Battle Magic
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 | ||||
| ||||
It is the last album to feature Jonny Maudling on drums, who following this album would go on to concentrate fully on playing the keyboards. The cover artwork for the album features the fantasy character "Caylen-Tor", created by Bal-Sagoth vocalist/lyricist Byron Roberts.
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.[1] 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
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
- Byron Roberts – vocals
- Chris Maudling – guitars, bass
- Jonny Maudling – drums, keyboards
Additional personnel
- Mags – producer, engineering
- Jeroen van Valkenburg – artwork (inner inlay)
- J.C. Dhien – photography
- Simon Lee – artwork
References
- "The Official Bal-Sagoth Discography". bal-sagoth.freeserve.co.uk. Archived from the original on June 22, 2016. Retrieved July 6, 2016.