Founding BATHORY Member: 'QUORTHON Had Much More To Offer'

June 9, 2004

Legendary video director and founding BATHORY member Jonas Åkerlund has spoken to Sweden's Expressen newspaper about the passing of BATHORY mastermind Thomas "Quorthon" Forsberg from what is believed to be heart failure. Forsberg, who was known to have been battling heart problems for years, was found dead in his apartment in Stockholm, Sweden on Monday (June 7). He was 39 years old.

"It's so sad. He had much more to offer," Åkerlund said.

Jonas, who formed the band with Forsberg in the early '80s, went on to have a successful video-directing career, having worked with the likes of METALLICA, PRODIGY, MADONNA and U2.

"[BATHORY came onto the scene] extremely early," Åkerlund said. "People like Marilyn Manson, Billy Corgan and the members of METALLICA have all come up to me and have told me that they listened to BATHORY."

According to Åkerlund, it was Thomas Forsberg's creativity that made the band such an influence on so many younger metal acts.

"[Quorthon] had a high cult status," Jonas said. "He wasn't interested in attention, he just wanted to play his music."

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