Bal-Sagoth - Battle Magic review
| Band: | Bal-Sagoth |
| Album: | Battle Magic |
| Style: | Symphonic black metal, Power metal |
| Release date: | November 02, 1998 |
| Guest review by: | Lanfawn |
01. Battle Magic
02. Naked Steel (The Warrior's Saga)
03. A Tale From The Deep Woods
04. Return To The Praesidium Of Ys
05. Crystal Shards
06. The Dark Liege Of Chaos Is Unleashed At The Ensorcelled Shrine Of A'Zura-Kai (The Splendour Of A Thousand Swords Gleaming Beneath The Blazon Of The Hyperborean Empire Part II)
07. When Rides The Scion Of The Storms
08. Blood Slakes The Sand At The Circus Maximus
09. Thwarted By The Dark (Blade Of The Vampyre Hunter)
10. And Atlantis Falls...
Do you know what a special album is like? The ones that are so good that you listen to the entire disc with extremely high volume, following each track with all your senses while reading the lyrics; completely disabled from the rest of the world? If no, here's your chance. Because this is just as the title suggests, magic.
Bal-Sagoth is a band which hails from UK, playing black metal with huge symphonic influences... actually I'd rather say that they play symphonic metal with minor black metal influences since that's more how it sounds. Their texts are about fighting, warfare, blood, swords... etc, this might make you think "Oh crap, cheesy power metalish lyrics!" but this is not the case; since these lyrics are far more advanced than your usual glory anthems such as the likes of Rhapsody.
The tracks vary in shape, we have the instrumental interludes such as Battle Magic & Crystal Shards... epic pieces like A Tale From The Deep Woods (personal favorite!) and of course heavier stuff in the form of Return To The Praesidium Of Ys & Thwarted By The Dark (Blade Of The Vampyre Hunter). All these tracks also have a story, which makes it even more
fantastic. The album has a "red thread", or undertone if you may, related to Atlantis... but each track is like a separate battle. For example, the pre-mentioned Thwarted By The Dark (Blade Of The Vampyre Hunter) is about a vampire hunter who wants to get revenge at the undead. The Dark Liege Of Chaos Is Unleashed At The Ensorcelled Shrine Of A'Zura-Kai (The Splendour Of A Thousand Swords Gleaming Beneath The Blazon Of The Hyperborean Empire Part II) is probably a nominee for "longest title ever", and besides that it's a epic song about a full-scale war between rivalling forces. Album highlight Blood Slakes The Sand At The Circus Maximus which clocks in at 8:53 is about a gladiator fighting in the circus of emperor Nero during roman times.
As you can see, the album offers great variation and depth. But be aware, because this isn't to me an album where you can just grab a track and headbang to it... this album is really deep, and to enjoy it fully I recommend that you seal off the outside world and listen to the entire disc from beginning to end; only then will the true magic unfold. And believe me, it's worth every second of your time. It's like an enchantment, it's compelling... it's Bal-Sagoth!
Written by Lanfawn | 03.06.2004
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
Comments
Comments: 19
Visited by: 166 users
| The Alchemist Metalchemist Posts: 1589  |
Great album, for the musical arrangement and for the lyrical content. Personally, I wouldn't hear the whole album with high volume, but there are some really good songs, that I never get bored of them, like "A Tale From The Deep Woods" or the instrumental ones "Battle Magic" or "And Atlantis Falls..."
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| Baz Anderson Staff Posts: 13254  |
quite simply one of the best albums ever, one of the best bands ever
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| rebel Account deleted |
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| Richard Elite Posts: 4862  |
Battle Magic is a masterpiece! It took many listens for it to grow on me originally, as the keyboards are rather more upfront than before, and it isn't as aggressive as the previous two albums. But this is definitely Bal-Sagoth's best album, IMO - a shame they've never quite managed to recapture its excellence. I agree with the review that 'Blood Slakes...' is the ultimate highlight, too - even though the amusing 'circus' tune in the first part sounds ridiculous on the first few listens! Bal-Sagoth have never been afraid of being OTT!
---- 
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| Luciferion Posts: 139  |
One of teh wickedest Bands ever. Craziest sound ever and their material are masterpieces. Every cd has that Epic feel, and this cd is no different. Love the album ad definetly one of my to get list.
---- Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is, and I am the wolf that hunts you.
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| Ellrohir Heaven Knight Posts: 8669  |
I really "sit down on my ass" when i heard this
---- My rest seems now calm and deep Finally I got my dead man sleep 
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| Uirapuru Liver Failure Posts: 2955  |
Wow. OK... its good. But not that much... The lyrical content sure is amazing, and the album does have an unique sound. To me it all sound too much chaotic. One thing is to make a complex song structure, another is to simply play randomly.. is hard to remember which song is which, because apart from the initial part of the songs, they all extremly look alike. ''The Dark Liege Of Chaos Is Unleashed At The Ensorcelled Shrine Of A'Zura Kai (The Splendour Of A Thousand Swords Gleaming Beneath The Blazon Of The Hyperborean Empire Part II)''... damn this title  Its one of my favorites of the album, along with the ''Blood Slakes The Sand At The Circus Maximus'' and ''Thwarted By The Dark (Blade Of The Vampyre Hunter)'' have a bizarre atmosphere that is very cool. The rest, unfortunatly, is easily forgetteble. 
