Byron Roberts, also known as Byron A. Roberts, is the vocalist/lyricist and founder of the British

symphonic A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning com ...

extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...

band

Bal-Sagoth Bal-Sagoth ( /baʊl 'sægɑθ/ ''b-owl SA-goth'') were a symphonic black metal band from Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, formed in 1993. Originally formed as an epic symphonic black metal band with strong death metal elements, vocalist/lyrici ...

. He is also the author of "The Chronicles of Caylen-Tor" book series published by DMR Books, as well as the author of several short stories and poems which have been published in various fantasy and horror fiction anthologies. Originally hailing from

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, England, and also holding full Canadian citizenship due to many years spent living in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

and

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Roberts graduated from

Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) is a public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The university is based on two sites; the City Campus is located in the city centre near Sheffield railway station, while the Collegiate Cr ...

with an Honours Degree in English, writing his final year thesis on the genres of pulp fantasy, science fiction and horror, and more specifically the works of H.P. Lovecraft. Roberts originated Bal-Sagoth's concept and writes all the lyrics for the band, having performed the vocals on all six Bal-Sagoth albums to date as well as the band's 1993 demo.

1989 – 1993: The inception of Bal-Sagoth

Roberts came up with the idea for the band

around 1989. For years, he had been seeking suitable musicians with whom he could collaborate to realise his grand vision of forming "a sublimely symphonic black/death metal band swathed in a concept of dark fantasy/science-fiction and ancient myths & legends." However, none of those he approached were willing to commit to the endeavour. In 1993, after several aborted attempts to launch the project, he was introduced to the musician Jonny Maudling and his brother Chris Maudling, who were at that time jamming cover versions with their friends, and who were also looking to form a serious band. Rehearsals followed, and some months later, after a minor line-up reshuffle, the formal inception of Bal-Sagoth took place. The band began composing songs, the ultimate result (now some thirty years later) being a six album discography released via Cacophonous Records and

Nuclear Blast Nuclear Blast is a record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label mov ...

. For a more extensive account of the band and its releases, see

Lyrical content and influences

Drawing inspiration from such writers as

Robert E. Howard Robert Ervin Howard (January 22, 1906June 11, 1936) was an American writer. He wrote pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. He is well known for his character Conan the Barbarian and is regarded as the father of the sword and sorcery subge ...

, H. P. Lovecraft,

Edgar Rice Burroughs Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American author, best known for his prolific output in the adventure, science fiction, and fantasy genres. Best-known for creating the characters Tarzan and John Carter, he ...

Frank Herbert Franklin Patrick Herbert Jr. (October 8, 1920February 11, 1986) was an American science fiction author best known for the 1965 novel '' Dune'' and its five sequels. Though he became famous for his novels, he also wrote short stories and worked a ...

J.R.R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Arthur C. Clarke Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (16 December 191719 March 2008) was an English science-fiction writer, science writer, futurist, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host. He co-wrote the screenplay for the 1968 film '' 2001: A Spac ...

Clark Ashton Smith Clark Ashton Smith (January 13, 1893 – August 14, 1961) was an American writer and artist. He achieved early local recognition, largely through the enthusiasm of George Sterling, for traditional verse in the vein of Algernon Charles Swinburne ...

David Gemmell David Andrew Gemmell (; 1 August 1948 – 28 July 2006) was a British author of heroic fantasy, best known for his debut novel, ''Legend (Gemmell novel), Legend''. A former journalist and newspaper editor, Gemmell had his first work of fict ...

George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairm ...

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He gr ...

and

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...

, Roberts set out to create his own dark and baroque fantasy universe, with tales told through the medium of extreme metal albums. He named the band Bal-Sagoth in honour of one of his primary literary inspirations, the writer

, whose story "The Gods of Bal-Sagoth" had first appeared in the legendary pulp fantasy magazine

Weird Tales ''Weird Tales'' is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine founded by J. C. Henneberger and J. M. Lansinger in late 1922. The first issue, dated March 1923, appeared on newsstands February 18. The first editor, Edwin Baird, prin ...

during the 1930s. Sometimes dubbed "The Multiverse" and/or "The Omniverse", Roberts's lyrical world is an extensive landscape of fantasy/science fiction, ranging from intergalactic tales of rogue gods and cosmic empires, to historical epics and high adventures, to sword and sorcery style sagas. The stories of the lyrical world are all connected to a greater or lesser degree, and are roughly divided into several different eras. The first era is the "antediluvian" epoch, during which most of the sword & sorcery style stories take place. Tales occurring even earlier than this, such as when the planet Earth consisted of the mega-continent

Pangaea Pangaea or Pangea () was a supercontinent that existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras. It assembled from the earlier continental units of Gondwana, Euramerica and Siberia during the Carboniferous approximately 335 million y ...

