The Gothenburg Project 01.15.09: Ensiferum (Part 1)
Posted by Matt Shoemaker on 01.15.2009
For the next two weeks, The Gothenburg Project is venturing into the realm of folk metal, as we take a look at Finnish folk giants, Ensiferum.
After putting a lot of thought into what band to focus on next, I chose Ensiferum over any other choices I had, mostly due to the fact that I have been listening to almost nothing else lately. So let's get into this. This is going to be a two part column, with the first part taking a look at the two releases with Jari Maenpaa, and the second part looking at the two studio releases with Petri Lindroos.
Ensiferum Band Members
Petri Lindroos harsh vocals, guitars (2004present)
Markus Toivonen guitars, clean & backing vocals (1995present)
Sami Hinkka bass, clean & backing vocals (2004present), lead vocals (Russia tour 2008)
Janne Parviainen drums (2005present)
Emmi Silvennoinen keyboards, backing vocals (2007present) (Exsecratus)
Henri "Trollhorn" Sorvali session keyboards on Ensiferum (Finntroll, Moonsorrow, ex-Korpiklaani)
Ensiferum was formed in 1995, by Toivonen, Savolainen, and Kimmo Miettinen. They used the latin word meaning "sword bearing" as the band's name, and added Jari Maenpaa as their singer and guitarist. 1997 saw the release of their first demo, Demo. A year later, Savolainen and Kimmo left the band, and replaced by Kimmo's 14 year old brother, Jukka-Pekka, and Oliver Forkin, respectively. With this lineup, the band recorded a second unnamed demo. This one also failed to land them a record deal, something that would elude the band for another year, until the release of their Hero In A Dream demo. This release got them signed to Spinefarm records.
In 2000, the band entered the studio, recording their self titled album. Upon the release of the album, Enho joined the band as a full time keyboard player.
Album Info
Recorded: 2000 Released: January 7, 2001, Spinefarm Records Produced by: Unknown
If you're looking for a definition of heavy folk metal, this would probably be it. Throughout their entire discography, Ensiferum always manages to find the perfect blend o f folk melodies and heavy metal. However, having heard the band's later works first, I've become more inclined to like Petri's vocals over Jari's in regards to the band.
Ensiferum is an album that varies by song. A few songs are awesome, including the intro, which seems like something out of Braveheart or some other movie like that. The band is able to give off a majestic feel seemingly whenever they want, and it shows here, alternating between a soaring, powerful melody and a slightly creepy guitar riff, before exploding into what sounds like an accentuated version of the same song, "Hero in a Dream". This, to me, is a perfect choice for an opening track, as it is fast, unrelenting, and definitely sets an idea in the listener's head as to what to expect from this album.
Following that is the catchiest track on the album, "Token of Time". Opening with a galloping acoustic guitar that segues into the same riff on an electric, with a pounding drum beat supporting it. The guitar work is very impressive on this track, with great solos over various parts of the song.
The thing that kills this album for me is Maenpaa's vocals. Or maybe it's the production of his vocals. But either way, there's something missing on this album that he seemingly found on the next one, and worked even more into his Wintersun project. Most of his screams seem very forced, and not loud enough, which is why I say that it may be a production issue.
Overall, though, this was definitely a good start for the band, setting up their next album, which I think it a lot better than this one.
"Token of Time", Like Wacken 2008 (Petri Lindroos on vocals)
Nothing of significance took place with the band in the two years after the release of their debut. Touring followed, of course, and in 2003, they hit the studio again to record their sophomore effort.
Iron
Album Info
Recorded: 2003 Released: May 17, 2004, Spinefarm Records Produced by: Unknown
Firstly, the intro to this album is AWESOME. The band has a serious knack for capturing the essence of movies like Braveheart in the folk aspect of their music. The transitions between their intros and first songs are also always flawless, seeing as how as soon as the intro, "Ferrum Aeternum" ends, "Iron", one of the band's best and most popular songs, explodes out of nowhere. The synth melody, as you'll hear in the video attached at the end, is incredibly catchy.
"Sword Chant" is another song like "Hero in a Dream", taking a great folk melody and applying incredible metal over it. For some reason, having heard both, this song is really reminiscent of Wintersun, which I guess serves as a sign of things to come for the band.
"Tale of Revenge" features another catchy, very powerful guitar riff, with a very beautiful keyboard melody backing it up during the verse. "Slayer of Light" shows how much the band can mix up their styles, as this is pushing the envelope into the realm of thrash metal, while "Lai Lai Hei" sounds like a traditional Finnish song, complete with Finnish lyrics. I think the ability to mix up styles so much to put together a versatile album is something that not many bands have the ability to do.
"Iron", Live Wacken '08 (Lindroos vocals again)
After the completion of Iron, Meanpaa left the band, due to time conflicts between Wintersun, his new project, and Ensiferum. Petri Lindroos, lead singer of Norther, filled in for him on their tour with folk metal band Fintroll, and was named a full time member of the band soon after that, with his first real test coming at the 10th Anniversary show in 2005. Next week, we'll be taking a look at the recorded albums released with him. Until then, take care, and always try to explore some new music.
