TÝR — Battle Ballads (review)

Album · 2024 · Power Metal

4/5 · 2024-05-15
siLLy puPPy

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.