Member:
Darksinger
Date:
8/30/2005
Tolkien fans rejoice! The Finnish Battlelore has risen with a new CD Third Age of the Sun! This is progressive metal in the vein of early Opeth and Amorphis and features a blend of clean female vocals and extreme male vocals, as well as tons of layering. And, as Dave Wyndorf might call it, it is all "hobbit crap"!
First, the track I hated "Gollum's Cry". It matches the slow entry "Usvainen Rhun" and is very nice musically. However, listening to the vocals croaking and squeaking in imitation of Gollum makes me want to cut my ears off. I know, it's supposed to be artistic, so maybe it's just me and you might like it.
And now, a warning-do not let "Usvainen Rhun" fool you with it's delicate recorder music and whispered Sindarin lyrics. "Storm of the Blades" perhaps the best track on the album-comes in with all the fire of Feanor and without hesitation. "Trollshaws" contains a strange weaving of the vocals over dark, primitive music full of drums, recorders and guitars. It actually seems reminiscent of The Enid for some reason at times, although Enid never played this heavy. "Elves of Lu'va" slows things down nicely without slamming things to a halt, flowing nicely into the excellent "Valier-Queens of the Valar". "Valier" is a driven song that has a Celtic feel to it and is one of my personal favorites on Third Sun. All of the songs have melodies and hooks that hold the listener to each of them and make the entire experience of hearing this effort enjoyable. The album is well arranged and the band is very talented, even with the strange costumes and pointy ears. Highly recommended whether you are a Lord of the Rings fan or not.
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