Ensiferum/Thalassic/Metal Blade Records/2020 CD Review

  Finland's  Ensiferum  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  continues  the  epic  folk  metal  style  of  previous  releases  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2020  album  "Thalassic"  which  will  be  released  in  July  by  Metal  Blade  Records.

  Water  sounds  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  clean  vocals  and  acoustic  guitars  a  few  seconds  later  while  the  music  also  brings  in  some  symphonic  sounding  keyboards  which  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs  at  times  and  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  melody.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  black  metal  screams  and  death  metal  growls  are  also  utilized  at  times.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  along  with  some  tracks  also  adding  in  some  back  up  shouts.

  The  clean  vocals  also  add  in  some  elements  of  pagan  and  power  metal  when  they  are  utilized  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  Blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  in  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  as  well  as  some  tracks  also  adding  in  some  folk  instruments  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  history,  myths,  legends  and  heathenism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Ensiferum  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  enjoy  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Seafarer's  Dream"  "The  Defence  of  The  Sampo"  "One  With  the  Sea"  and  "Cold  Northland  (Vainamoinen  Part  III".  8  out  of  10.

http://www.facebook.com/Ensiferum
http://www.ensiferum.com
http://www.metalblade.com/ensiferum 
   

Ensiferum/Two Paths/Metal Blade Records/2017 Full Length Review

  Finland's  Ensiferum  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  that  continues  the  folk  metal  style  of  previous  releases  while  still  also  mixing in  the  heaviness  of  melodic  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Two  Paths"  which  will  be  released on  September  15th  by  Metal Blade  Records.

  A  very  epic  sounding  intro starts  off  the  album  while  also  bringing  in  the  atmosphere  of  a  fantasy  movie  as  well  as  introducing  female  vocals  and  pagan  choirs  onto  the  recording  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  and  after  the  intro  the  music  gets  a  lot  more  heavier.

  Vocals  bring  in a  mixture  of  death  metal  growls  and  black  metal  screams  along  with  some   melodic  singing  that  also  adds  in  a  touch  of  power  metal  while  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  along  with  the  songs  also  bringing  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  Symphonic  elements  can  be  heard  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  along  with  some  digital  accordion's  also  being  utilized  at  times  which  also  bring  in  elements  of  folk  music  while  some  songs  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  back  up  shouts  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  briefly  and  some  tracks  also  add  in  a  small  amount  of  acoustic  guitars.

  Ensiferum  creates  another  recording t hat  remains  true  to  the  melodic  black  and  death  metal  inspired  style  of  folk  metal  from  previous  releases,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  legends,  fantasy.  battles,  sorrow,  and  heathenism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Ensiferum  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  enjoy  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "For  Those  About  To  Fight  For  Metal"  "Two  Paths' "Feast  With  Valkyries"  and  "God  Is  Dead".  8/5  out  of  10.

http://www.facebook.com/Ensiferum
http://www.ensiferum.com
http://www.metalblade.com/ensiferum

Ensiferum/One Man Army/Metal Blade Records/2015 CD Review

  Ensiferum  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  melodic  form  of  pagan/folk  metal  with  elements  of  melodic  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "One  Man  Army"  which  will  be  released  in  February  by  Metal  Blade  Records.

  A  very  medieval  folk  music  sound  starts  off  the  album  giving  the  recording  a  feeling  of  a  fantasy  movie  soundtrack  and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  into  a  very  fast  and  melodic  pagan/black  metal  direction  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  high  pitched  screams  and  you  can  also  hear  a  great  amount  of  melody  in  the  music.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  spoken  word  parts  being  added  into  certain  sections  of  the recording  as  well  as  good  back  up  gang  shouts,  symphonic,  folk  and  heavy  parts  mix  together  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  along  with  some  choirs,  viking  singing  and  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  When  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  all  in  a  very  melodic  musical  direction  and  folk  instruments  can  be  heard  throughout  the  recording  along  with  some  acoustic  guitar  work  being  added  into  some  of  the  songs  and  as  the  album  progresses  elements  of  thrash  metal  can  be  heard  at  times  and  there  are  also  a  couple  of  tracks  that  are  very long  and  epic  in  length.  while  death  metal  growls  and  female  vocals  are  finally  introduced  to  the  music  on  a  couple  of  later  songs  and  they  close  the  album  4  bonus  tracks  one  of  them  including  among  them  a  cover  of  the  Rawhide  theme  and  Barathrum's  "War  Metal".

