BATTLELORE · Where the Shadows Lie | VIOLA BLUE MARBLED LP

Viola blue marbled vinyl in gatefold sleeve. Limited to 300 copies.

Background information about 'Where the Shadows Lie'

When Where the Shadows Lie first landed in 2002, Battlelore were still a young Finnish outfit with a Tolkien obsession and a serious knack for riffcraft — and this debut makes that clear from the very first bar. Produced by Miitri Aaltonen and issued through Napalm Records, the record stitches together melodic death, gothic gloom and power metal pomp into something that feels genuinely its own. Guitars bite and soar, keyboards paint fog over the battlefield, and the vocal tag-team between deep growls and clean, almost hymnal passages gives every track a dramatic push and pull. It is the sound of a band discovering exactly what they want to be.

The songwriting is where the magic really sits. Cuts like "Swordmaster" and "Journey to Undying Lands" build dense, epic atmospheres without ever losing the hooks, and the Middle-earth imagery never feels like costume jewellery — it is woven right into the melodies. Two decades on, this still stands as one of the most charming entries in the Finnish fantasy metal canon, and hearing it pressed onto wax for the very first time is a proper treat for anyone who grew up trading tapes of this stuff. The mix has room to breathe, the dynamics hit harder, and the whole thing feels reborn.

For fans of: Ensiferum, Finntroll, Wintersun, Eluveitie, Korpiklaani

Track listing

A1. Swordmaster
A2. The Grey Wizard
A3. Raging Goblin
A4. Journey To Undying Lands
A5. Shadowgate
B1. Fangorn
B2. The Green Maid
B3. Khazad-dûm pt.1
B4. Ride With The Dragons
B5. Feast For the Wanderer

Manufacturer: Napalm Records Handels GmbH, Hammerplatz 2, 8790 Eisenerz, Austria , Contact: napalmrecords.com