TÝR

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.

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.

The band has released a total of 8 full length albums and 2 EPs between the years of 2000 and 2019, but their line up changed a lot in their first few years until they were signed with a major label. Once their line-up stabilized, they would release occasional albums, but spent most of their time touring. In March, 2019, they released their 8th full length album called "Hel", 6 years after their previous album. Their current line-up consists of Heri Joensen on vocals and guitars, Attila Voros on guitars, Gunnar H. Thomsen on bass, and Tadeusz Rieckmann on drums. The album consists of 13 tracks and has a total run time of nearly 70 minutes.

Vocals are an interesting combination of growling/screaming dirty vocals and memorable, melodic vocals, sometimes changing several times in one song. The style of metal is clearly the Norwegian sound you expect, with a lot of melodic hooks in the guitars, plus a lot of great solos. There are places where they even take snippets of folk influences into their melodies, both vocal and instrumental. You will find all of these traits just in the first track alone "Gates of Hel".

Even though there is only one vocalist credited, the vocals are quite varied and even well harmonized at times as in the chorus of "All Heroes Fall", which also features a killer guitar solo. They even feature a couple of tracks with their native language, but most of them are in English.

The first four tracks are pretty much heavy tracks with quick tempos and melodic progressive metal, giving you what you expect. On "Sunset Shore", there is a bit of a break from the heaviness with the more ballad-like verses and slightly heavier choruses and even a "Michael Schenker Group" style sound throughout. After this, there is a return to mostly full-blast prog metal, continuing with the melodic sound but with hints at progressiveness with passages approaching extreme metal at times. There isn't much let up from the heaviness throughout the album, and by the half-way point, you are wishing for more variety in the music and that is the main weakness here. Even though the sound and music is well-produced, some additional variation would have kept the interest higher. But those that love the melodic Norwegian metal will definitely want to check this out. The two biggest pluses of this album are the changing vocal styles and the excellent guitar solos, but the biggest minus is the overall lack of variety.

Not surprisingly the subject matter TÝR is almost exclusively steeped in Viking lore, mythology and history. Their name itself is derived from the god of law and justice in the Norse religion and the music is heavily steeped in kvæði, the traditional folk music of the Faroe Islands which consists of stanzas plus a chorus sung between every verse. The band was formed in 1998 when Heri Joensen and Kári Streymoy decided to get together and jam which resulted in a similar outlook of creating a style of musical that was designed to break down the walls that have been erected between the various styles of metal the that have been created thus the music of TÝR is a unique blend of power, doom, progressive, Viking, folk and traditional classic metal. The debut album "How Far To Asgaard" may sound like a tribute to the Lord Of The Rings style Tolkien-based themes but in reality "Asgarard" is one of the Nine Worlds and home to the Æsir tribe of gods in Norse Mythology. For the debut Pól Arni Holm was recruited for vocals and Gunnar H. Thomsen for the bass parts.

While TÝR would develop quite the epic progressive metal sound on subsequent albums, on the debut, "How Far To Asgaard" displays their knack for mixing all the styles of metal ingredients dispersed throughout the metal universe around a mostly traditional Faroese folk style of compositional construction complete with homegrown musical scales and quirky time signatures. The album starts off feeling more like a doom metal release with chugging and slowed down tempos as "Hail To The Hammer" and "Excavation" delve into the Viking world lyrically and plod along with downtrodden doom inspired riffs constructed with a folk feel and a progressive metal methodology of incorporating high register vocals and challenging time signature jitteriness. A classic 80s metal feel comes into the picture as well as the metal aspects tend to have a somewhat classic compositional style with verses, choruses and virtuosic guitar solos. The mix of all these styles may sound quite strange at first and it took me a few spins for "How Far To Asgaard" to sink in as i found i needed to calibrate my sensibilities to its quirky idiosyncrasies but after i did so found myself really loving the intricacies of how these tracks were constructed and the melodies become quite catchy once you catch the Faroese vibe.

