BATTLELORE – Evernight

It’s a little bit strange to think how Heavy Metal music has been so connected to Epic Fantasy literature. The stories about Middle Earth, Forgotten Realms, and Dragonlance have inspired a lot of groups that have composed music that could “address” all of these heroic narrations. Battlelore belongs in the aforementioned category; their music is born among elves, gnoms, uruk-hai, and other fantasy creatures.

The band started the journey through undiscovered and magical lands somewhere in 1999. Even though their first promo CD, Warrior’s Tale, failed in getting positive attention, the Finnish heptad didn’t call it a day. On the contrary, they created a second promo CD entitled Dark Fantasy that eventually convinced Napalm Records to offer them a record contract. The band released two more full length albums: …Where the Shadows Lie and Sword’s Song, and a DVD featuring their live performance at Tavastia club, that built and strong and faithful fan base.

After several lineup changes, Battlelore return with a new male singer and the fourth full-length album entitled Evernight. The band uses the classic male-female, brutal versus clean vocal duel to support their Epic stories about heroic battles.

“House Of Heroes” misleads the listener to make them think this is an album with Gothic directions, featuring influences from bands like Leave’s Eyes and Amorphis. The male vocals are harsh, giving some deep growls and creating an audio contrast with the melodic voice of Kaisa Jouhki. The keyboards support the rhythm section with catchy melodies, while the bass guitar makes a glorious entrance. “Ocean’s Elysium” continues on the above music pattern until the double drum pedaling and the aggressive vocal assault commences. “Summon The Wolves” features some very good rhythm guitar work with nice hooks and fills, while in “We Are The Legions” the shredding riffs, the relentless drumming, and the aggressive vocals bring some Black Metal elements in Battlelore’s music. These elements can be also found in the next track, “Into The New World,” that fit perfectly into the melodic breaks with sweet female vocals and catchy guitar tunes.

The low-tuned, clean rhythm guitar joins forces with a classic bass guitar to open for “Longing Horizon” that leans towards the Gothic territory with perfect female vocals, especially during the catchy chorus lines. Next, there are “Mask Of Flies” with great keyboard and drum work and “The Cloak And The Dagger,” comprising low-tuned guitar Epic riffs that remind of Amorphis during the Far From The Sun era. The fast tempo “Beneath The Waves” closes the album with some enjoyable melodic breaks and ton-heavy bass guitar.

To sum things up, it is definitively clear that Battlelore’s new album isn’t something groundbreaking or even new in the Metal scene. On the other hand, they offer some fine-crafted songs with very good compositions that succeed to describe the stories that take place in imaginary worlds and will put a smile in all who like reading about them. Note down that there will be a special limited edition with two bonus tracks.