BATTLE BALLADS

With little competition, TÝR could rightfully be considered the metal kings of the Faroe Islands especially due to the fact no other act has even come close to world wide recognition as this band has when it hit the world of folk-tinged progressive metal in the late 1990s and continues to dominate with its utterly unique stylistic approach that easily sets it apart from all others. After making its debut in 2002 with "How Far To Asgard" and finding an even greater fanbase with the following "Eric The Red," TÝR has continued to release one album after another of intricately designed progressive metal that narrates the world of Norse mythology, Paganism and Faroese folklore, often exclusively in the Faroese language.

Still going strong after a quarter of a century, TÝR returns in 2024 with its ninth album BATTLE BALLADS which sees the light of day five long years after "Hel." Continuing their adopted use of power metal which found its way into "By The Light Of The Northern Star" and has only maintained a stronger foothold ever since, BATTLE BALLADS delivers an unmistakable TÝR album with all the expected ventures into Viking folklore, Norse mythology and triumphant battle tales of yore delivered in an energetic, epic and anthemic musical majesty. While TÝR has always consistently delivered a highly original stylistic approach not even close to sounding like any other band, the band's quality control has been more questionable with some albums failing to warrant much whoopty-doo while other albums holding no punches in blowing you away at every turn.

While BATTLE BALLADS may not prove to be one of the band's top dog's in terms of their overacting legacy, this album of 10 tracks at around the 42 minute mark is actually quite the pleasant surprise in that it delivers the most important aspect of all and that is one of maintaining your interest throughout the album's run with high quality composiitons that offer enough variation without sacrificing all those idiosyncrasies that make TÝR so utterly brilliant. While it's hard to tell really, guitarist Hans Hammer has replaced Attila Vörös from the previous album and perhaps this small change was just enough of a chemistry tweak to give the band a new lease on life but whatever the case the band sounds like its firing on all pistons this time around. Although no keyboards are credited, there is a clear synthesized presence in the backing atmospheres as well as the occasional symphonic touches.

Unlike some other TÝR albums, BATTLE BALLADS delivers a consistent flow of high quality tracks from beginning to end with excellent compositions that maintained all the quirky time signature deviations that makes the band stand out as well as cranking out a power metal bombast that showcases an exuberant use of twin guitar attacks all dressed up in traditional Faroese folk music flavors. Even lead vocalist Here Joensen sounds like he's on the top of his game. The band is simply on fire from the first moments of "Hammered" to the last moments of "Causa Latronum Normannorum" consistently delivering that tightrope walk between high octane power metal and more reserved melodic folk metal. The harmonies are top notch and the flow of the album is flawless. Now it is true that TÝR does not deliver anything outside of its established perimeters but then again if a band is so amazingly accomplished at what it does so well and no other band has swooped in to steal its thunder then i for one am quite content with a rather safe album that is done brilliantly than the band desperately trying to grasp straws to become experimental.

There's no telling when a band will burn out in the 21st century. Some bands formed in the 80s are still going strong while others that emerged only a decade ago have found their wellspring run dry. Whatever the case, the Faroese Viking metal gods seem to have longevity just as the Old Norse ways have themselves consistently found new ways of making themselves known in a world that has changed exponentially and unrecognizably beyond the world of the Vikings. My my tastes, BATTLE BALLADS is a triumphant success for staying on track in a world where it is so easy to get distracted and tempted into other arenas of musical exploration. Luckily this band has maintained the purity of its essence and continues to build on a metal tradition of its own making. Perhaps its the long time between albums that allows the band members to craft its compositions at its own pace or perhaps just the rejuvenating North Sea air but whatever the case TÝR appears to be a force in the greater metal universe that is here to stay for quite some time.

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.