, are also usually grouped into this broad chronological categorisation. Then there is an era covering recorded human history from ancient times to roughly the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, during which Roberts's historical stories occur. Thirdly there is a future era, which roughly dates from the year 2104 all the way to a time frame many thousands of years in the future, and it is during this epoch that the science-fiction oriented stories take place. Key inspirations for the vast canon are arcane mythology, ancient history, legends, and the occult. The world of the lyrics is a vast place spanning countless millennia, and is chronicled in Roberts's forthcoming A-Z Glossary Mk. II, dubbed simply ''"The Lexicon"''. Roberts creates all the concepts, storylines, characters, places and lyrics for Bal-Sagoth. He also designed the band logo, the album cover concepts, and all the booklet layouts.

Published short stories and poetry

On 21 February 2015 the fantasy anthology paperback ''Swords of Steel'' was published by

DMR Books DMR Books is a Chicago-based small publisher active since 2015. The press was founded by D. M. Ritzlin. It is primarily a paperback and ebook publisher specializing in "fantasy, horror, and adventure fiction in the traditions of Robert E. Howard ...

. The publication contains a short story by

vocalist/lyricist Byron Roberts entitled "Into the Dawn of Storms" which features Byron's character Captain Caleb Blackthorne who first appeared in the lyrics to the third Bal-Sagoth album

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. It is the last album to feature Jonny Maudling on drums, who following ...

in 1998. On 30 July 2015, the fantasy anthology ''Barbarian Crowns'' was published by Horrified Press/Barbwire Butterfly Books. This publication contains a short story by Roberts entitled "Chronicles of the Obsidian Crown" which features characters and events from the Bal-Sagoth lyrical canon. The story is part of the "Obsidian Crown Saga" which also features on the Bal-Sagoth albums

Starfire Burning Upon the Ice-Veiled Throne of Ultima Thule ''Starfire Burning Upon the Ice-Veiled Throne of Ultima Thule'' is Bal-Sagoth's second full-length album, released in November 1996 through Cacophonous Records. This was the last album to feature Jason Porter on bass guitar, as he was replaced b ...

and The Chthonic Chronicles. On the same day, the fantasy anthology ''Devil's Armory'' was also published by Horrified Press. This publication contains a short story by Roberts entitled "Darkfall: Return of the Vampyre Hunter" which features the character Joachim Blokk, who first appeared in the lyrics of the third Bal-Sagoth album

. Additionally, a poem by Roberts entitled "When Dead Cthulhu Dreams" was included in the anthology ''Beyond the Cosmic Veil'', also published by Horrified Press. On 27 February 2016, the fantasy anthology paperback ''Swords of Steel II'' was published by DMR Books. This publication contains a short story by Roberts entitled "A Voyage on Benighted Seas", the second installment of the Caleb Blackthorne trilogy which began in the first volume of ''Swords of Steel''. On 19 May 2017, the fantasy anthology paperback ''Swords of Steel III'' was published by DMR Books. This publication contains a short story by Roberts entitled "The Scion at the Gate of Eternity", the third installment of the Caleb Blackthorne trilogy featuring characters from the

lyrical canon. On 18 March 2018 the sword & sorcery anthology ''Dreams of Fire and Steel'' was published by Nocturnicorn Books. The book includes a short story by Roberts titled "Caylen-Tor", featuring the character which first appeared in the lyrics of the second

album

in 1996. On 14 May 2019 the collection ''The Chronicles of Caylen-Tor'' was published by DMR Books. The book consists of three novellas by Byron Roberts featuring the character Caylen-Tor who first appeared in the lyrics of the second

album

in 1996. On 13 May 2021, the collection ''The Chronicles of Caylen-Tor Volume II'' was published by

. The book consists of four stories by Byron Roberts featuring his character Caylen-Tor who first appeared in the lyrics of the second Bal-Sagoth album

and is a sequel to "The Chronicles of Caylen-Tor". Roberts also plans to publish a series of Bal-Sagoth related comic books/graphic novels further detailing the extensive stories of the lyrical multiverse, as well as a collection of illustrated prose stories, and even collectible cards featuring his characters, to be illustrated by his longtime artistic collaborator

Martin Hanford Martin Hanford (born 21 February 1974) is a British fantasy artist based in Herefordshire, England. In addition to painting album covers and T-shirt designs for a variety of heavy metal bands, including Bal-Sagoth, Twilight Force, Angantyr, Ora ...

.''The Jack Kirby Collector'', issue 50, TwoMorrows Publishing, 2008, p. 145.

Vocal style

Roberts's original vocal style combines

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with t ...

screams with a pitched-down "narrator's" voice, enabling him to relay story elements in a clear and compelling manner, present dialogue between characters, and imbue the vocals with a "light and dark" contrasting feel. Roberts's primary musical inspirations are bands such as Bathory,

Celtic Frost Celtic Frost () was a Swiss extreme metal band from Zürich. They are known for their strong influence on the development of extreme metalBukszpan, Daniel. ''The Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal''. Barnes & Noble Publishing, 2003. p.43 and avant-ga ...

