WATAIN And SWEDEN ROCK MAGAZINE Team Up To Pay Tribute To Late BATHORY Legend

February 24, 2010

After announcing their special BATHORY tribute set on June 12 as part of this year's Sweden Rock Festival, WATAIN were approached by Sweden Rock Magazine to record a BATHORY cover for a special CD. In collaboration with Sweden Rock Magazine and Season Of Mist, WATAIN has put together a special CD that all subscribers of the magazine will get with issue #70 (out April 6). The CD consists of a cover of BATHORY's "The Return of Darkness and Evil" as well as the brand new track "Reaping Death", from WATAIN's as-yet-untitled fourth album, to be released by Season Of Mist on June 7.

"The cool thing about Sweden Rock Magazine is that it covers metal's traditions and history and what metalhead head isn't aware of the genre's history?" says WATAIN frontman Erik "E" Danielsson. "It felt like the right forum for a tribute to BATHORY, one of extreme metal's forefathers, especially the Scandinavian side of it. All the pieces fell into place."

WATAIN didn't go for the obvious. Instead the band decided to do a cover of the early version of BATHORY's "The Return of Darkness and Evil", found on the cult 1984 compilation album "Scandinavian Metal Attack".

"It was the first recording BATHORY ever did and to me it feels like that song, in that version, sums up BATHORY: a Satanic MOTÖRHEAD, a pitchblack G.B.H. It's rooted in what was heaviest at the time, but took it one step further," says E.

BATHORY founder Quorthon died on June 3, 2004 from heart failure. What would he think of WATAIN covering his early work?

"I hope and think that our love of BATHORY is very apparent and I think he would've been very proud," says E. "We've rarely agreed to do a tribute, except in the case of DISSECTION. Our version is a pure tribute. We're not trying to make it into a WATAIN song, we're just pointing a big fucking spotlight at BATHORY. Hail the hordes!"

For more information, visit www.swedenrockmagazine.com.

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