The follow-up to the band's 2019's powerful progressive folk-metal album 'Hel', the new 'Battle Ballads' is aptly named - a crushing, soaring, batch of classical embellished songs that conjure images of galloping steeds, clashing swords, and hard-fought victories. And, as if it needs to be stated, the title 'Battle Ballads' has nothing in common with the lighter-raising songs so prevalent in the 1980s. "There are definitely two versions of a ballad," clarifies Joensen. "A lot of people think of hair metal, when they think of ballads. We are looking at ballads here in the Medieval sense. Apart from a couple of softer parts on the album, this is very much straight heavy metal with some folk and classical influences. I'm not sure what exactly one would call it - power metal, Viking metal, folk metal. It still fits in very much with what we do, only it feels bigger and more like these big soundscapes."