Deicide Deicide is the killing (or the killer) of a god. The concept may be used for any act of killing a god, including a life-death-rebirth deity who is killed and then resurrected. Etymology The term deicide was coined in the 17th century from m ...

Morbid Angel Morbid Angel is an American death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling ...

Sabbat The Wheel of the Year is an annual cycle of seasonal festivals, observed by many modern pagans, consisting of the year's chief solar events (solstices and equinoxes) and the midpoints between them. While names for each festival vary among dive ...

Slayer Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style ...

, et al. Byron Roberts also contributed guest vocals to the "Dominion" demo from

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, feat ...

band Blasphemer, and to the "Halcyon" EP from the

doom metal Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...

band

Solstice A solstice is an event that occurs when the Sun appears to reach its most northerly or southerly excursion relative to the celestial equator on the celestial sphere. Two solstices occur annually, around June 21 and December 21. In many countr ...

Battle Orders and medieval reenactment

Roberts also came up with the idea of a sponsorship with a replica arms and armour supplier in 1996. As a result, the company Battle Orders Ltd. supplied him with an array of swords and other replica materials that he often uses on stage and in publicity photos. In addition to his writing and musical pursuits, Roberts also has an extensive history of experience in medieval battle reenactment societies. Some of the groups of which he has been a member include "Knights in Battle Medieval Society (13th century)", "The Company of the Hawk (15th century)", "The Howards (15th century)", "The Burgundians (15th century)", "The Warhird of Thorr Yngvisson (Dark Ages)", and "

Regia Anglorum Regia Anglorum (A term used by early writers in Latin texts, meaning ''Kingdoms of the English eople'), or simply Regia, is a Medieval reenactment organisation reenacting the life and times of the peoples who lived in and around the Islands of Bri ...

(Dark Ages)".

Discography

Discography (1993–2006) *Bal-Sagoth Demo (1993) *

A Black Moon Broods Over Lemuria ''A Black Moon Broods Over Lemuria'', is Bal-Sagoth's 1995 debut album after their 1993 demo. The album was recorded in a two-week period in June 1994, but due to label problems the album was released almost a year later. The name Lemuria comes ...

(Cacophonous, 1995) *

(Cacophonous, 1996) *

(Cacophonous, 1998) *

The Power Cosmic ''The Power Cosmic'' is Bal-Sagoth's fourth album, released in 1999. The album was Bal-Sagoth's first recording for Nuclear Blast. This was the first Bal-Sagoth album to not contain a full lyric booklet (on their earlier releases, they would inc ...

(Nuclear Blast, 1999) *

Atlantis Ascendant ''Atlantis Ascendant'' is the fifth studio album by English metal band Bal-Sagoth. It was released in April 2001 through Nuclear Blast. This was the first Bal-Sagoth album to be recorded (albeit only partially) with digital recording technology. ...

(Nuclear Blast, 2001) * The Chthonic Chronicles (Nuclear Blast, 2006) *Apocryphal Tales (Godreah/Exhumation, 2013)

Bibliography

Novels

*''Karnov: Phantom-Clad Rider of the Cosmic Ice'' (with Howie K. Bentley and Matthew Knight) (DMR Books, 2019)

Caylen-Tor series

*"Caylen-Tor" (2018) *"The Siege of Gul-Azlaan" (2019) *"The Battle of Blackhelm Vale" (2019) *"The King Beneath the Mountain of Fire" (2019) *"The Trial of Blood and Steel" (2021) *"Carnage at the Crimson Stones" (2021) *"In the Hall of the Wolfborn Liege" (2021) *"The Devil Beyond the Gate of Shadow" (2021) *''The Chronicles of Caylen-Tor'' (collection) (DMR Books, 2019) *''The Chronicles of Caylen-Tor, Volume II'' (collection) (DMR Books, 2021)

Captain Caleb Blackthorne series

*"Into the Dawn of Storms" (2015) *"A Voyage on Benighted Seas" (2016) *"The Scion at the Gate of Eternity" (2017)

Verse

*"When Dead Cthulhu Dreams" (2015)

References

Sources

* Hill, Gary. ''"The Strange Sound of Cthulhu"'', Lulu, 2006, pp. 54–57 * ''"The Cimmerian"'', vol. 4, number 3, 2007, p. 9 * ''"The Jack Kirby Collector"'', issue 50, TwoMorrows Publishing, 2008, p. 145
Official Bal-Sagoth WebsiteOfficial site for Byron Roberts MySpace page of Byron Roberts
* AllMusic Guidebr>Byron Roberts DiscographyThe Internet Speculative Fiction Database

External links

Official Bal-Sagoth websiteISFDB bibliography for Byron Roberts Official site for Byron Roberts Official Bal-Sagoth blog site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Byron Living people Bal-Sagoth members English male singers English heavy metal singers Canadian heavy metal singers Black metal musicians English lyricists English fantasy writers Musicians from Sheffield English horror writers Year of birth missing (living people)