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Buy here: “We consciously decided to make this a more direct album with songs that are easier for listeners to get right away than some of the stuff on our last album, or maybe even on our 2006 album Ragnarok, which was very progressive,” says Joensen. “With Battle Ballads, there are progressive elements here and there, but we tried to keep the songs based on one or two musical ideas each, and work on everything from there. So, in a way, it’s more concise than our last album, but it’s more epic because of the symphonic elements.” There’s no escaping the masterfully meticulous blend of melody and savagery on Battle Ballads. Notes Joensen of the band’s “Dragons Never Die” single, “The song starts with a long harmonic crescendo on drums and guitar reminiscent of classical Deep Purple, then shifts an eastern inspired melodic journey back in time with wordless singalong parts, going into a rhythmically simple and stomping verse about a gold-grabbing dragon and a protagonist
