Battlelore

Battlelore, the Finnish heavy metal ensemble formed in Lappeenranta in 1999 by Jyri Vahvanen and Mika Kokkola, fuses the expansive textures of power, goth, and death metal with visual and thematic elements drawn from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. Frequent personnel shifts marked the band’s early period, yet two demos, Warrior’s Tale and Dark Fantasy, still emerged before the group secured a contract with Napalm in 2001. Where the Shadows Lie followed in 2002. Sword’s Song appeared the next year, Third Age of the Sun in 2005, and Evernight arrived in early 2007.