Battle Ballads

Nearly each Friday for the past years I’ve been checking Spotify’s Release Radar, primarily just to keep myself updated on new music coming out, but I’ve noticed I’ve stopped listening to new singles altogether lately. I don’t know when I got to that point, but to me a single never manages to capture the feel of the upcoming album. Case in point was Týr’s Hammered, the song that made me aware of “Battle Ballads” a couple of months before it was due to be released. I broke my own habit of not listening to new singles and immediately regretted that decision: since when was Týr over the top power metal? Since when was I to expect such overwhelming orchestrations in one Týr song? I was convinced Hammered was another outlier and the album was going to be much more progressive folk metal, but as it turns out, I couldn’t have been more wrong.

“Battle Ballads” actually is a power metal album with a couple hints to Týr’s progressive folk metal history. Granted, their music has always featured power metal elements, especially noticeable on 2019’s “Hel”, but the new album sees a completely different Týr than they used to be. The first three songs are possibly the best examples of this new approach the band have taken. Hammered is a fun piece I’m sure refers to Týr’s latest member, Hans Hammer, and Dragons Never Die is a hilarious and incredibly addictive three-minute song that features a brilliant pre-chorus (and chorus). Heri Joensen is still that unique frontman that no other band has: he belts out clean power metal vocals, dramatic death metal-adjacent bellows and something that sounds like throat singing in Row. That song is by no means bad but fails to reach the quality of the first three, making it slightly forgettable.

One part of Týr’s music that’s always been of great importance is their Faroe roots. The band has always incorporated Faroese lyrics on their albums, ensuring that they keep their heritage alive. It’s culminated in them performing with the Symphony Orchestra of the Faroe Islands on 2022’s live album. On “Battle Ballads” too we’re treated with three songs written in their native language – one of which confusingly has a Latin title. Torkils Døtur is the first of these, which is an emotional piece reaching a satisfying climax. Vælkomnir Føroyingar in that respect is a much more straight-forward heavy metal song with those typical Týr vocal lines. As far as I can apply my knowledge of the Scandinavian languages to Faroese, I feel like this song is a fitting ode to the Faroese people and is probably going to do well among the Faroese public. As a song itself however it’s unnecessarily chaotic, making it one of the weaker ones on the album.

The last four songs further confirm the power metal soul of “Battle Ballads”, with Hangman, Axes and Battle Ballad all featuring a mighty chorus. Joensen again makes the journey feel one of a kind, while guitars, orchestrations and backing vocals work very well together to create a massive atmosphere, close even to a Devin Townsend-esque wall of sound I did not expect on a Týr album. The busy Jacob Hansen who’s responsible for the album production contributes to that atmosphere. His mix is recognizable as ever and leaves plenty of room for every single instrument, although I wouldn’t have minded a slightly more audible bass.

At a tight 41-minute runtime “Battle Ballads” is much more digestible than its predecessor. The relatively short songs – five of ten don’t exceed the four-minute mark – play a big part in that, which makes Týr’s latest an easy listen. Therein I think lies the problem with “Battle Ballads”. Long-time fans of this quirky band, who appreciate albums like “Eric the Red” or “Ragnarok” will miss the progressive elements that made those albums and perhaps even at times “Hel” special. That said, the vocals still make Týr one of the most unique bands in the metalverse, and if you’re here for Heri Joensen, you cannot go wrong with “Battle Ballads”. Yet most importantly of all, Týr have found a formula here that seems to work quite well. If songs like Hammered, Dragons Never Die and Axes represent the high-quality standard we can still expect from a band that has been around for over 25 years, I don’t see much reason to complain.

I have been a fan of Faroese progressive folk metal band Týr for more than a decade and a half, have reviewed all of the band's records and have attended two of the band's concerts. The reason why I have taken several weeks to let the band's new record Battle Ballads sink in is because the quartet has disappointed me for the first time in its career. I wanted to give the album the opportunity to grow on me but it hasn't. Let me tell you precisely what the problems are.

Let's start on a positive note however. There are many wonderful things that deserve to be mentioned regarding this record. The cover artwork is colourful, detailed and memorable as it would make for wonderful patch, poster and shirt designs. This record was already sold to faithful fans on the group's most recent tour, thus giving supporters the occasion to listen to this album several weeks before its official release. The record doesn't rehash any ideas from its immediate predecessor, progressive folk metal output Hel with its thirteen songs and total running time of seventy minutes. Battle Ballads instead offers only ten songs with a total running time of forty-one minutes. The album's production is decent as each instrument is vibrantly audible and the vocals are delivered with oomph. As you can read, Battle Ballads certainly isn't an abysmal effort and not even a mediocre one.

However, it's not only below average in the band's massive discography but also the worst regular studio album the quartet has ever officially released. The main issue is the lacklustre songwriting. Battle Ballads offers one-dimensional heavy metal with conservative song structures and tame lengths revolving around the four-minute mark. Gone are the group's atmospheric epics that would allow listeners to dream themselves far away. Gone are the gloomy doom metal sections that defined the band's early years. Gone are the quartet's progressive ideas taking risks and surprising listeners time and again. Instead we get an uninspired, harmless and forgettable opener such as "Hammered" or a boring, exchangeable and unimpressive three-minute heavy-metal-by-the-numbers tune such as "Unwandered Ways". Title track "Battle Ballad" blends in fittingly as the song rushes by without leaving any lasting impression at all. It's neither positive nor negative, it really just is forgettable, that's all. Even closing epic "Causa Latronum Normannorum" that sounded promising on paper fails to deliver the goods in comparison to the band's previous closing epics and simply goes nowhere in six plodding minutes.

A few great songs can however be found on Battle Ballads. "Dragons Never Die" is catchy, energetic and melodic as it qualifies for the record's greatest single candidate and the song also works pleasantly in concert. "Torkils døtur" is a heartfelt folkloristic power ballad that oozes with atmosphere and evokes almost cinematic images upon listeners' minds. Such songs manage to compete with the band's greatest tracks and represent what most fans of old date are craving for.

At the end of the day, Týr's Battle Ballads is a good folk metal output in general but a below average effort for this wonderful band. This record might satisfy fans of traditional heavy metal dealing with folkloristic lyrics but Battle Ballads overall lacks the courage, grandeur and innovation that made this band stand out throughout its career. I would thus recommend Týr's Battle Ballads to faithful collectors and fans of old date only. Occasional or new fans can easily skip this release. If you want to listen to an album to start your discovery of the group, then previous output Hel is going to be your best choice because it unites elements of the past and the present on a high level. The upcoming compilation The Best of the Napalm Years is only a lazy cash grab by a former label that you shouldn't invest in.