Doombound

I wrote it as early as in my first review for Battlelore: the Finnish septet was primarily a band from the 2000s, who disappeared with them... to brilliantly resurrect one decade later, but this is a whole different story. An official farewell show at Metal Female Voices Fest 2011 with the old, melancholic Journey to Undying Lands as their final song – largely butchered by both singers, well, let's blame emotion for it – and the matter seemed to be forever settled. Was it the lassitude of having been once and for all catalogued as just another female-fronted symphonic metal band (hey, just re-read the name of the show above)? Let's admit that their characteristic fantasy imagery, going hand in hand with a remarkable lyrical consistency alternating between Middle-Earth, Middle-Earth and sometimes Middle-Earth, had gradually made them look like a one-trick pony, hiding the fact the actual music behind was much richer.

The Doombound album we're currently dealing with occupies a special position in their discography: released a few months before that 2011 breakup, it is tempting to interpret it as a deliberate swansong. However, there isn't any clue they'd already considered quitting at the time of its recording, which actually took place a good year before the abovementioned events, and, as far as the style is concerned, it doesn't sound much different from their previous effort The Last Alliance, only a bit less memorable overall – but that one was hard to match.

Though, like most of their works, it has its highs and its lows, enough inventive tracks and catchy hooks are scattered all throughout to prevent the general interest from dying, which was the main plague of Third Age of the Sun and its follower. It once again starts very strong, with one of these majestic mid-tempo hymns they had fully mastered by then, the kind of grand overture which immediately puts the listener in the mood. As soon as it's done the now-familiar soundscape can freely develop, that is, their special blend of epic-symphonic power metal, melodic death metal and even symphonic black metal considering their fair use of ample tremolo picking – a trick they've implemented since at least their Doombound album. The contemplative vein is present as well, with its good share of piano licks and solo bowed string instruments, agreeably contrasting with more guitar-driven moments. Well – finally, they know what to do with their two guitarists. Apropos, did we mention the ending solo on Last of the Lords?

No, Battlelore definitely weren't dying, weren't even tired of evolving, of exploring. Proof is a track like Kärmessurma, that arrives right in time to prevent monotony to settle in. That wasn't the first time they sung in their native tongue mind you, but that was the first, and so far, only time, they sung an entire, genuine song in it. Not an illogical choice, when one keeps in mind how much their all-time mentor J.R.R. Tolkien was enamored with Nordic languages. In this dynamic marching tune harsh vocalist Tomi Mykkänen probably delivers his best performance ever, he who's been too often unfairly relegated in the shadow of his brilliant female clean counterpart Kaisa Jouhki, and equally unfairly compared to his rabid predecessor Patrik Mennander. Just give him the opportunity, and he'll gladly, and passionately, run roaring right in the middle of the battle, clad in full-plate armor and waving his eternal sword. Typical Battlelore magic in fact: the time you realize said armor and sword are actually one-hundred percent guaranteed plastic, they've already conquered you.

Still the true pinnacle will be the title track, like an ideal farewell song – were it, once again, voluntary or not. Thinking about it, the archetypal epic band didn't record that many of these overlong songs commonly described as epics, preferring to stick to short efficient pieces instead – and even that one, their single longest(1), clocks only at a meagre eight minutes. Slow, grandiose, progressively building over its background of enthralling double bass / snare rolls, that's bombastic power-melodeath metal at its finest, topped by the loud mandatory orchestral keyboards... before it concludes on this final stroke of genius, a meditative piano-and-cello variation over which a high-ranged, delicate Kaisa Jouhki surpasses herself. The crowning achievement little can be said after – there's indeed this complementary closing instrumental which exhibits a pleasant synthetic folk flavour, complete with horns, flutes and yowling cello, but under the shadow of its glorious predecessor it struggles to exist.

Special circumstances or not, Doombound was a solid album, and there wasn't any reason to doubt Battlelore could have followed with equally solid albums all throughout the 2010s. Regardless of how out-of-fashion their style might have progressively fallen – remember the contemporary troubles and questionable artistic choices of the symphonic metal leaders from the decade before, be it Rhapsody, Nightwish or Therion – they were at that time established enough to survive and keep their faithful crowd of followers, a reduced crowd perhaps, an international one nonetheless. And while they probably were a tad too inconsistent to ever become a first-rank band, they were at least a band with a distinct personality, what isn't given to anyone. Battlelore, or the great misunderstanding?

Highlights: Bloodstained; Kärmessurma; Fate of the Betrayed; Doombound.

(1) Please don't nitpick, Dear Reader – you know as well as I that Ride with the Dragons was actually composed of two completely unrelated songs. Oh, and don't bring up that obscure demo track, either.

One of metal’s biggest J.R.R. Tolkien enthusiasts, Battlelore, have explored the expanded fantasy world of Middle-Earth since their inception in 1999; covering everything that the land entails in powerful and bombastic hymns, beautiful harmonies and fierce warrior-like vocals. The Finnish symphonic epic metal septet have returned in early 2011 to deliver their 6th full-length release, entitled ‘Doombound’.

Most would agree that Battlelore’s second album ‘Sword’s Song’ has been their best release to date. It was also the final release to feature original vocalist Patrik Mennander, who left the band in 2004 and replaced by current vocalist Tomi Mykkänen. It was also around the time when a slight shift appeared in Battlelore’s sound. With the release of ‘Third Age of the Sun’, Indonesian born Kaisa Jouhki, the original female backing vocalist then moved to the front and was sharing the vocal duties with Tomi. Throughout the next two releases (‘Evernight’ and ‘The Last Alliance’) Jouhki has since established herself as a lead singer, with some songs requiring just her angelic vocals instead of the “beauty and the beast” method that frequented almost every track in previous releases. 2008’s ‘The Last Alliance’ was a welcomed return to form for Battlelore, after the so-so ‘Evernight’ and the disappointing ‘Third Age of the Sun’. So where will ‘Doombound’ take our Middle-Earth followers this time round?

