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.
Third Age of the Sun | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 25 July 2005 | |||
Recorded | March–April 2005 | |||
Studio | Sound Suite Studio, Marseille, France | |||
Genre | Melodic death metal, folk metal, Celtic metal | |||
Length | 49:45 | |||
Label | Napalm | |||
Producer | Terje Refsnes, Battlelore | |||
Battlelore chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Metal Review | (6.9/10)[1] |
Metal Storm | (6.5/10)[2] |
Lords of Metal | (60/100)[3] |
The Metal Crypt | [4] |
The album peaked at position 38 in The Official Finnish Charts.[5]
Track listing
editAll lyrics are written by Jyri Vahvanen, except "Usvainen Rhûn" by Kaisa Jouhki
No. | Title | Music | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Usvainen Rhûn" | Maria Honkanen | 1:36 |
2. | "Storm of the Blades" | Jyri Vahvanen, Battlelore | 3:22 |
3. | "Ghân of the Woods" | Jussi Rautio, Battlelore | 4:41 |
4. | "Gwaith-i-Mírdain" | Battlelore | 3:43 |
5. | "Trollshaws" | Vahvanen, Battlelore | 4:07 |
6. | "Elves of Lúva" | Rautio, Jouhki | 4:39 |
7. | "Valier - Queens of the Valar" | Vahvanen, Battlelore | 4:19 |
8. | "Thousand Caves" | Rautio, Battlelore | 4:06 |
9. | "Cloaked in Her Unlight" | Rautio, Battlelore | 4:13 |
10. | "Of Orcs and Elves" | Vahvanen, Battlelore | 4:26 |
11. | "Touch of Green and Gold" | Vahvanen, Battlelore | 3:59 |
12. | "Pallando - Forgotten Wizards I" | Vahvanen, Rautio, Battlelore | 3:31 |
13. | "Gollum's Cry" | Honkanen | 3:03 |
14. | "Alatar - Forgotten Wizards II" (Digipak edition bonus track) | Battlelore | 3:33 |
15. | "Elessar's Call" (Digipak edition bonus track) | Battlelore | 4:11 |
16. | "Dwimmerlaik" (Digipak edition bonus track) | Battlelore | 4:28 |
Total length: | 61:57 |
Credits
edit- Band members
- Kaisa Jouhki - vocals
- Tomi Mykkänen - vocals
- Jussi Rautio - guitar, acoustic guitars
- Jyri Vahvanen - guitar
- Timo Honkanen - bass
- Henri Vahvanen - drums
- Maria Honkanen - keyboards
- Production
- Terje Refsnes - producer, engineer, mixing
- Miitri Aaltonen - additional pre-production
- Tommi Havo - additional growl-vocals arrangements
- Mika Jussila - mastering at Finnvox Studios
Lyrical references
edit- "Usvainen Rhûn" refers titular to the land of Rhûn.
- "Ghân of the Woods" is about Ghân-buri-Ghân and the Drúedain.
- "Gwaith-i-Mírdain" tells about the elven smiths who forged the Rings of Power.
- "Trollshaws" is about the encounter in the troll-woods, from The Hobbit.
- "Valier - Queens of the Valar" is about the Queens of the Valar.
- "Thousand Caves" is about the Thousand Caves of Menegroth in Doriath.
- "Cloaked in Her Unlight" tells about Ungoliant and the destruction of the Two Trees of Valinor.
- "Of Orcs and Elves" is about the breeding of Orcs from Elves.
- "Touch of Green and Gold" is about Tom Bombadil.
- "Pallando - Forgotten Wizards I" is about Pallando, one of the Blue Wizards.
- "Gollum's Cry" is about Gollum during The Two Towers.
- "Elessar's Call" is about the gifts Aragorn receives to aid the Fellowship.
- "Alatar - Forgotten Wizards II" is about Alatar, one of the Blue Wizards.
- "Dwimmerlaik" is a dialogue-like song between Éowyn and the Witch-king of Angmar.
References
edit- ^ Carlson, Harley (1 September 2005). "Review of Battlelore - Third Age of the Sun". Metal Review.com. Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 2012-06-02.
- ^ "Battlelore - Third Age of the Sun review". Metal Storm. 16 November 2005. Retrieved 2012-06-02.
- ^ Barten, MIchiel. "Battlelore - Third Age of the Sun". Lords of Metal.nl. Retrieved 2012-06-02.
- ^ Batteiger, Paul. "Battlelore - Third Age of the Sun". The Metal Crypt.com. Retrieved 2012-06-02.
- ^ "Battlelore in Finnish Charts". finnishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2012-09-23.