January 17, 2025

Episode 124 – FLOPTAGON: Bathory’s ‘Octagon’

1 hour 2 minutes

What started as a joke ("send us a $10,000 donation and we'll do an episode on Bathory's disasterpiece flop, 'Octagon'!") Well, we wondered what that kind of episode would be like, so we decided to just chat about it and see what happened. No big plan, no huge overarching analyses...just a little walk through the ugly, clattering eighth album by a man and band we absolutely worship. We count 'Octagon' as one of the worst two albums ever released by a legendary band...the other one, 'St. Anger' by Metallica, is even worse than this.

Note I:

The Radical Research Patreon page is now set up and ready for your patronage. We are offering tiered subscription levels for those who want a set-it-and-forget-it donation option. As ever, if you choose to support us, we are humbled and grateful! patreon.com/RadicalResearchPodcast

Note II:

All past Radical Research episodes can be found here, where you can also find Jeff’s Peter Steele and Fates Warning books…and more to come soon! Radicalresearch.org

Music cited in order of appearance:

“Crosstitution” (Requiem, 1994)

“Immaculate Pinetree Road #930” (Octagon, 1995)

“Schizianity” (Octagon, 1995)

“Crawl to Your Cross” (1988 recording)

“Sociopath” (Octagon, 1995)

“Grey” (Octagon, 1995)

“Century” (Octagon, 1995)

“War Supply” (Octagon, 1995)

“Deuce” (Octagon, 1995)

“33 Something” (Octagon, 1995)

“Born to Die” (Octagon, 1995)

Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it.

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By Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn

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