Finland’s fantasy inspired Epic Power metallers Battlelore have been together a lot longer than I imagined. Since way back in 1999 in which they released their first demo ‘Warriors Tale’. Then releasing their second demo in 2000 ‘Dark Fantasy’ raised the interest of Napalm Records. They then released a 3 track demo which they then snatched a deal with Napalm. In 2002 they released their first full length album ‘Where the Shadows Lie’ which led to a good following of fans. But the album which led them to a European tour was their 2002 release ‘Swords Song’. A further three more full length albums were made, along with a live DVD. Now on their sixth album release ‘Doombound’ it’s crystal clear these elf worshippers are staying put!
Doom bound’s first track ‘Bloodstained’, to be honest, I was expecting an epic battle fuelled intro for the beginning of a journey through a mystical fantasy, but instead it just fell a little flat. However, the track is still quite good, but I felt it would be better suited as a more ‘fill in’ song toward the end of the cd. ‘Iron of Death’ wastes no time with its windmill worthy riffs and drum rolls urging you to raise you mead horns full of Stella and wave them about furiously. The female vocals fit beautifully not too gothic or screechy and toward the middle section the male vocalist proves he is just as good by belting out a few seemingly exhausting notes.
Skipping a track to the breathtaking and slower tempo-ed ‘Enchanted’, the harmonious vocals of Kaisa Jouhki and the guitar work makes this track my favourite. The male vocals pop up toward the end half of the track to make it a little less ‘girly’ I guess. I could go on about how this album is pretty good, which it is, and I could even see the likes of Gandalf rocking out windmilling with air guitar in hand. If you looked at the pictures of this band you can just easily imagine what their music sounds like, extremely epic, cheesy and quite simply brilliant. However, some of the tracks stood out more than others including as mentioned above ‘Enchanted’, plus ‘Men as Wolves’ due to the catchy and bouncy guitar intro part with keyboards filling in the rest. This track should be near the top. The only thing missing would be an impressive solo section. ‘Last of the Lords’ if you close your eyes would possibly give you the illusion of some sort of mythical beast flying (No? just me then??) The riffs heavy, male vocals brutal and the galloping drum beat ... perfect!
Finishing off with ‘Kielo’, a flawless piece with no vocals, which could easily be the end track off any of the Lord of the Rings films. A perfect band for a decent drinking session, and they never fail to entertain me, battle metal at its best, if you haven’t seen them, shame on you!!
http://www.battlelore.net/
