BATTLE BALLADS

According to Wikipedia, the Faroe or Faeroe Islands are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They consist of 18 major islands (and a total of 779 islands, islets, and skerries) about 655 kilometres off the coast of Northern Europe, about halfway between Iceland and Norway, the closest neighbours being the Northern Isles and the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Given the size of their population, which is roughly 55,000 people, it is somewhat surprising they have managed to produce a metal band who hit the scene almost as soon as they were formed in 1998 and are now back with their ninth studio album. Heri Joensen (vocals, guitar) and Gunnar Helmer "Gunz" Thomsen (bass) have been constants since the beginning while drummer Tadeusz "Tad" Rieckmann joined in 2016, so played on their last album, 2019's 'Hel', with guitarist Hans Hammer coming onboard in 2021.

Although there are still some folk influences here and there, they are not as present as they have been in the past and there are times when they are quite reminiscent of Sabaton as opposed to following their own path. This is Viking Metal for the most part, although they have brought in many symphonic elements as well. Due to shceulding conflicts they were unable to record with an orchestra so the recordings were sent to Lars Winther in England who added the orchestral samples with the sounds of violins, violas, cellos, woodwinds, and horns complimenting traditional rock instruments., after which is was mixed Jacob Hansen (Volbeat, The Black Dahlia Murder, Amaranthe).

"We consciously decided to make this a more direct album with songs that are easier for listeners to get right away," said frontman Heri Joensen. "With 'Battle Ballads', there are progressive elements here and there, but we tried to keep the songs based on one or two musical ideas each, and work on everything from there. It's more concise than our last album, but it's more epic because of the symphonic elements." It is certainly bombastic, and while it is over the top in its energy and pomposity it is also a very easy album to listen to. There is enough within the changing influences within the material to ensure it does not get too boring, while also having enough straightforward metal to make it heavy enough for the traditional metalhead. I have not listened to as much Týr as I should have over the years, as they have transformed into a very polished act indeed and while never truly essential this is still a very enjoyable album indeed.