Battlelore
- MEMBERS:
- Tomi Mykkänen - Vocals
- Kaisa Jouhki - Vocals
- Jyri Vahvanen - Guitars
- Jussi Rautio - Guitars
- Maria Honkanen - Keyboards & Flute
- Timo Honkanen - Bass
- Henri Vahvanen - Drums
BIOGRAPHY
J. Vahvanen and M. Kokkola founded Battlelore in 1999. Their first promo CD Warrior’s Tale was released that same year. Warrior’s Tale was praised and liked, but the band caught the attention of Napalm Records after the release of their second demo Dark Fantasy in 2000. “Dark Fantasy” also introduced the at the time new Battlelore members; Kaisa Jouhki as the new female vocalist, Henri Vahvanen as the drummer and Maria Honkanen as the keyboard player and flutist. At the request of the label, Battlelore recorded an untitled three-track promo CD and soon thereafter the deal was finalized.
In autumn 2001 Battlelore recorded their debut …Where the Shadows Lie at Music Bros Studios with producer Miitri Aaltonen. Shortly thereafter due to personal reasons, T. Havo left Battlelore. He was replaced by J. Rautio on lead guitar. …Where the Shadows Lie got great response worldwide and Battlelore roamed onwards with full steam.
The second album Sword’s Song was released in spring 2003 and took Battlelore to a totally new level in their music. Sword’s Song was also recorded at Music Bros Studios under the guidance of Miitri Aaltonen. The response was huge and thus, Battlelore did their first tour around Europe. This tour led to even more followers and a steady fan base.
Battlelore’s first DVD The Journey – featuring the energetic live show at Tavastia club – saw the light of day in early 2004. In August 2004 Battlelore endured another line-up change. Patrik Mennander left the band to follow another career path, leaving his scepter and crown as Battlelore’s vocalist behind. His last performance with Battlelore took place at the spectacular headlining show at RingCon, the official Lord of the Rings Festival in Bonn, Germany.
After the successful European tour with two session musicians (the low-growling vocalist Tomi Mykkänen and raging bass player Timo Honkanen, who filled in for a temporarily absent Miika Kokkola), Battlelore began searching for Patrik’s replacement. Furthermore, Miika Kokkola announced that he too, for personal reasons, would be leaving the band. Luckily, Timo and Tomi’s showing on tour convinced Battlelore that they could not find better men for the job.
Battlelore’s third album Third Age of the Sun was recorded at Sound Suite Studios in spring 2005. With producer Terje Refsnes at the helm, Battlelore found a new sound for their journey through Middle-earth. The band decided to leave out all the overdone computer programming that would result in an inorganic sound. Third Age of the Sun was a lively creation where the joy of playing is continually present. The response again overwhelmed everyone as Battlelore found their way to the top 40 album chart in Finland right after the release.
The fourth Battlelore album, Evernight, was recorded in the autumn of 2006 and released in the early 2007. Once again, Battlelore chose to work with Miitri Aaltonen at Music Bros Studios. The results can be heard in the even more bombastic, more epic and heavier soundscapes. Evernight, as the darkest and strongest Battlelore album so far, continues to remain loyal to the heritage of J. R. R. Tolkien, but the band’s sound has evolved to deliver true atmosphere and a fantastic end result.
Battlelore recorded their fifth album, The Last Alliance, at Sound Supreme Studios in Hämeenlinna, Finland in April-May of 2008. They chose to work with the ingenious producer Janne Saksa for the recordings and the legendary metal god Dan Swanö for the mixing and mastering of the album, which proved to be perfect choices. The album consists of big, epic and atmospheric songs full of feeling and raging battles, which will lead the listener back to Middle-earth in an unforgettable way. Battlelore has created the perfect, epic masterpiece, and Tomi’s clean vocals are the final touch to make The Last Alliance an album of a lifetime. The Last Alliance limited edition digipack includes a bonus DVD featuring the massive live show at Metal Female Voices Festival in Wieze, Belgium 2007. The Last Alliance received again incredible response from the fans and was #26 on the Finnish album charts.
In 2010, after over 10 years of making music together, Battlelore concentrated on making new songs for the upcoming album, Doombound. Besides a visit to Ibiza with Hard Rock Hell Road Trip, they decided to stay in Finland and make this the best album so far. Concentrating on the new songs and the new album proved to be great choices as in the studio, June-July 2010, the songs turned out to be more versatile and bombastic, more dynamic and epic, atmospheric, fun and serious, and free of old habits – and still they sounded like Battlelore. Sound Supreme Studios and producer Janne Saksa were the perfect pair for Battlelore to spread their wings and try different approaches to song writing, as Janne’s excellent ear and feel for details made Battlelore do their best and concentrate on all aspects of the songs. A talented young cellist, Markus Vuoristo, visited Battlelore in the studio and played the cello for two songs, thus giving the songs the perfect finishing touches and complementing all the other instruments and vocals. Dan Swanö, the legendary metal god, played a guitar solo on one of the songs and did the mixing for Battlelore again, and gave the songs and sounds the perfect final touch to make this the greatest album in Battlelore history. As the first and so far only concept album, telling the story of Tolkien’s tragic hero Túrin Turambar and his kin, this album takes Battlelore to a completely new level of song writing. The songs do not bow down to anyone – this is who we are and what you get. Included in Doombound limited edition digipack is 10 years of Battlelore bonus DVD featuring two incredible live shows from Nosturi, Finland, tour videos from Europe and Finland, a huge photo gallery and all of Battlelore’s music videos. The DVD was made to all the fans and followers as a thank you for the support they have given the band during these years. The release of Doombound is set for January 2011.
