Under the Sign of the Black Mark

On the third album Quorthon plays everything himself — vocals, guitars, bass, drums and keyboards. The band went into Heavenshore Studio in August 1986; recording proper ran from early September to the middle of November. Under One Flag issued the 12-inch in Britain in May 1987 as FLAG 11. The rawness of the debut is still there, but the writing has moved a long way. The opening of "Nocturnal Obeisance" collapsing into "Massacre", the slow weight of "Call From the Grave", the near eight minutes of "Enter the Eternal Fire" — none of that is in the first two records, which ran almost entirely on speed. Together with the deep reverb and the way the keyboards are used, this is where the gestures later black metal would reach for again and again are all in place at once. It is the Bathory album most often named for its effect on the Norwegian scene. The running order here is the original's as printed; the unlisted outro is not included.