Well, the thread for this excellent british band.
I post a part of an article of wikipedia: Byron Roberts formed Bal-Sagoth in 1993 in an attempt to form what he called "A sublimely symphonic black/death metal band swathed in a concept of dark fantasy/science-fiction and ancient myth & legendary." Drawing inspiration from such writers as Robert E. Howard, H.P. Lovecraft, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Frank Herbert, J.R.R. Tolkien, Shakespeare, Arthur C. Clarke, David Gemmell, George Lucas, and Stan Lee, Byron set out to create his own dark fantasy universe, with tales told through the music of Bal-Sagoth. Dubbed "The Multiverse", the lyrical world of Bal-Sagoth is a vast landscape of fantasy/science fiction, ranging from intergalactic tales of gods and cosmic empires, to sword and sorcery style epic battles.

They're one of the bands I admire the most because of the fantasy and the great music, they have a unique style.
So, what do you think about them?

yep. i have the original book 'The Gods Of Bal-Sagoth'
i have known this band for a while now
all of their albums are entertaining - there isnt a bad one there
on my poll on here for favorite album it is quite close, they all have some votes
my favorite is 'Starfire Burning Upon The Ice-Veiled Throne Of Ultima Thule' but the others are all worth listening to as well

i was rather impressed with 'The Chthonic Chronicles' but i havent listened to it in a while now
i get the impression from everything i read in magazines and stuff though that this is going to be their last album
apparently Byron planned a series of six and now there are six...
who knows. there might be more, maybe not. i hope so though

They're ok, far from anything brilliant. I think the narration in their songs kills it at times. I appreciate the whole creativity and hard work put into the fictious world and all but musically they don't pick up my interests. I used to own their latest TCC and found it mediocre. I only gave it one spin though.

After their show at Bloodstock this year, the band have said that they will aim to do more shows around the UK. They could be interesting live if they try and recreate something....

Yes, I have to say this is a pretty brilliant band, although I hate their childish concept... but well, albums like "The Magic Cosmic" are very sophisticated, and they added new bliss to the genre... I don't like the power metal-oriented path they had taken lately, tough...

3000 posts, I have no life

i saw some live videos of them play at Wacken some year and Byron was not very engaging with the crowd
i dont know what they would be like live in a smaller venue though with a more personal show. probably a lot better
if i could see them live, i would definatly take the opportunity

Great band! I followed them since their debut album which was good, but their peak IMO was the 3rd album Battle Magic, which is an exceptionally excellent album.

The band's use of melody on Battle Magic is incredible, and the songs are like a grandoise movie soundtrack mixed with extreme Metal. Of course, it's all totally OTT and cheesy, but still soul-stirring stuff - particularly the song 'Blood Slakes the Sand at Circus Maximus', which starts out with an amusing ludicrous jolly circus melody, then goes into a rhythm-driven section, then ends with an amazing Airwolf meets Conan The Barbarian style melody at the end.

I like all their albums so far to some extent, although my interest in the band began to wane around the time of Atlantis Ascendant, which was good but a bit 'heard it all before' by that point. I'm finding The Chthonic Chronicles a bit disappointing too, but I haven't listened to it much yet.

I've been listening to them more than I usually do lately. Everytime I listen I like them even more I think. Those spoken parts are just great, with the voice that is used, and the vocabulary of words. Plus of course their music is great

yeh - i listened to 'Battle Magic' for the first time in a long time the other day and it sounded really great again
i think before maybe i listened to it too much so it started to lose my interest

the problem i have with Bal-Sagoth is that the lyrics are so hard to follow! hahaha
that isnt a major problem though

I have only heard "The Power Cosmic". The vocals was very weak and the only sound I found good was "Callisto Rising", this song however had amazing melodies and was incredibly catchy. A wonderful song , with weak vocals.

Written by Guest on 01.11.2006 at 23:39

I have only heard "The Power Cosmic". The vocals was very weak and the only sound I found good was "Callisto Rising", this song however had amazing melodies and was incredibly catchy. A wonderful song , with weak vocals.

'The Power Cosmic' is no where as good as their best albums in my opinion
dotn give up on them just after hearing that album - you have to give 'Starfire Burning Upon The Ice-Veiled Throne Of Ultima Thule' 'Battle Magic' and 'The Chthonic Chronicles' a go - and also 'A Black Mood Broods Over Lemuria' is well worth looking into

hahaha - i would advise all of them to someone that hadnt heard them apart from 'The Power Cosmic' and 'Atlantis Ascendant' - i dotn really find these albums bad, its just the others are just a lot better

so yeh - please go out and hear their better stuff!!