My favorite tracks are those that think outside the box such as "Ten Wild Dogs" which uses a hammer on guitar lick as the guitar with a slightly warped sense of rhythm yet existing in the general framework of the established fusion sound TÝR have created. While the tracks are definitely metal based with Faroese folk mixed in, the track "Ormurin Langi" is a metal version of a traditional Faroese song and if anyone if familiar with some of the Pagan leaning black metal bands of Norway, Sweden and Finland such as Enslaved and Moonsorrow, this traditional style of Nordic folk music should sound quite familiar. The lyrics are mostly in English on "How Far To Asgaard" but native Faroese is also used in some choruses and of course on the traditional. Here's another debut that i find myself against the grain on. True that it requires a little indoctrination to the subtleties and an education into the ethnomusicology folklore that it derives from, but once i put this on while driving on full audio emersion, i found i loved this one a lot as it's some of the most authentic fusion of ethnic folk music and modern day metal i've ever heard and doesn't resort to some of the beer chugging bards of future albums. Nice harmonics, instrumental counterpoints and history lessons. Excellent!

"How Far To Asgard" has been released twice. One with the original ominous purple sea album cover with the rune inspired band logo and again with an artistic vision of the Faroese landscape with Vikings gazing out from the clouds above. This second version re-released in 2008 on Napalm records after the band found more worldwide success contains the two bonus tracks "Ólavur Riddararós" and "Stýrisvølurin" which are two more examples of traditional Faroese folk music dressed up in metal clothing and are highly recommended. Not only do i like the second release better for the artwork and extra two tracks, but all the bad production gripes i've encountered regarded this album seem to have been rectified on this second go at it. While it's taken me a while to get into the music of TÝR, i have to admit that after hearing a few albums, it was this debut that made it all click and now i'm hooked.

The Faroe Islands are not a place that many know anything about, let alone that they are home to one of the biggest Viking metal bands out there. Tyr is a band that takes their love of Norse mythology and makes music surrounded by it, and while this is certainly nothing new for a metal genre that has been worshiping the icy gods virtually since its inception, their highly melodic and clean-vocalized approach to viking metal tends to send them apart somewhat from the legions of other Viking revivalists. 'The Lay Of Thrym' shows a band that is very familiar with their sound and the science of making Viking metal music. On that note, there is nothing new here that listeners of Tyr will not immediately identify with, but their legacy of catchy and melodic mythos-inspired metal lives on here.

I will make it clear from the beginning that Viking metal is not something I find myself all too enthused by, seeing as there are only so many albums and songs that can be written about the ancient stories. On the other hand, Tyr do have a identifiable sound to them, thanks largely to the vocals of Heri Joensen. It is not necessarily that his voice is distinct, but rather the fact that in a genre where vocalists tend to rumble and snarl, he opts for an incredibly clear, only slightly accented melodic voice. The music huddles around the vocal strengths of Tyr, as is evidenced by their songwriting. Although Tyr's songwriting gets somewhat tired by the end of the album, they do know how to write a catchy song, and the choruses to each of these will have you at least humming along by the end of it.

'The Lay Of Thrym' certainly is about being Norse and in no dearth of reverence for the old gods, but the thing that actually had me even just a little surprised by the album was the fact that Tyr was expanding their lyrical themes to address other issues. As one might expect, 'Shadow Of The Swastika' is about Nazis, and although a stranger to this band might suddenly think based on the title that Norse mythology is not the only thing that Tyr wants to revive, the band openly condemns the neo-Nazi movement, as well as all of the National Socialist bands that give metal a bad name. The lyrics are not particularly poetic- as anyone who has heard the song may agree- but undeniably effective. With 'Take Your Tyrant', they continue this style of good-guy lyrics, and while it is an interesting change of pace to see a metal band writing lyrics about things advocating the good and well-being of mankind (as opposed to its depravity and destruction), they usually are not particularly interesting.

For someone looking for upbeat, catchy, and even slightly (but only slightly) progressive Viking metal, Tyr's 'The Lay Of Thrym' may be a good album to check out. The album does not pass me as being great or excellent, and while the upbeat melodic nature of Tyr can feel a little too shallow for the album's length, there are enough strong tracks and originality to be worth checking out.

Sorry, could not resist this pun. But the viking clad Tyr is off course playing on this image. So does Enslaved and Einherjer too. Just as Bathory did twenty years ago. There are some diffeences though between those bands and Tyr.

Tyr has gone down the commercial route during the last albums. There are still a lot of metal in their sound. But strip away the metal and you find a hymn singing band with a lot of celtic and nordic folk music added to the sound. This sound is then again enhanced with blazing guitars, drums and bass in the same vein as Manowar. A lot of Manowar, in fact. Tyr is clearly operating in the same scene as Manowar. And that is in most people's books not a compliment. Not in my book, anyway.

