I had firstly discovered LOTHLÖRYEN because of another Brazilian act named RYGEL, it was a fluke at first , in fact the lead singer , the amazing Daniel Felipe was also performing with RYGEL (their wonderful album "Imminent" is warmly recommended...You could found my underrated review here: www.metal-temple.com/site/catalogues/entry/reviews/cd_3/r_2/rygel-imminent.htm) as I truly loved his voice, loyal to my compulsive behavior, I purchased their second release "Raving Souls Society", but I have to admit that I wasn't totally convinced, maybe it was the production or the numerous references to the Nordic Folk Metal scene such as FALCONER or WUTHERING HEIGHTS which isn't my favorite genre.

But with the more refined sound of "Some Ways Back Some More" enhanced by a very solid performance from the whole band I was immediately hooked, much more attracted by this album, which is a Re-recording of their "Some Ways Back No More", featuring especially superior and restored vocals, recorded by their newest vocalist and an updated high-end production .The album's sound is pretty dynamic, the mix between the Folk elements and the heaviness posture is perfectly balanced , more interesting less gadget and the new contemporary Reworked version is head and shoulders above the early album, which was first published in 2008, even the new cover artwork is much better. With this authentic, fresh and improved rendition , they can easily compete now, with any big names of the genres like ORDEN OGAN / ALESTORM or the great Italians from ELVENKING and of course the German wizards; the godfathers of Epic Medieval Power Metal: BLIND GUARDIAN ("We Will Never Be The Same").

The weird name is borrowed from J.R.R. Tolkien's mythology: it's the forest realm of the Elves in "The Lord of the Rings" saga , so as you'll understand now, most of the tracks are about the magic Ring, the Hobbits, Mordor etc... But beside the Tolkien worshiping thematic mania, the songs are very well constructed and not too cheesy except the chorus for "Hobbits' Song" which is the sole jester moment, more like ANCIENT BARDS / SWASHBUCKLE or the SKYCLAD / RUNNING WILD's tavern pirates stuff than anything else.

What I like about LOTHLÖRYEN it's that beside the obvious vocal talent of Tenor Daniel Felipe -his harsh deepness in the low spectrum is jaw dropping, very much like the almighty Sir Russell Allen (SYMPHONY X / ADRENALINE MOB mixed with Bruce Dickinson), they takes the musical side with a real seriousness, not really Symphonic but clever in the arrangements, they deliver real Metal ingredients with intensity ("My Mind In Mordor" / "Unfinished Fairytale"), abundant and noble warrior choirs with only a few Folkish shades ("One Ring"), subtle acoustic guitars some sporadic gimmicks such as Fiddles or alto Violins and most of all a great mastery in the riffing method ("Hobbits' Song" / "Some Ways Back No More"), very Germanic in the approach , not far from GRAVE DIGGER ("My Grimoire") yet the more Celtic influences are still consistent in the guitar/Keyboards duo within the melodic themes .As I'm not the biggest fan of the genre, I'm not ready to swallow each and every archaic lullaby with strange instrumentation or too specific orchestrations, but the delicate mix of those elements is perfectly dosed at least for me it's a good omen, the track "Secret Time" could have been a huge song for the next AVANTASIA. Along with another South American band named TRIDDANA leaded by another fantastic singer Diego Valdez (ELECTRONOMICON / HELKER / ex-SKILTRON) from Argentina. LOTHLÖRYEN is my favorite new band in this highly tagged style, a real niche, HEAVEN'S GUARDIAN also from Brazil deserves to be mentioned here.

So take your holy sword and let's get ready for the battle as the forces of Evil are about to convince you to bought a stupid video game instead of this little jewel.