First things first, ‘Doombound’ really shows the band’s ever growing maturity and their efficiency of writing epic-sounding and memorable tracks. It’s not all “crash and bash” anymore, with a few tracks quite slow and sombre, and the change of pace at times can be refreshing and also breaks the monotony of Battlelore’s typical core song structures. Tomi Mykkänen has learnt to sing in a soothing melodic way on this release, but still prominent is his typical raspy and gruff style we are used to. ‘Doombound’ contains more atmospheric elements, as well as its typical orchestral parts too, another step back in the right direction and a sign of maturity as mentioned earlier.

The opening track “Bloodstained” is not your traditional song opener, as it is quite slow and meanders through in a prodding fashion. I hear a faint Iron Maiden influence throughout the track, with Battlelore showing their technical and peaceful side; which has come into their song-writing from the last few releases. “Iron of Death” shows the power side of Battlelore’s dark epic metalness, with double bass pummelling, eerie keyboards and the ever present flutes and heavy guitars. So far Kaisa Jouhki has taken the lead of both tracks, with Tomi in the background with his huffing and puffing growls. “Bow And Helm” is another slow to mid-paced track, quite melodic but with bursts of raw power throughout; while “Enchanted” is a wonderful ballad containing soaring keyboards and both semi-acoustic and also down-tuned guitars.

“Kärmessurma” finally breaks out the aggression we’ve been waiting for, with Ogre-ish bellowing from Toni. With heavy booming guitars and deep bass, the track bounds along yet still in a melodic fashion with the keys and flutes adding an atmospheric feel. “Men as Wolves” picks the pace up a little bit, with Mykkänen howling to the sky with great passion, while Kaisa is her usual angelic siren self. The guitar riffs heard throughout from Jussi Rautio and Jyri Vahvanen are quite interesting indeed, featuring both black metal and doom metal riffs mixing with the typical dark epic metal power riffs; the diversity it creates has worked well on this disc.

The remainder of the album is up to par with what has passed through before it, with the impressive “Olden Gods” and “Fate of the Betrayed”. The best track on the disc (in my opinion) has to be “Last of the Lords” a brilliant epic track with furious pummelling on the drums, doomy down-tuned guitars and Tomi at his gruffest and howling best. “Last of the Lords” is easily the most aggressive sounding track on a disc which is unfortunately lacking a fair amount of aggression.

In the end, ‘Doombound’ as a whole is pretty good, a little different to what Battlelore usually sounds like with the lack of aggression; but it was worked out quite well. Fearing the worst while noticing the removal of rawness and grunt, replaced with melody and sombreness, on reflection Battlelore really did a great job trying to keep these levels even throughout. Yes, the aggression may have been taken down a few notches, but it is still very bombastic and the melodies, orchestral and atmospheric elements suits the style of what the band wanted to achieve with this album.

Battlelore fans looking for a return to the ‘Sword’s Song’ style, could be disappointed with the changes the band have made with this release. While ‘Doombound’ is the most consistent disc Battlelore has released since that pinnacle CD, it hasn’t reached the dizzying heights of which that album reached. Standing on its own however, ‘Doombound’ is quite good and I like the mature direction they are travelling in. Bands grow up and evolve and that is what is happening here. We saw glimpses of it with ‘The Last Alliance’ and also with ‘Evernight’, so these changes were a few albums and years in the making. Despite all that, ‘Doombound’ should still make it into the hands of Battlelore fans, while ones who enjoy the dark epic power metal genre should find things of interest with this release.

Originally written for www.themetalforge.com

--------Originally written for: www.demrockritic.in -------------

For many years now, The Lord of the Rings has been a huge source of inspiration for the lyrics of many a metal band. Battlelore is one more that joined the wagon a few years ago with their debut ‘Where Shadows Lie’. Now, after many years, they have released their 6th album ‘Doombound’ and of course, this album is no exception to their lyrical source of inspiration.

The album kicks off with ‘Bloodstained’, a slow,brooding song that is full of doom-inspired chords and a constant orchestral ambience. The song does sound enjoyable, complete with the ‘beauty and the beast’ vocals, but fails to touch the heart and soul. The next song, ‘Iron of Death’, is much more tasteful in sound. It is faster, has a more epic feel to it and also is composed well with beat shifts and mood swings (including one brilliant interlude featuring a death metal barrage of diminished notes). Now, the bad news: this is probably the only moment of glory on this album. The songs hereafter number few and far between in their brilliance. Almost every song on the album gives this feeling of lacking to the listener. The reason that I deduce for my own such sentiments was the fact that their is no real rhythmic attack in any song. There is an overuse of chords when instead, an ambience of tremolos would have thrown a heavier punch on the listener. There are moments when you are just BEGGING the drummer to use both his feet and I have also always maintained my thoughts on the harsh vocals sounding quite forced for the most part. On a more positive note, the female vocals are beautiful. They sound highly generic, yes, but they work nonetheless. Also, the bass lines, though simple, are thrown in quite well. The lows are interpolated well with the highs and vice-versa.

Overall, the feeling one gets from Battlelore’s albums is that they seem to be a bit more obsessive about the lyrics than they need to. This may sound a bit harsh but I feel that they need to stop being Tolkien fanboys (and girl) at least while recording their music. If at all, the need to be metal fanboys/girl. However, if you do not expect too much out of their music and are as big fans of Tolkien’s work as they are, you probably will enjoy this album.