''Sword's Song'' is the second

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

released by the Finnish heavy metal band

Battlelore Battlelore are a Finnish heavy metal band from Lappeenranta, founded in 1999 by guitarist Jyri Vahvanen and bassist Miika Kokkola. The name derives from the union of the words 'battle' and 'folklore'. Many of Battlelore's lyrics concern J. R. ...

, released in 2003. As with all of the band's other albums, the lyrics are based on J.R.R. Tolkien's

Middle-earth Middle-earth is the Setting (narrative), setting of much of the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy. The term is equivalent to the ''Midgard, Miðgarðr'' of Norse mythology and ''Middangeard'' in Old English works, including ''Beowulf'' ...

sagas. ''Sword's Songs 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 Patrik Mennander (born 8 January 1976) is a Finland, Finnish singer who has been in the bands Ruoska, Battlelore and Natsipaska. Short biography Mennander was born in Finland in 1976. He was in the Finnish army (the year he entered is unknown ...

and bass player Miika Kokkola and, as a result, following releases saw a noticeable change in the sound of Battlelore.

Track listing

All music by Battlelore, all lyrics by Jyri Vahvanen.

Credits

;Band members * Kaisa Jouhki -

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

* Jussi Rautio -

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

* Jyri Vahvanen -

* Miika Kokkola -

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

* Henri Vahvanen -

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

* Maria Honkanen- keyboards ;Production *Miitri Aaltonen - producer, engineer, mixing *Eric Zacharias - pre-production, additional synthesizer arrangements *Pauli Saastamoinen - mastering at

Finnvox Studios Finnvox Studios is a recording studio located in Pitäjänmäki, Helsinki, Finland. It was founded by Erkki Ertesuo, Kurt Juuranto and Lejos Inc. in 1965 and is the longest running studio recording facility in Finland. The original multi-track ...

Lyrical references

* "Sons of Riddermark" deals with the history of the

Éothéod Rohan is a fictional kingdom of Men in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy setting of Middle-earth. Known for its horsemen, the Rohirrim, Rohan provides its ally Gondor with cavalry. Its territory is mainly grassland. The Rohirrim call their land the Ma ...

. * "The Mark of the Bear" is about the Beornings. * "Buccaneers Inn" deals with the

Black Númenóreans Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''Psyc ...

. * "Attack of the Orcs" is about the Orken hordes in the Third Age. * "Dragonslayer" is based on the story of

Túrin Turambar Túrin Turambar (pronounced ) is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Tolkien's legendarium, legendarium. ''Turambar and the Foalókë'', begun in 1917, is the first appearance of Túrin in the legendarium. Túrin is a Man (Middle-earth ...

. * "Khazad-Dûm Pt. 2 (Silent Caverns)" deals with the invasion of

Moria Moria may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Moria (Middle-earth), fictional location in the works of J. R. R. Tolkien * ''Moria: The Dwarven City'', a 1984 fantasy role-playing game supplement * Moria (1978 video game), ''Moria'' (1978 video gam ...

. * "The War of Wrath" is based on the

War of Wrath In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the history of Arda, also called the history of Middle-earth, began when the Ainur entered Arda, following the creation events in the Ainulindalë and long ages of labour throughout Eä, the fictional un ...

. * "Forked Height" deals with the tower of

Orthanc In J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings, Isengard () is a large fortress in Nan Curunír, the Wizard's Vale, in the western part of Middle-earth. In the fantasy world, the name of the fortress is described as a translation of Angrenost, a wo ...

. * "The Curse of the Kings" is about the

Nazgûl The Nazgûl (from Black Speech 'ring', and 'wraith, spirit')introduced as Black Riders and also called Ringwraiths, Dark Riders, the Nine Riders, or simply the Nineare fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. They were ni ...

. * "Starlight Kingdom" is about the city of

Gondolin In J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium, Gondolin is a secret city of Elves in the First Age of Middle-earth, and the greatest of their cities in Beleriand. The story of the Fall of Gondolin tells of the arrival there of Tuor, a prince of Men; of th ...

References

External links

Battlelore Official Homepage
{{Authority control Battlelore albums 2003 albums Napalm Records albums