----  ---- member of the true crusade against old school heavy metal, early 80s thrash, NWOBHM, traditional doom, first and second wave black metal, old school death metal, US power metal, 70s prog rock and atmospheric doomsludgestoner. o/
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| Brogkul Posts: 20  |
An epic classic from one of the best bands, Battle Magic is a timeless masterpiece made of both, genius lyrics and majestic music. All songs are amazing, but I´d like to comment on Blood Slakes the Sand at the Circus Maximus. If you ever read a Conan story by Robert Howard, you´ll love this song it´s the perfect soundtrack. I thought the beginning was ridiculous at first too but it definitely grew on me with time, even more so when I aquired the Conan stories by Howard.Hail Bal Sagoth!
---- "The Sly One"
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| Luneth Account deleted |
Luneth
Account deleted
Oh yes, what a perfect album, another one for the 90's  Did anyone else get the distinct feeling a lot of the tracks sounded like the composition used in Batman Returns? Or is that just me :p
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| Chainer Witch Hunter Gen Posts: 172  |
Written by [user id=107773] on 19.10.2010 at 23:55 Lol, I think that it might just be you.
---- Written by Dangerboner on 02.11.2009 at 08:11
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| Luneth Account deleted |
Luneth
Account deleted Written by Chainer on 13.12.2010 at 04:05 Lol, trust me, listen to 'Atlantis Falls' and Batman Returns and here the similarity xD
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| Chainer Witch Hunter Gen Posts: 172 |
Written by [user id=107773] on 13.12.2010 at 13:31 I thought a lot about what you said after I made my post. Psychologically speaking, I am more likely to hear Batman after you mentioned it, but upon further consideration/listening (and sub-conscious processes aside) I think you may be right. Kinda weird, but I know that they borrowed melodies from Star Wars on The Power Cosmic so I guess Batman isn't too much of stretch for Battle Magic. Either way Bal-Sagoth kicks it 
---- Written by Dangerboner on 02.11.2009 at 08:11
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| Luneth Account deleted |
Luneth
Account deleted Written by Chainer on 13.12.2010 at 21:45 Exactly xD Bal-Sagoth ftw.
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| M C Vice ex-polydactyl Posts: 3407  |
Are the vocals like this on other albums, or is it just this one that the singer talks through most of it?
---- "I'm here to nunchuck and not wear helmets. And I'm all out of helmets." "I'll fight you on one condition. That you lower your nipples." " 'Tis a lie! Thy backside is whole and ungobbled, thou ungrateful whelp!"
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| RavenKing Posts: 1941  |
Written by M C Vice on 26.12.2011 at 02:31 All their albums are like that. The only exception is "A Black Moon Broods Over Lemuria".
---- They shake your hand and they smile and they buy you a drink They say we'll be your friends we'll stick with you till the end But everybody's only looking out for themselves And you say who can you trust I'll tell you nobody
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| M C Vice ex-polydactyl Posts: 3407 |
Written by RavenKing on 26.12.2011 at 03:59 That one would be mostly black metal-style vocals, right? And are the symphonic parts still as prominent in that one?
---- "I'm here to nunchuck and not wear helmets. And I'm all out of helmets." "I'll fight you on one condition. That you lower your nipples." " 'Tis a lie! Thy backside is whole and ungobbled, thou ungrateful whelp!"
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| RavenKing Posts: 1941 |
Written by M C Vice on 26.12.2011 at 12:31 A mix of Black Metal vocals and Death growls. The vocalist abandoned the growls completely after their first album. It has symphonic elements but the album is more extreme that any other album in their discography.
---- They shake your hand and they smile and they buy you a drink They say we'll be your friends we'll stick with you till the end But everybody's only looking out for themselves And you say who can you trust I'll tell you nobody
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| M C Vice ex-polydactyl Posts: 3407 |
Written by RavenKing on 26.12.2011 at 18:17
---- "I'm here to nunchuck and not wear helmets. And I'm all out of helmets." "I'll fight you on one condition. That you lower your nipples." " 'Tis a lie! Thy backside is whole and ungobbled, thou ungrateful whelp!"
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| FromTheDeepWoods Posts: 1  |
Exactly how I feel about this album and this band. There is nothing else like it. It truly is magic. Now if only I could get a single friend to listen to them for longer than a few seconds before declaring it's not their thing...
---- I give you my hail, I give you my blood, I give you my life, O' sylvan liege.
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