(©Sepia 1993)

[lyrics not yet available]

Comments
Artist Comment: "In 1993 we decided we needed something special to push us forward. We had always loved the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and had always found it interesting when other bands made songs about the themes of his mythology. Additionally, the idea of a concept album was very appealing. Every great band had made at least one concept album in its history. So the idea was born to write a song cycle about the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, but from a less narrative view than previous interpretations. Instead we wanted to express the feelings of the persons featured in the stories and wanted to capture the atmosphere of certain locations therein. Finally we ended up with six songs. Sadly, the project never was fully realized and there is no complete studio recording of the Tolkien suite. In fact, the whole suite was only once performed live in one piece. 'Nine' and 'Niniel' appeared on the album 'Heart of Darkness', though. It is probably just as well, as Tolkien's tales are also to a great part unfinished. 'The Hobbit' was the first of Tolkien's novels to gain popularity, therefore we chose a song about one of the central chapters of this book as the beginning of the suite. Here is described the attack of Smaug the dragon on the lake town Esgaroth and his death by the arrow shot by Bard the bowman. The text switches between narration, the thoughts of Smaug and the instructions the old thrush gives to Bard previous to his final bowshot. Of course, this had to be a fast and aggressive song."

Recordings
The Tower Sessions (tape 1994) [private release]
The Classic Performance Releases (CD 2001) [self-released]