The follow-up to the band’s 2019’s powerful progressive folk metal album Hel, the new Battle Ballads is aptly named – a crushing, soaring, batch of classical embellished songs that conjure images of galloping steeds, clashing swords, and hard-fought victories. And, as if it needs to be stated, the title Battle Ballads has nothing in common with the lighter-raising songs so prevalent in the 1980s.
“There are definitely two versions of a ballad,” clarifies Joensen. “A lot of people think of hair metal, when they think of ballads. We are looking at ballads here in the Medieval sense. Apart from a couple of softer parts on the album, this is very much straight heavy metal with some folk and classical influences. I’m not sure what exactly one would call it – power metal, Viking metal, folk metal. It still fits in very much with what we do, only it feels bigger and more like these big soundscapes.”
As much as TÝR would have liked to write, rehearse, and record with a symphony, schedule conflicts made it impossible to have the band and classical musicians to be in the same place at the same time. So the band did the next best thing. With Joensen at the helm, they wrote ten thunderous songs for Battle Ballads, then the bandleader sent the compositions to a Danish colleague Lars Winther living in England, who added the orchestral samples, paying close attention to the tone and tempo of the songs so the violins, violas, cellos, woodwinds, and horns fit complimented the traditional rock instruments. When the samples were all in place the album sounded impressive, but the tones weren’t perfectly blended. So, TÝR sent the album to veteran producer Jacob Hansen (Volbeat, The Black Dahlia Murder, Amaranthe) in Denmark to put together the final mix.
There’s no escaping the masterful blend of melody and savagery on Battle Ballads. The opening track “Hammered” funnels infectious riffs and searing licks through a variety of rhythm and tempo changes, “Unwandered Ways” is a triumphant, upbeat blend of vocal harmonies, joyous folk hooks, and dense, driving guitars, and features a solo break that demonstrate guitarist Hans Hammer’s acrobatic ability to shred. And “Battle Ballad” is a trample to the abyss, fueled by hammering beats, fleet-fingered guitars, orchestral swell and chugging guitar breaks.
In advance of the release of Battle Ballads, today TÝR unveils the record’s first single, “Axes,” and its accompanying video.
Joensen comments, “‘Axes’ starts with a battle horn followed by a fast melodic and symphonic guitar riff introducing the progression and main theme of the song. Game Of Thrones-ish lyrics of gory and glorified hand-to-hand battle of Viking times, told from a first-person perspective. The verse is slow and heavy with a gritty, yet theatrical and melodic voice. The chorus is fast with a singalong choir, alternating vocally between intricate and brutally simple phrasings. It’s a short face-melting metal song based on a single melodic idea.”
Watch TÝR’s “Axes” video HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuirrWbZDM8
