Origin: Yorkshire, England  
Genres: Black Metal
INACTIVE
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Last update/review: April 26, 2020

Bal-Sagoth

One of the more over-the-top bands to emerge in quite some time, Bal-Sagoth is simply a wonder to behold. Weaving a black metal base with swirling symphonic keyboard work (keyboards are the dominant instrument here), influences ranging from straight classical music to Conan The Barbarian (at least it sure sounds like an influence), and lead visionary Byron's distintive vocal style (occasional black metal shrieks, but more often a subtle narrative style), Bal-Sagoth has forged a sound unlike anyone else. It can all be a bit much at times, what with impossible song titles such as "And Lo, When The Imperium Marches Against Cul-Kothoth, Then Dark Sorceries Shall Enshroud Te Citadel Of The Obsidian Crown" and the general larger-than-life feel of the songs. But no one fuses symphonic/classical music with the darkness of black metal better. This is one of those bands where any description of their sound is unlikely to be accurate or enough to really know what they sound like -- Bal-Sagoth has to be heard to be believed.

The band recorded six albums between 1995 and 2006 before seemingly disappearing. It's been said (or implied) that that sixth album, The Chthonic Chronicles, was intended to be the last, but the band never officially disbanded. Eventually several in the band decided they wanted to do more, and so the majority of the current lineup, save vocalist/founder Byron Roberts, formed a new band, Kull, in 2012, and that band released their first album in 2019.

Last Lineup

Byron Roberts

vocals

Chris Maudling

guitars (Kull)

Mark Greenwell

bass

Jonny Maudling

keyboards (Kull)

Paul Jackson

drums (Kull)

Former Members/Guests

Jason Porter

bass

Dave Mackintosh

drums (ex-DragonForce)

Dan Mullins

drums (An Axis Of Perdition, guest for Conan, The Deathtrip, My Dying Bride)

Leon Forest

keyboards

Alistair MacLatchy

bass (Kull)



Discography


A Black Moon Broods Over Lemuria  
1994 Cacophonous
  1. Hatheg kla
  2. Dreaming of atlantean spires
  3. Spellcraft & moonfire (beyond the citadel of frosts)
  4. A black moon broods over lemuria
  5. Enthroned in the temple of the serpent kings
  6. Shadows `neath the black pyramid
  7. Witch-storm
  8. The ravening
  9. Into the silent chambers of the sapphirean throne (sagas from the antediluvian scrolls)
  10. Valley of silent paths
  • Byron Roberts
  • Chris Maudling
  • Jason Porter
  • Jonny Maudling



Starfire Burning Upon The Ice ...  
1996 Cacophonous
  1. Black dragons soar above the mountain of shadows (Keyboard )
  2. To dethrone the witch-queen of mytos K`unn (the legend of the battle of blackhelm vale)
  3. As the vortex illuminates the cystalline walls of Kor-Avul-Thaa
  4. Starfire burning upon the ice-veiled throne of ultima thule
  5. Journey to the isle of mists (over the moonless depths of night-dark seas)
  6. The splendour of a thousand swords gleaming beneath the blazon of the hyperborean empire
  7. And lo, when the imperium marches against Cul-Kothoth, then dark sorceries shall enshroud the citadel of the obsidian crown
  8. Summoning the guardians of the astral gate
  9. In the raven-haunted forests of darkenhold, where shadows reign and the hues of sunlight never dance
  10. At the altar of the dreaming gods
  • Byron Roberts
  • Chris Maudling
  • Jason Porter
  • Jonny Maudling



Battle Magic  
1998 Cacophonous
  1. Battle magic
  2. Naked steel (the warrior`s saga)
  3. A tale from the deep woods
  4. Return to the praesidium of Ys
  5. Crystal shards
  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)
  7. When rides the scion of the storms
  8. Blood slakes the sand at the circus maximus
  9. Thwarted by the dark (blade of the vampyre hunter)
  10. And atlantis falls...
  • Byron Roberts
  • Chris Maudling
  • Jonny Maudling




The Power Cosmic  
1999 Nuclear Blast
  1. The Awakening Of The Stars
  2. The Voyagers Beneath The Mare Imbrium
  3. The Empyreal Lexicon
  4. Of Carnage And A Gathering Of The Wolves
  5. Cellisto Rising
  6. The Scourge Of The Fourth Celestial Host
  7. Behold. The Armies Of War Descend Screaming From The Heavens!
  8. The Thirteen Cryptical Prophecies Of Mu
  • Byron Roberts
  • Chris Maudling
  • Mark Greenwell
  • Jonny Maudling
  • Dave Mackintosh



Atlantis Ascendant  
2001 Nuclear Blast
  1. The Epsilon Exordium
  2. Atlantis Ascendant
  3. Draconis Albionensis
  4. Star-Maps Of The Ancient Cosmographers
  5. The Ghosts Of Angkor Wat
  6. The Splendour Of A Thousand Swords Gleaming Beneath The Blazon Of The Hyperborean Empire (Part: III)
  7. The Dreamer In The Catacombs Of Ur
  8. In Search Of The Lost Cities Of Antarctica
  9. The Chronicle Of Shadows
  10. Six Keys To The Onyx Pyramid
  • Byron Roberts
  • Chris Maudling
  • Mark Greenwell
  • Jonny Maudling
  • Dave Mackintosh



The Chthonic Chronicles  
2006 Nuclear Blast
  1. The Sixth Adulation Of His Chthonic Majesty
  2. Invocations Beyond The Outer-World Night
  3. Six Score And Ten Oblations To A Malefic Avatar
  4. The Obsidian Crown Unbound
  5. The Fallen Kingdoms Of The Abyssal Plain
  6. Shackled To The Trilithon Of Kutulu
  7. The Hammer Of The Emperor
  8. Unfettering The Hoary Sentinels Of Karnak
  9. To Storm The Cyclopean Gates Of Byzantium
  10. Arcana Antediluvia
  11. Beneath The Crimson Vaults Of Cydonia
  12. Return To Hatheg-Kla
  • Byron Roberts
  • Chris Maudling
  • Mark Greenwell
  • Jonny Maudling
  • Dan Mullins
2006 Readers' Album #66





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