136 days till W:O:A 2023.
Today's blog article is about Finnish folk metal band Ensiferum. Founded in 1995 Ensiferum can look back on a career of nearly 30 years and a discography of eight studio albums. Ensiferum's line-up has changed many times and guitarist/vocalist Markus Toivonen is the only founding member left. I've listened to the latest albums Thalassic (2020) and Two Paths (2017) as well as the debut album Ensiferum (2001) and the sophomore album Iron (2004) so far. I felt a bit more drawn to the earlier releases and chose the self-titled album Ensiferum for this blog article.
Ensiferum was released in 2001. In the years before the band has released three demos. Six songs from those demos made it onto the debut album. On the first two studio albums vocals were provided by Jari Mäenpää, who also performed guitar duties together with Markus Toivonen. Bass was played by Sauli Savolainen and drums by Kimmo Miettinen, the other two founding members beside Toivonen. Mäenpää left the band after releasing Iron in 2004 to persue his side-project Wintersun.
Ensiferum are one of the most well-known bands in the folk metal genre and I actually like their stlye. The earlier releases more than the more recent ones, because in their beginnings the melodic death metal influences are still very strong, stronger than the leaning towards power metal or viking metal. You can clearly hear were they are coming from musically. They did not have a permanent keyboard player at that time although Meiju Enho joined the band right after releasing Ensiferum.
The first track after the slightly awkward intro is Hero in a Dream, a speed metal gem. Fast paced, strong drumming and upbeat melodies propel you through this song, accompanied by Mäenpää's surprisingly harsh vocals. Token of Time is a great song. I absolutely hope to be hearing this live at Wacken this year. The folk elements are used just right, there is the right balance between folkish melodies and a bit of aggression delivered by the vocals. The song is fun without being silly and the melody sticks with you for days.
Guardians Of Fate starts with a rather pop-ish intro, before the blasting drums take this song further into epic speed metal. The next song Old Man (Väinämöinen Part I) is another one of my favourites on here. It is slower, with a more bleak and gloomy atmosphere and it features some great drumming and growls. The 2009 edition also features a demo version from 1997 of this song and I like it even better in this version as the production is much more raw and you even get some blackish metal vibes with the drumming and shrieking.
Little Dreamer (Väinämöinen Part II) starts with an epic melody before galopping off into yet another power metal anthem. Abandoned has fast drumming in the beginning, but the song slows down when the clean vocals set in and deliver a rather melancholic lament.Windrider is another one of my favourites with more aggressive riffing and -again- great vocals and blasting drums. The folk interlude in the middle of the song fits great and creates a very epic atmosphere. Treacherous Gods is very melodic and the guitar is accompanied by very audible keyboards on this one. Eternal Wait starts with acoustic guitars and is very folkish. Mäenpää uses mainly clean vocals on this one and I have to say I prefer his harsh vocals. Battle Song starts with this very audible bass run and the drums keep a high pace in this track. The clean sung chorus is made to sing along and invokes some Manowar feelings.
We won this battle with might and fearless hearts
We came and we fulfilled our prophecy
So now we shall march back towards our kingdom
With heads up high and glimmering eyes
We returned with our glory
The last track Goblin's Dance features some cold atmospheric elements in the beginning that brings about some black metal resemblence which is lost though as soon as the flute chimes in and takes the song in a much more happy direction. Somehow it works.
Ensiferum grew on me after repeated listening and I am sure their songs will find their way into my playlist more often. It is easy to listen to metal. Uplifting without being too goofy or cheesy. I am sure hearing and seeing Ensiferum playing live at Wacken this year will be an absolute delight. Looking forward to it!
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