It all comes down to quality. This album does have a lot of blazing guitars and noise, but not any really good tracks. It feels like Tyr is running on empty here and the art of good songwriting has deserted them as much as the fish has deserted their shores. Hence, this album is nothing more than half decent and a sure dust collector in my music collection.

2 stars

Divided in eight chapters, Ragnarok tells the story of the end of the world and it's resurface according to Norse mythology. This sets the mood for an intelligent viking metal album. As for the music itself, Týr reaches their peak as songwriters. Flawlessly seaming traditional folk song structure with progressive metal, they create a very melodic and innovative listen. Not every track is a song in it's own right though, a lot of songs are ambient and serve as an "introduction" to the main song. Highlights include Wings of Time, The Rage of The Skullgaffer and Lord of Lies. This is also the only Týr album of which the special edition features some very good bonus tracks. This edition is well worth the extra money On this record which has crystal clear production, Týr shows that they can really play their instruments. Again, the two guitar players really stick out, just listen to The Rage of The Skullgaffer, which only contains two guitars playing counterharmonics.

It's a shame that this is the creative highlight for this band. Then again, Ragnarok is an excellent addition to any music collection and a gem in an otherwise repetitive genre.

4,5/5*

Týr now incorporates more folk within their music. Instead of choosing to let exotic instrumentation add flavor to their music, Týr focuses on playing traditional Faroese song structures within a heavy metal framework. The result is a very melodic progressive metal album.

The production of Eric The Red has taken a huge step forward. As for songwriting, this album is uneven. It is one of those records were you want to skip a song in order to hear the next track. Some songs are great, like The Edge, Regin Smiður, Ólavur Riddararós and my favorite Týr song "Ramund Hin Unge". Sometimes the rest of the album seems a bit unfocused, but it is never a real issue as there is no bad song to be found. As musicians, Týr has grown a lot. Henri Joensen has taken over vocal duties and his voice sounds a lot stronger than his predecessor. Joensen en Skibenæs really stick out as guitar players, playing solos with great ease.

With Eric the Red, Týr has taken a huge step forward. Even though Eric The Red is uneven and some songs lack a progressive approach, there are some true gems to be found on this record. If you like the concept of vikings but are tired of the genre's lack of creativity or if you don't like growling, you will not be disappointed.

Týr's debut could be better. It suffers from uninteresting production and some boring songwriting. The most promising stuff are songs like Ormurin Langi, which is most loyal to the original song. Hail to the Hammer has become a fan favorite, but other than that the rest of the album is quite forgettable. Týr doesn't strive into new territories, they keep mainly true to the safe and overpopulated heavy metal genre.There are no exotic instruments, just your regular 2 guitars, 1 bass and 1 drum outfit. The real strength of the album is that it tries to create an atmosphere of long forgotten times were vikings roamed. And sometimes, they succeed. The musicianship is good, but in the future the musicians of Týr will eventually grow into very capable players.

It isn't a bad start, but it could be better. In future releases, Týr learns from their mistakes by embracing their traditional Faroese influences. On how far to Asgaard, Týr makes a lot of mistakes. But you have to start somewhere.

This is her kind of music, folk metal with very catchy chorus, and gang vocals, basically drinking music. Now I prefer my battle metal as long and epic songs (mainly Moonsorrow and early Týr).

This album is a bit of a different direction from their earlier material with Bathory like long epic songs (me and my brother agree that true Viking Metal is what Bathory origianly did in the early 90's and the late 00's)

This was a great album, with some amazing songs, and maybe the odd filler, but it's overshadowed.

1. Hold The Heathen Hammer High - Pretty epic with a frantic chorus. Great song for a single. 9/10

2. Tróndur í Gøtu - This is a song that was definelty played in Cathy's car on long journeys. The language flows so well in this song. Amazing chorus. 10/10

3. Into The Storm - Nice chorus. Pretty cool guitar solo. 8/10

4. Northern Gate - Pretty cool riffing. A wee bit repetitive. 7/10

5. Turið Torkilsdóttir - Love the vocal intro. Sounds backwards. Great instrumental work. 9/10

6. By The Sword In My Hand - Best song on the album. Amazing chorus. This is an amazing car journey song. 10/10

7. Ride - This is the most played song in Cathy's car. Amazing song. The main riff rules. 10/10

8. Hear The Heathen Call - Great chorus. Very folky and drunken disordly. 9/10

9. By The Light Of The Northern Star - Very epic chorus. Great ending.

CONCLUSION: This was really enjoyable. Everyone should buy it really.