The Return…… (full title The Return of the Darkness and Evil) is the second studio album by Swedish extreme metal band Bathory. It was released on 27 May 1985, through Black Mark in Sweden and Combat Records in the US. The Return…… had a significant influence on developing the black metal and death metal genres.

Background

Quorthon explained the album title as such: "We wanted people to just read out The Return…… – as in a second album or a follow-up – and then flip the album over to look for a tracking list. Not finding one, what they got was this apocalyptic poem with the song titles woven into it. Only after listening through the album to the end would you get the full title of the album, The Return of the Darkness and Evil".

Reception

In various interviews, Fenriz of Darkthrone praised the album and defined it as "the essence of black metal".

Track listing

The 2003 remastered edition combines tracks 1 and 2, and tracks 7 and 8, as well as adds the final Outro track.

Personnel

Bathory

Production