Antonio Pardo, from 'Heavy Rock' magazine, questioned the Swedish musician, our collaborator took advantage of the fact that his was the last promotional engagement of the day to carry out an outdoor photo shoot that is now seeing the light of day again partially.
Leo Cebrián Sanz, who at that time was an occasional correspondent for the Barcelona magazine 'Metalik.O', had the opportunity to be one of the journalists who interviewed Quorthon at the DRO offices. The same day that colleague Antonio Pardo, from 'Heavy Rock' magazine, questioned the Swedish musician, our collaborator took advantage of the fact that his was the last promotional engagement of the day to carry out an outdoor photo shoot that is now seeing the light of day again partially.
Quorthon and Cebrián walked around the neighborhood of Barrio de la Concepción until they exhausted the photo reel from which the images published by 'MetaliK.O', the historic newspaper directed with a masterful hand by music journalist Ramón Porta, would emerge. In that improvised excursion through the streets and adjacent parks Tomas Forsberg 'Quorthon' was most affable and willing to pose, as he did next to a Seat 600 with a sticker from Sweden or in front of the graffiti of an inverted cross that someone had painted on the wall of a nearby school. When the kids at the school saw the musician's appearance - leather pants, bullet belt and sleeveless shirt - their recreation was revolutionized by the presence of a character whom they logically assumed to be "famous" or relevant.
Five paper copies of those originals were sent to the editorial office in Barcelona and several of them were published in black and white. No less than thirty-five years later, those images now appear in their original color after a chance discovery in Leo Cebrián's archives. What happened to the negatives and the rest of the photos? Well, believe it or not, the editor of 'MetaliK.O' made the mistake of sending all the material to a Legion and Bathory fan who lived in the Canary Islands. As you can imagine, the 'blacker' in question was delighted with the gift, which was the generous fruit of a friendship by correspondence that never forged in a call or personal visit. Over time contact was lost... and until today.
At that time the figure of Quorthon was already prestigious, but he had not acquired that aura of legend that the passage of time has given him. His death in 2004 turned Bathory's ideologue into an absolute myth, which gave special relevance to any material related to his low visibility in the press media. Part of the value of these photographs lies in the scarcity of images of this nature that can testify to the public life of the myth, given that the musician was a reserved man and little friend of public exhibitions.
That day Cebrián and José Antonio Gómez - the person in charge of entertaining the international delegation, as well as a musician with Aviador DRO and the great supporter in the company of Spanish Rock bands such as Extremoduro, Platero y Tú or M-Clan - had the opportunity to sharing a table and tablecloth in a nearby restaurant with Quorthon and his manager, a very nice French guy, who videotaped some fragments of the interviews conducted that morning. The man who gave birth to Bathory was a vegetarian, an unusual circumstance at that time, and in close contact he was extraordinarily polite and courteous. He spoke almost native English and his manners were those of a cultured and somewhat shy person, but affable and with a serene sense of humor.
After the discovery of these documentary gems, the Spanish journalist continues to delve into his personal library to find the letters that communicated to him with the “heir” of those negatives. The world exclusive of this material is worth the effort of trying to locate the lucky owner of the rest of the photo session. Hopefully these efforts will prosper and the international community of Bathory fans will be able to enjoy and share with them a gallery of images of such unquestionable interest. Thanks to them we could learn more about this ill-fated genius, who died at the young age of 38, whose mysterious personality continues to fascinate people and those outside Extreme Metal.
NOTE: Since I don’t speak or read Spanish the article have been translated by Google translate so any strangeness I’ll blame on them.
