Bathory was an extreme metal band from Vällingby, Sweden.
The Bathory logo is an example of a rare consistency. It remained unchanged from the year when the band was founded, in 1983, until the death of its frontman Tomas Forsberg in 2004. All the twelve albums released during this period, with just a single exception, showcased the same wordmark.
Tomas Forsberg started his band when he was a seventeen-year-old guitarist. It has been known as the pioneers of black metal and Viking metal.
Another fact that is important for understanding their logo is that the band got its name after Hungarian countess Elizabeth Báthory, who is considered the most prolific female murderer, according to Guinness World Records.
Starting from their very first album, the band has used a wordmark in an extremely popular typeface called Old English. It was inspired by the Gothic script (blackletter script) and gives a distinct historic sensation. Yet, in fact, it is a modern font designed by William Caslon and published by Monotype. It has been known as a revival of William Caslon’s typeface Caslon Black.
Such a type helps to conjure up the images of the people of the past and the environment in which they lived. This echoes the fact that the band worked in Viking metal and of course, creates a link with the historic name. Moreover, the type does have a somewhat sinister look, which only reinforces the eerie impression the band wanted to create with its music.
On the downside, this type is a totally a commonplace and generic choice for everyone who wants to make a “historic” logo. So, while the band has been often named a pioneer in music, it is far from this in design.
In its ninth studio album, Blood on Ice, Bathory used a completely different wordmark. Here, the inspiration for the typeface came from the Viking era. The glyphs seem to have been inspired by the runes, which the Vikings used to record important events. However, the letters were, of course, not the runes but just glyphs from the Latin alphabet.
One of the reasons why the band decided to replace the primary Bathory logo could be that it did not merge well with the sword depicted on the album cover. The sharp and minimalist angles of the alternative wordmark seemed to do the job better.