Let Battlelore show you flashes from the smoky tavern at Umbar, through the green fields of Rohan and finally to the deepest dungeons of Moria. Gather your belongings, clean up your weapons and prepare for WAR!
VIDEOS




DISCOGRAPHY
Doombound / 2011
1. Bloodstained
2. Iron of Death
3. Bow and Helm
4. Enchanted
5. Kärmessurma
6. Olden Gods
7. Fate of the Betrayed
8. Men as Wolves
9. Last of the Lords
10. Doombound
11. Kielo (instrumental)
Doombound is the sixth album by the Finnish symphonic metal band Battlelore, released on January 26, 2011. It was their final album before their five-year hiatus. A digipak version including the CD, a bonus DVD, and a poster is available at Napalm Records website, which also released a sample for the song “Kärmessurma“
The Last Alliance / 2008
1. Third Immortal
2. Exile the Daystar
3. The Great Gathering
4. Guardians
5. Voice of the Fallen
6. Daughter of the Sun
7. Green Dragon
8. Awakening
9. Epic Dreams
10. Moontower
11. The Star of High Hope
The Last Alliance is the fifth album by the Finnish heavy metal band Battlelore, released in 2008. It was issued as a jewel case CD and a digipack with a bonus DVD featuring footage of a live show at Metal Female Voices Fest in Wieze, Belgium in 2007.
It peaked at position 26 in The Official Finnish Charts.
Evernight / 2007
1. House of Heroes
2. Ocean’s Elysium
3. Summon the Wolves
4. We Are the Legions
5. Into the New World
6. Longing Horizon
7. Mask of Flies
8. The Cloak and the Dagger
9. Beneath the Waves
Evernight is the fourth studio album by the Finnish heavy metal band Battlelore, released in 2007. 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 band’s earlier releases with a much thicker and heavier guitar sound. The album also was more consistent in sound with less variation between songs to present a more cohesive piece of work. In this album the band choose not to use names and direct references to Tolkien’s legendarium to make the lyrics accessible to a broader audience.
Third Age of the Sun / 2005
1. Usvainen Rhûn
2. Storm of the Blades
3. Ghân of the Woods
4. Gwaith-i-Mírdain
5. Trollshaws
6. Elves of Lúva
7. Valier – Queens of the Valar
8. Thousand Caves
9. Cloaked in Her Unlight
10. Of Orcs and Elves
11. Touch of Green and Gold
12. Pallando – Forgotten Wizards I
13. Gollum’s Cry
Third Age of the Sun is the third studio album released by the Finnish heavy metal band Battlelore, released in 2005. As on previous albums, the songs are all based on J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth sagas. This album introduced new bass player Timo Honkanen and new vocalist Tomi Mykkänen, who had previously toured with the band when Miika Kokkola and Patrik Mennander had been unavailable. The sound of the album differs from the first two Battlelore albums, as the instrumentation has a more live and organic feel and also due to the absence of clean male vocals.
The album peaked at position 38 in The Official Finnish Charts.
Sword's Song / 2003
1. Sons of Riddermark
2. Sword’s Song
3. The Mark of the Bear
4. Buccaneers Inn
5. Attack of the Orcs
6. Dragonslayer
7. Khazad-Dûm Pt.2 (Silent Caverns)
8. Horns of Gondor (instrumental)
9. The War of Wrath
10. Forked Height
11. Starlight Kingdom
Sword’s Song is the second studio album released by the Finnish heavy metal band Battlelore, released in 2003. As with all of the band’s other albums, the lyrics are based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth sagas. Sword’s Song‘s music and lyrics are essentially similar to those of their debut album, but in the opinion of most reviewers and fans showed an improvement in both strength of the material and quality of the performances.
The album was the last to feature original vocalist Patrik Mennander and bass player Miika Kokkola and, as a result, following releases saw a noticeable change in the sound of Battlelore.
...Where the Shadows Lie / 2002
1. Swordmaster
2. The Grey Wizard
3. Raging Goblin
4. Journey to Undying Lands
5. Shadowgate
6. Fangorn
7. The Green Maid
8. Khazad-Dûm Pt.1 (Ages of Mithril)
9. Ride with the Dragons
…Where the Shadows Lie is the first full-length album by the Finnish heavy metal band Battlelore, released in 2002 by Napalm Records. The album received good reviews and gained the band a loyal fan base. No singles were released from the album, although a video was filmed for the song “Journey to Undying Lands“, used to promote the band throughout Europe. After the release of this album in 2002, guitarist Tommi Havo had to leave the band due to personal reasons and was replaced by Jussi Rautio.
The album cover features an image of Morgoth, painted by Ted Nasmith in 1998, titled “Morgoth and High King of Noldor” (used with permission).
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TOURDATES
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