Týr is back on the battlefield.
Founded in Denmark, but quickly relocated to the Faroe Islands, the band led by Heri Joensen (guitar/vocals, Heljareyga) and Gunnar Thomsen (bass/vocals), accompanied by Tadeusz Rieckmann (drums, Rivers Ablaze, ex-Dalriada) and Hans Hammer (guitar, Asyllex), released Battle Ballads, their ninth album, on Metal Blade Records in 2024.
The band is already hammering its anvil with Hammered, a motivating first composition where epic keyboards meet choruses and effective riffs. The steady tempo helps get the head moving, as does Unwandered Ways, where solid Heavy influences and melodies combine to carry us along on their journey, supported by energetic drums and catchy choruses. The atmosphere becomes more danceable with Dragons Never Die, where the contrast between keyboards and jerky riffs builds up deliberately softer passages that are sure to find their audience on stage, then the riffs darken on Row, especially thanks to those ominous vocal parts that haunt the first moments of the track, but the rest of the composition is ultimately just as catchy as the previous ones. A change of mood with the acoustic sound of Torkils Døtur for a gentle pause where the musicians exploit their Folk influences, then saturation reappears to bring a more massive tone before returning to brighter tones on Vælkomnir Føroyingar, where the rhythm accelerates relentlessly. Leads fit in perfectly with the charge, creating a welcome melodic pause before the final leads us into the solemn Hangman, which develops a heavier, but at the same time more majestic sound. The warlike atmosphere resurfaces on Axes, where the energy flows freely, then on Battle Ballads, the eponymous composition where the vocalist doesn’t hesitate to let his different intonations guide us to the heart of the battlefield, leading to Causa Latronum Normannorum, the final track where majestic elements rub shoulders with unifying Latin vocals, bringing the album to a close.
Battle Ballads’ tracks are perfect road companions, just waiting for a show to prove themselves live! If you haven’t heard of Týr yet, now’s your chance to enter their world, tinged with catchy folk sounds.
75/100