Battle Magic is the third album by Bal-Sagoth, released in 1998 on Cacophonous Records, and is their last recording for that company before they signed to Nuclear Blast.
| Battle Magic | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 2, 1998 | |||
| Recorded | October–December 1997 at Academy Music Studio, Yorkshire, England | |||
| Genre | Symphonic black metal | |||
| Length | 49:54 | |||
| Label | Cacophonous | |||
| Producer | Mags | |||
| Bal-Sagoth chronology | ||||
| ||||
The cover artwork for the first release of the album features the fantasy character "Caylen-Tor", created by Bal-Sagoth vocalist/lyricist Byron Roberts. The character was originally introduced in the lyrics of the band's previous album Starfire Burning Upon the Ice-Veiled Throne of Ultima Thule and would later appear in "The Chronicles of Caylen-Tor" series of novels written by Roberts and published by American Sword and sorcery publishing house DMR Books.[1]
The song "When Rides the Scion of the Storms" marks the debut of Byron Roberts' character Captain Caleb Blackthorne, a privateer of the Elizabethan era, who would later appear in a trilogy of short stories written by Roberts and published by DMR Books in the "Swords of Steel" anthology series and subsequent omnibus edition.[2]
The song "Thwarted by the Dark (Blade of the Vampyre Hunter) marks the debut of Byron Roberts' character Joachim Blokk, a 19th century adventurer who would later appear in a short story written by Roberts published in the Sword and sorcery anthology paperback "Devil's Armory", released by Barbwire Butterfly Books.[3]
The band were awarded one full month to record, much of which was spent on the orchestral arrangements. The keyboards in "Blood Slakes the Sand at the Circus Maximus" alone took six full days to complete.[4] The opening of "Blood Slakes the Sand at the Circus Maximus" is identical to the score for the film Spartacus, composed by Alex North.
On 16 September 2016, Battle Magic was reissued on CD by Cacophonous Records, featuring remastered audio, an expanded lyric booklet and new cover artwork.
Track listing edit
All songs composed by Byron Roberts and Jonny and Chris Maudling.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Battle Magic" | 2:45 |
| 2. | "Naked Steel (The Warrior's Saga)" | 4:44 |
| 3. | "A Tale from the Deep Woods" | 5:36 |
| 4. | "Return to the Praesidium of Ys" | 6:29 |
| 5. | "Crystal Shards" | 2:17 |
| 6. | "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)" | 4:14 |
| 7. | "When Rides the Scion of the Storms" | 6:16 |
| 8. | "Blood Slakes the Sand at the Circus Maximus" | 8:53 |
| 9. | "Thwarted by the Dark (Blade of the Vampyre Hunter)" | 6:18 |
| 10. | "And Atlantis Falls..." | 2:22 |
| Total length: | 49:54 | |
Personnel edit
- Byron Roberts – vocals
- Chris Maudling – guitars, bass
- Jonny Maudling – drums, keyboards
Additional personnel edit
- Mags – producer, engineering
- Jeroen van Valkenburg – artwork (inner inlay)
- J.C. Dhien – photography
- Simon Lee – artwork (first release)
- Martin Hanford – artwork (rerelease)
References edit
- ^ Roberts, Byron (2019). The Chronicles of Caylen-Tor. DMR Books. ISBN 9780990990062.
- ^ Roberts, Byron; et al. (2017). Swords of Steel III. DMR Books. ISBN 9780990990000.
- ^ Roberts, Byron; et al. (2015). Devil's Armory. Horrified Press/Barbwire Butterfly Books. ISBN 9781326337513.
- ^ "The Official Bal-Sagoth Discography". bal-sagoth.freeserve.co.uk. Archived from the original on 22 June 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
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