Battlelore’s Jyri Vahvanen to Chaoszine: “We promised ourselves that when we had our comeback, we’d all enjoy it.”

Following their last studio album, “Doombound” (2011), and extensive touring, Battlelore took a creative break. But now, the long, lingering 10-year sleep of Finnish heavy metal collective will finally end with the release of their much awaited seventh record, entitled “The Return Of The Shadow”. The album title perfectly represents the band’s comeback: named after Tolkien’s original shelved title for his legendary epic fantasy novel “Fellowship of the Ring”, Battlelore‘s brand new album features nine Middle-Earth themed songs, shining with the blistering aura the band has become known and loved for. On tracks such as the epic “Firekeeper“, Battlelore double down on their exceptional songwriting skills, diving deep into the dark facets of symphonic yet heavy metal realms. The vocal duets of Mykännen’s power and the haunting, fairylike voice of Kaisa Jouhki merge with otherworldly guitar harmonies, as tracks such as “Chambers Of Fire” turn into pure, epic heavy metal hymns, and songs like the magical “Elvenking” excite with fantasy.

“The Return Of The Shadow” was recorded by Janne Saksa at the Sound Supreme Studios, Finland, and was mixed and mastered by Dan Swanö at Unisound Studios. As a special gift to fans, the album also includes a bonus EP with 3 songs written around the beginning of the band’s hiatus that, soundwise, are different from the tracks on the main album.

Chaoszine had the opportunity to catch up with Jyri Vahvanen, who spoke to us about why Battlelore decided to take such a long hiatus, and why this was the right time to come back. He also talked about the writing process for “The Return Of The Shadow”, and in-depth details about some of the new songs. Plus all things Tolkien, of course.

You can watch the video interview below: