BATTLE BEAST announces new album 'Steelbound', release title track
05-06-2025
Finnish metallers BATTLE BEAST will release their seventh studio album, “Steelbound”, in October via Nuclear Blast. The official music video for the LP’s title track is now released.
Watch “Steelbound” below.
BATTLE BEAST keyboardist, producer and “Steelbound” title track composer Janne Björkroth states: “‘Steelbound’ is a song that is both heavy and light at the same time. It goes through the walls with a bang, both in terms of composition and lyrics, without forgetting the groove and the little twinkle in the eye.”
“‘Steelbound’ is a song about all of us,” Janne reflects. “About the power to resist injustice and the respect that belongs to everyone. Sometimes the settings can be a little off, but you can, and should, constantly adjust your attitudes.”
BATTLE BEAST singer Noora Louhimo adds: “As a child, I was bullied at school, and as an adult, I’ve experienced misogyny and sexism in my professional and private life. Through all these experiences, I’ve become a person who always fights against injustice. ‘Steelbound’ is a power song for all of us trying to navigate difficult life situations and relationships. The song deals with painful things, but at the same time, it gives us strength to keep fighting against the world’s injustices. Let’s rise together, because we are ‘Steelbound!'”
Last month, BATTLE BEAST released the first single from “Steelbound”, a song called “Last Goodbye”. At the time, BATTLE BEAST bassist Eero Sipilä commented: “The spark for ‘Last Goodbye’ was lit in the least rock and roll place imaginable: a hospital. In 2020, I spent a few weeks there and met an older woman battling cancer — a fight she’d been waging on and off since 1985. It made me wonder: how much can a person take before they give up? But she never did. She kept showing up, kept pushing through the treatments, kept being around. ‘Last Goodbye’ is a tribute to that human fighting spirit — the will to rise every time life knocks you down. As long as you’re breathing, you’re still in the game.”
Watch ‘Last Goodbye‘ below.
BATTLE BEAST has previously announced a massive 35-show European tour as the first leg of their upcoming world tour. Kicking off with a bang on October 17 with their biggest German headline show to date at Hamburg’s Inselpark Arena, the tour will keep the band on the road until mid-December.
To complete the bill with melodic metal superiority, the band is thrilled to welcome Germany’s metal sensation DOMINUM as their special guest and Sweden’s rising power metal force MAJESTICA as their opening act.
Tickets for the tour go on sale today, on Wednesday, February 19 at www.battlebeast.fi/tour.
The Helsinki-based sextet is currently delved deep in studio work, recording their seventh album, set for release before the tour kicks off.
BATTLE BEAST bassist Eero Sipilä comments: “We are dying to take the new songs out on the road and let everybody see and hear what we’ve been working on. Everything about this tour will be bigger, better, and more than we’ve ever done before. We can’t wait to see all our friends again — and hopefully make a whole bunch of new ones while we’re at it!”
Tour dates:
Oct. 17 – Germany – Hamburg – Inselpark Arena
Oct. 18 – Germany – Berlin – Huxleys Neue Welt
Oct. 19 – Netherlands – Den Bosch – The Rock Circus
Oct. 21 – England – Birmingham – O2 Institute
Oct. 22 – England – Manchester – O2 Ritz
Oct. 23 – England – Bristol – O2 Academy
Oct. 24 – England – London – Shepherd´s Bush Empire
Oct. 25 – France – Paris – Elysee Montmartre
Oct. 26 – France – Toulouse – Bikini Toulouse
Oct. 28 – Spain – Madrid – Sala La Riviera
Oct. 29 – Spain – Barcelona – Sala Apolo
Oct. 30 – France – Lyon – Transbordeur
Oct. 31 – Germany – Filderstadt – FILharmonie
Nov. 01 – Germany – Wiesbaden – Schlachthof
Nov. 02 – Belgium – Antwerp – Trix
Nov. 04 – Germany – Hannover – Capitol
Nov. 05 – Denmark – Roskilde – Gimle
Nov. 06 – Sweden – Huskvarna – Folkets Park
Nov. 07 – Sweden – Gothenburg – Trädgårn
Nov. 08 – Sweden – Stockholm – Fryshuset Arenan
Nov. 09 – Norway – Oslo – Rockefeller Music Hall
Nov. 28 – Germany – Leipzig – Felsenkeller – Ballsaal
Nov. 29 – Germany – Nuremberg – Löwensaal
Nov. 30 – Austria – Vienna – Arena Wien
Dec. 01 – Slovakia – Bratislava – Majestic Music Club
Dec. 02 – Hungary – Budapest – Barba Negra Red Stage
Dec. 03 – Slovenia – Ljubljana – Cvetlicarna d.o.o.
Dec. 05 – Germany – Munich – TonHalle
Dec. 06 – Switzerland – Pratteln – Z7 Konzertfabrik
Dec. 07 – Italy – Trezzo sull’Adda – Live Club
Dec. 09 – Switzerland – Lausanne – Metropole
Dec. 10 – Germany – Saarbrücken – Garage
Dec. 12 – Germany – Oberhausen – Turbinenhalle
Dec. 13 – Czech Republic – Zlin – Sports Hall Datart
Dec. 14 – Poland – Warsaw – Progresja
Louhimo revealed in November 2023 that she had been diagnosed with a ruptured left carotid artery, causing the postponement BATTLE BEAST‘s tour.
Louhimo joined BATTLE BEAST in 2012 with no previous experience as a metal vocalist but quickly acclimated herself as the replacement for Nitte Valo (a.k.a. Nitte Vänskä).
Less than two years ago, Noora, who in 2021 released her debut solo album, “Eternal Wheel Of Time And Space”, under the NOORA LOUHIMO EXPERIENCE banner, admitted publicly that she had been struggling with eating disorders and her weight since she was “a little child” and said that she was “still trying to find a balance.” She added that she had “been depressed and anxious sometimes ‘without a reason’.”
In an interview with Metal Divas, Noora explained how she ended up fronting BATTLE BEAST: “In September (2012), I got a call from (then-BATTLE BEAST guitarist) Anton (Kabanen) that they want me to join BATTLE BEAST. I had heard their music and loved the sound and the vocals, so the next day I called Anton and said I’m in.
“Anton found me by accident on YouTube when he was searching for the new vocalist,” she continued. “He had been looking for a vocalist — male or female; it did not matter. The only thing that mattered was can that he or she could sing his songs without compromises.
“I’ve been singing since I was four years old,” Noora added. “While being a huge fan of heavy metal of ’80s and a teenager, I had some classical singing lessons when I was 16 years old. Then at the age of 19, I started studying music in pop/jazz line. At the same time, I started doing some jam sessions at bars. There I found my first band (ADMIRAL OCTOPUS) in the blues bar. We used to play rock and blues music from ’60s-’70s and Janis Joplin was the reason I got the rasp in my voice. After ADMIRAL OCTOPUS, in 2011, I took part in a singing competition (‘Wanna Be A Rock ‘N’ Roll Star’) at Henry’s Pub of Tampere and won it with Janis Joplin‘s ‘Piece Of My Heart’. That’s how my single ‘Relax’ was born.”
Watch the BATTLE BEAST single “Eye Of the Storm” below.
Guitarist Joona Björkroth comments on the single: “‘Eye Of The Storm’ is a song about the one thing that keeps your boat floating when the storms of the world try to sink you. It’s an empowering and uplifting song that works best with the volume turned way up to 11, so make sure to crank it up!”
Also watch the previously released ‘Master Of Illusion’ below.
“Circus Of Doom” was recorded at JKB Studios in Helsinki, Finland and produced and mixed by keyboardist Janne Björkroth, while the stunning artwork was created by Jan Yrlund.
“Our goal was to make an interesting and absorbing album, with both lighter party songs and heavier stuff as well,” explains Björkroth. “In a way the whole album is like a joyful day at the circus. Full of enchanting surprises and wild carnival atmosphere.”
Album track listing:
01. Circus Of Doom
02. Wings Of Light
03. Master Of Illusion
04. Where Angels Fear To Fly
05. Eye Of The Storm
06. Russian Roulette
07. Freedom
08. The Road To Avalon
09. Armageddon
10. Place That We Call Home
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