Ελληνικά
Genre: Melodic death/ Folk
Country: Finland
Label: Metal Blade Records
Year:2015
I kind of lost track of these guys after the decent From Afar in 2009. That album was OK, but I never really decided if I could embrace the Western influences that stood out on that album for me. Its successor Unsung Heroes (2012), however, was clearly a big disappointment. So for those of you who first of all wonder if Ensiferum is still worth checking out, I can tell you this: keep reading, Ensiferum makes a major return.
I was not convinced by the first material I heard from the new Ensiferum album through their clip for ‘One Man Army’. However, the first tunes of ‘March of War’ immediately gave me happier vibes. It is a folky atmospheric intro, foreboding of good things to come as it reminds me of ‘Ad Victoriam’ leading into ‘Blood Is The Price For Glory’ on Victory Songs (2007). So after the intro rolls into ‘Axe of Judgement’ nicely, we notice the choir chants halfway through the song and we are treated with some entertaining tempo changes throughout the song. This sounds more like the older Ensiferum!
‘Heathen Horde’ again relies strongly on group chants or shouts with joyful and slower humppa rhythms underneath. Finnish lyrics, which will return several times throughout the album, make a first appearance here. I never really object to a folk band incorporating their own language in their work. Then the speed is increased with ‘One Man Army’. As I mentioned before I really don’t feel this song. If there is no catchy harmonic riff being played somewhere around the fast paced parts, it does not feel like Ensiferum. Overall, this song just feels too rushed to me.
The instrumental ‘Burden of The Fallen’ reminds of the fragile ‘Tears’, the final track of the majestic Iron album (2004). Which is obviously a good thing. ‘Warrior Without A War’ is another track that is layered with many choral and orchestral pieces. ‘Cry of the Earth Bounds’ even starts with only choir chants before it takes off with epic bombast like you would expect from a band like Epica. It is nice to hear a well-balanced alternation again between Lindroos’ harsh vocals and Toivonen’s cleans. It is also the first song keyboard player Emmi Silvennoinen steps up from the background and showcases her vocals alone, lending more than enough variance to the over 7-minute song.
The first riff of ‘Two of Spades’ instantly tingles your ears and you realize this will not be a song to sit back and relax. Unlike the other fast track ‘One Man Army’, this song maintains his catchy riff underneath, making it a much more pleasant experience. The drums start to make your feet stump, but then all of a sudden you roll into some 70’s disco tunes combined with the Western whistling introduced on From Afar. When the Vikings throw in some Finnish lines on top of the mix, this song suddenly got weird really fast. I am still not sure what to think of this second half of the track. But it’s so weird and unconventional I might even start to like it!
‘My Ancestor’s Blood’ is a more stereotype Ensiferum song, but still better than 75% of the songs on Unsung Heroes. ‘Descendants, Defiance, Domination’ starts of very slow. Looking at the over 11-minute length I was afraid this would be a dragged song like ‘Passion Proof Power’ on the latest album. While it is an interesting song instrumentally it does get rather long after a while. A bit sad that this otherwise entertaining album is closed with these two lesser songs. I’m pretty sure ‘Neito Pohjolan’ counts as some kind of bonus track. It is sung completely in Finnish and it sounds like old humppa folk from the eighties. The accordion and a Western saloon atmosphere are not far away. No, I definitely did not digest their Ennio Morricone influences of From Afar yet.
So does this album bring anything new to the table? No. But looked at in their chronology, One Man Army is a very strong return of Ensiferum, ready to wipe away any bad memories of the dull Unsung Heroes. The Finnish heathens have proven they still have some things up their sleeves and I would be more than happy to see a strong folk metal band return to their former glory.
4/6
