BATTLELORE

Labelled by the Napalm press blurb as "Epic Fantasy Metal", it's no surprise to discover Battlelore's latest full-length once again adheres to Tolkien thematics, this time focussing on 'The Children of Húrin'. For those who might be interested, 'The Children of Húrin' is a novel published in 2007, a work completed by J.R.R. Tolkien's son Christopher based on original manuscripts and papers originally penned by the great man himself some time between 1910-1920. Its diachronic timeline dates back to a pre-Hobbiton Middle Earth so Battlelore have turned towards an ancient part of Tolkien's world for what has been billed as their very first concept piece. All that aside (for surely just Tolkien afficionados will be vaguely excited by, or interested in, the album's lyrical themes), is the actual music of any worth? Absolutely, yes. Take "Fantasy" out of the "Epic Fantasy Metal" label and you'll have an apposite description of 'Doombound' for the metal fan who cares not for Tolkien. Those already familiar with Battlelore's sound will be well aware what to expect as the music is a stylistic continuation, rather than progression, of the band's last album, 'The Last Alliance'. So we once again have songs rich with layers of guitar, keyboards, bass, drums and occasional flute (such as on final instrumental piece 'Kielo'), with the polarised vocal styles of Tomi Mykkänen's growls and Kaisa Jouhki's clean, angelic delivery. Adeptly produced by Janne Saksa and skilfully mixed by the ubiquitous Dan Swanö, the album is lushly awash with symphonic grandeur and a hard-hitting metal bite, with Swanö's talented hands balancing every instrument to perfection so each disparate element is clearly audible. The accompanying press sheet perhaps opens the door for journalistic mockery by talking about "Middle Earth inspired riffs" (!?!) for surely the metal genre's long history of iconic guitarists would have proven more of an inspiration, and talk of "mystic and mysterious" sounds is just plain misleading as we're dealing with a symphonic metal soundscape here, albeit a diverse one, of which "mystic and mysterious" don't particularly manifest in any overt way. The first pressing apparently arrives in the form of a value-for-money 6-panel digipack with a bonus DVD that features live performance footage from 2008 and 2009, video clips, and a behind-the-scenes montage. However, if diverse, epic-sounding symphonic metal is your bag, then 'Doombound' is worth the money alone.

LABEL:

FORMAT:

Napalm Records

Album

DOOMBOUND

Review by Mark Holmes

RUNNING TIME:

54:06

RELEASE DATE:

31st January 2011

TRACK LISTING

1) Bloodstained
2) Iron of Death
3) Bow and Helm
4) Enchanted
5) Kärmessurma
6) Olden Gods
7) Fate of the Betrayed
8) Men as Wolves
9) Last of the Lords
10) Doombound
11) Kielo

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

Finland

"Those already familiar with Battlelore's sound will be well aware what to expect as the music is a stylistic continuation, rather than progression, of the band's last album, 'The Last Alliance'."