Ok I will check thoose albums out then. The melodies of Callisto Rising is what drives me forward. Thoose were really great.

good! i hope you like them - you should though, their ealier albums especially maybe - as they are black metal with a twist kind of like Emperor possibly

The only black metal album I know is "A Black Moon Broods Over Lemuria" one of the most extreme albums of all time, imo

i am currently going through a Bal-Sagoth binge
i listened to their first album a lot of hours ago and i just loved it all over again!!
i hadnt listened to it in a long long time, so that is probably why
then i put their second album on and it was magic again
so i put 'Battle Magic' on, and then 'The Power Cosmic' and right now i have 'Atlantis Ascendant' on and will have the latest album next

so pretty much my whole night - and until four in the morning or so is going to be filled with Bal-Sagoth
its good to listen to them again after quite a while! very refreshing indeed!

Bal-Sagoth are awesome! I am a proud owner of all of their albums. I love how they fuse black metal with over-the-top symphonic theatrics and Tolkenesque vocals...I wonder what they'd be like live...

I have now listened to Battle Magic aprox 3 times and I aint really impressed here either. I just think it lacks melody, might sound strange to hear from me, I usually do very fine without it, but in this case I just feel that epic music without enough melody isnt my thing ^^.

Written by Guest on 25.11.2006 at 09:19

Bal-Sagoth are awesome! I am a proud owner of all of their albums. I love how they fuse black metal with over-the-top symphonic theatrics and Tolkenesque vocals...I wonder what they'd be like live...

That's great man! I have two questions: what's your favorite one? how sounds The Chtonic Chronicles like?

for the people that want to see Bal-Sagoth live - here are the links to the videos i watched yesterday. they are very good!!

this is the full set they did at Wacken Open Air 2004
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMURvoi9RMc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJwoI-xn9tU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4QZkMYu1bY
or all in one lump here
http://www.thehyperboreanempire.com/downloads/wacken2004.zip

this is a full set from a show in Bradford 2002
http://www.thehyperboreanempire.com/downloads/bradford2002.zip

here is a full set from Switzerland
http://www.thehyperboreanempire.com/downloads/sagothlivevideo.zip

these are from Bloodstock Open Air 2006
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrRCJL1Xj34
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQSXZwgC3bg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8j5wAxtBIA

@Baz: OH YEAH!!!! I forgot all about youtube!
@The Alchemist: It's alright...probably not their best release...they brought back a lot of their earlier evil-sounding material...it's everything you'd expect from a Bal-Sagoth release though...

One of the most original & ambitious bands out there. I only own the second trilogy plus Ultima Thule so far, and they're all great. Chtonic is probably the one I've been listening to most (actually, more than any other cd I own), it's a masterpiece, none the less. Wonderful, multi-layered synth work (best synth album I've heard), ripping guitars, and overall epic feel... vocals sound better too from some of their older stuff (Power Cosmic, like Basso said).

I consider Atlantis Ascendant awesome too, "easiest" one or not. Wonderful melodies.

Power Cosmic was... weird when I first listened to it. Too scifi for me, so took some time got into it, but it was definetily no let down.

Ultima Thule was the first I heard from them, and at first I didn't like it. Few months later gave it another spin, and slowly it started to open... I still think it has a few boring moments in comparison to their later stuff.

Definetily getting the rest of their albums.

By the way, basing on those youtube videos I decided that I never want to see them live, it just won't work. Kills the depth and quality of the music.

Written by Baz Anderson on 23.09.2006 at 13:57

yep. i have the original book 'The Gods Of Bal-Sagoth'

What is the story about? is it worth reading?

Written by The Alchemist on 31.03.2007 at 07:54

Written by Baz Anderson on 23.09.2006 at 13:57

yep. i have the original book 'The Gods Of Bal-Sagoth'

What is the story about? is it worth reading?

haha, well I never found time to read it.. and I especially have no time now because I have so much reading to do for university. my exams are coming up soon as well

great for relaxation...

Written by Lathronniel on 23.04.2007 at 21:17

great for relaxation...

Maybe their instrumental stuff...

Yes, instrumental stuff is an exception in Bal-Sagoth, many times completly different from full lenght songs

It's a great means of intermission in their albums...a great break between songs and such...makes for the perfect sense of flow from one song to the next eh...

yeah got that right

One of my favourite bands during this period...!! I just love songs like Callisto rising, Atlantis ascendant, A tale from the deep woods... I've just read that there'll be some gigs during 2008 (yuhuu!!) so I hope they'll come to Italy..!

At the turn of a new year, the Bal-Sagoth website has been updated with a message saying that announcement more live dates is immanent.

These guys are one of the few bands I've not seen that I would LOVE to see. They played at Bloodstock in 2006 I think, I hope they are going to play there this year!
Or a tour where I can see them in a more intimate nature.

Man if these guys ever came to NA that would be the show of the year for me. heh. One of my all time favorite bands. Have there cd's on order from the local record store and waiting for them to arrive to add to my collection