  Ensiferum  creates  another  pagan/folk  metal  album  that  brings  in  the  heaviness  of  black  and  death  metal  while  also  having  enough  melody  and  epic  elements  that  would  also  appeal  to  a  power  metal  fan,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Nordic,  Germanic  and  Finnish  Paganism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Ensiferum  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  enjoy  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Heathen  Horde"  "Warrior  Without  A  War"  "My  Ancestors  Blood"  and  "War  Metal".  8/5  out  of  10.

http://www.facebook.com/Ensiferum
http://www.ensiferum.com
http://www.metalblade.com/ensiferum

Ensiferum Interview

...answered by Sami:

1. Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?

We are currently on European tour and there are lots of gigs planned for this and next year. But we also plan to start working with new songs later this autumn.

2. How would you describe the musical sound of the new album and how it differs from previous recordings?

I think Unsung Heroes is very natural step ahead from From Afar -album. We learned a lot from previous studio session and we were much wiser with arrangements on Unsung Heroes. We also wanted to push our boundries on the two key elements of our music: folk and metal.

3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the new release?

All the lyrics are inspired by real life but of course I used a lots of time to find metaphoras that fit Ensiferum's medieval/fantasy -theme. But I rather not explain my lyrics too much because I want every listener to find their own meaning for those.

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?

Markus found the word Ensiferum from latin-finnish -dictionary when he was like 15 years old and he thought it would be perfect name for his new band. He was right.

5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?

Impossible to name just few shows over others because we have played hundreds of gret shows around the world. We love to play live and we are pretty energetic on stage but we also get a lot of extra boost from our fans who tend to be really crazy no matter where we go.

6. Do you have any touring plans for the new release?

We are currently on European tour and there are lots of plans to tour around the world even in some countries we havent ever played before.

7. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your newer album by fans of pagan and folk metal?

So far the feedback and reviews have been overwhelmingly positive. Of course it's impossible to please everyone but that's not even our goal. We compose to ourselves and if something sounds good to us, then we record it.

8. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?

Who knows. We want to evolve and try all kind of new stuff. There is no point keep repeating yourself album after album so the next album will be again another step ahead.

9. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

It's impossible to name influences but of course many things affect how your new songs turn out. Most of the time when I'm home I'm just enjoying the silence but if someone recommends me some band I will always check them out.

10. How would you describe your views on Paganism?

As a band we don't have any political or religious agenda and I think we all have quite different views to the world. I really don't care in what people believe or don't believe as long they don't expect other people to live by their faith or harm others. Paganism in general would be too vast topic to be answered shortly.

11. Outside of music what are some of your interests?

I read a lot and few years ago I started to do astenga yoga to keep up in shape. I really like it because it's hard exercise and gets your thuoghts away from everyday problems.

12. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview

Check out Unsung Heroes and see you on tour! Folk on!

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Ensiferum/Unsung Heroes/Spinefarm/2012 CD Review

  Ensiferum  are  a  band  that  plays  a  very  melodic  form  of  pagan/folk  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2012  album  "Unsung  Heroes"  which  was  released  by  Spinefarm.

  Drums  range  from  slow  to  mid  paced  drumming  with  not  much  in  the  way  of  fast  playing  or  blast  beats,  while  the  synths  bring  a  very  epic  and  symphonic  sound  to  the  music  mixed  in  with  some  violins  that  bring  the  folk  music  elements  to  the  music,  as  for  the  bass playing  it  has  a  very  strong  and  powerful  sound  with  heavy  riffing  that  dominates  throughout  the  recording.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow  to  mid  paced  folk  metal  riffs  that  have  some  melodic  death  and  black  metal  influences  being  thrown  into  the  riffing,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  melodic  sounding  guitar  solos  and  leads,  as  for  the  acoustic  guitars  when  they  are  utilized  they  use  full  chords  and  finger  picking  to  give  the  music  a  medieval  feeling.

  Vocals  range  from  deep  death  metal  screams,  high  pitched  black  metal screams  to  clean  singing  male  and  female  viking/folk  metal  vocals  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts,  while  the  lyrics  cover  Paganism  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Ensiferum  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  pagan/folk  metal  band  and  if  you  are a  fan  of  this  style  of  music,  you  should  check out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "In  My  Sword  I  Trust"  "Celestial  Bond"  "Retribution  Shall  Be  Mine"  and  "Passion  Proof  Power".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

http://www.earsplitcompound.com/site/2012/08/10/ensiferum-new-video-for-%E2%80%9Cin-my-sword-i-trust%E2%80%9D-unveiled/