Battlelore
Encyclopedia
Battlelore is a metal
band from Lappeenranta
, Finland
. All of Battlelore's lyrics concern J. R. R. Tolkien
's Middle-earth
.
in "beauty and the beast" duet, backed by heavy guitar riffing and occasional keyboard interludes. The band's style takes elements from gothic metal
, folk metal
, power metal
, and melodic death metal
. Because of the ambiguity of Battlelore's music, different reviewers have labeled the band with each of these, as well as idiosyncratic terms such as "epic metal" or "fantasy metal".
Battlelore's songs are all centered around J. R. R. Tolkien
's Middle-earth
. Tolkien inspiration also includes a distinctive stage pseudo-medieval dress and make-up.
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band from Lappeenranta
Lappeenranta
Lappeenranta is a city and municipality that resides on the shore of the lake Saimaa in South-Eastern Finland, about from the Russian border. It belongs to the region of South Karelia. With approximately inhabitants Lappeenranta is the largest city in Finland...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
. All of Battlelore's lyrics concern J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
's Middle-earth
Middle-earth
Middle-earth is the fictional setting of the majority of author J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place entirely in Middle-earth, as does much of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....
.
Style
Battlelore mixes female vocals with harsh male growlingDeath growl
A death growl, also known as death metal vocals, guttural vocals, death grunts, and harsh vocals among other names, is a vocalisation style usually employed by vocalists of the death metal and black metal music genre, but also used in a variety of heavy metal and hardcore punk subgenres.Death...
in "beauty and the beast" duet, backed by heavy guitar riffing and occasional keyboard interludes. The band's style takes elements from gothic metal
Gothic metal
Gothic metal or goth metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that combines the aggression of doom metal with the dark melancholy of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different styles of heavy metal music...
, folk metal
Folk metal
Folk metal is a sub-genre of heavy metal music that developed in Europe during the 1990s. As the name suggests, the genre is a fusion of heavy metal with traditional folk music...
, power metal
Power metal
Power metal is a style of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. The term refers to two different but related styles: the first pioneered and largely practiced in North America with a harder sound similar to speed metal, and a...
, and melodic death metal
Melodic death metal
Melodic death metal is a heavy metal music style that combines elements from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal with elements of death metal. The style was developed during the early and mid-1990s, primarily in England and Scandinavia...
. Because of the ambiguity of Battlelore's music, different reviewers have labeled the band with each of these, as well as idiosyncratic terms such as "epic metal" or "fantasy metal".
Battlelore's songs are all centered around J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
's Middle-earth
Middle-earth
Middle-earth is the fictional setting of the majority of author J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place entirely in Middle-earth, as does much of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....
. Tolkien inspiration also includes a distinctive stage pseudo-medieval dress and make-up.
Current members
- Kaisa JouhkiKaisa JouhkiKaisa Jouhki is a singer, vocalist of the Finnish heavy metal band Battlelore since 1999.-Studio albums:* ...Where the Shadows Lie * Sword's Song * Third Age of the Sun * Evernight...
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Tomi Mykkänen – vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
- Jussi Rautio – guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Jyri Vahvanen – guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Timo Honkanen – bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Henri Vahvanen – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Maria Honkanen – keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, FluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
Former members
- Miika Kokkola – bass
- Patrik MennanderPatrik MennanderPatrik Mennander is a Finnish singer who has been in the bands Ruoska, Battlelore and Natsipaska.-Short biography:Mennander was born in Finland in 1976. He was in the Finnish army until 1997. A year later, in 1998, he then created the comic/hard rock band Natsipaska with Anssi Auvinen, Mika...
– vocals - Tommi Havo – vocals, lead guitar
- Gorthaur – drums
Studio Albums
- ...Where the Shadows Lie (2002)
- Sword's SongSword's SongSword's Song is the second album released by the metal band Battlelore. As with all of the band's other albums, the lyrics are based on J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. The album essentially was similar to their debut but in the opinions of most reviewers and fans showed an improvement in both the...
(2003) - Third Age of the SunThird Age of the SunThird Age of the Sun is the third album released by the metal band Battlelore. As previously, the songs are all based on J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. This album introduced new bass player Timo Honkanen and new vocalist Tomi Mykkänen who had previously toured with the band when Miika Kokkola...
(2005) - EvernightEvernight (album)Evernight is the fourth album released by the metal band Battlelore. As previously, the songs are all based on J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. Overall the sound of the album was darker and denser than the bands earlier releases with a much thicker and heavier guitar sound...
(2007) - The Last AllianceThe Last Alliance (album)The Last Alliance is the fifth album by the Finnish metal band Battlelore. It was released as a jewel case CD and a digipack with a DVD featuring the live show at Metal Female Voices Fest in Wieze, Belgium 2007.-Track listing:#"Third Immortal" - 4:45...
(2008) - DoomboundDoomboundDoombound is the sixth album by the Finnish metal band Battlelore. It was first released January 26, 2011. There is a digipack version including the cd, a bonus DVD, and a poster available at Naplam records website....
(2011)
Videos
- "Journey to Undying Lands" (2002)
- "Storm of the Blades" (2005)
- "House of Heroes" (2007)
- "Third Immortal" (2008)
External links
- Official website
- Official Myspace page
- Battlelore at Napalm RecordsNapalm RecordsNapalm Records is an Austrian independent record label focused on heavy metal and hard rock.Originally, Napalm Records focused mainly on black metal acts such as Abigor and Summoning and folk metal bands such as Falkenbach and Vintersorg....
- [ Battlelore] at Allmusic