From time to time we come across tours that make sense when it comes to the bands involved and with these two Finnish powerhouses united under a bold rallying cry I say sign me up. Take a look at the latest adventures of these Finnish warriors down below and know that I will return at the close with some additional editorial.
The Press Release:
This November/December, Ensiferum will embark on their “Path To Victory” North American headlining tour, featuring Kalmah, Abigail Williams, and Aenimus as support. Ensiferum’s Sami Hinkka (Bass/Vocals) comments: “Hi folks! It’s time to get back on the road for one last time before we head to studio to record the next Ensiferum album. We couldn’t be more thrilled about the upcoming North America tour! It’s gonna be fireworks of metal for the whole evening because we’ll share the stage with awesome bands: Kalmah, Abigail Williams and Aenimus!”
Continue reading Ensiferum Announces North American “Path To Victory” Tour →
Artist: Ensiferum
Title: “Victory Songs”
Label: Candlelight Records
Release Date: 4/24/2007
Genre: Viking Metal
Rating: 4/5
I’m beginning to think that there’s nothing better than a little Viking Metal when you are looking for music to get the blood pumping and the energy level raised. This belief was affirmed when I began to play the album “Victory Songs”, the US debut by Finland’s own Ensiferum. As the album begins you immediately hear that Ensiferum approaches the Viking Metal genre with a slightly different twist and this is perhaps based on the band being Finnish as opposed to being Norwegians. They blend many elements of Finnish Folk Metal into the Viking side and as result have some similarity to bands like Korpiklaani and Finntroll. Of course they don’t sound exactly like them since Korpiklaani is quite festive and vibrant and brings dancing to mine while Finntroll makes you want to pillage a town and maybe even drink quite a bit. With “Victory Songs”, Ensiferum are presenting you with a call to arms and as the album opens with “Ad Victoriam” , I felt as though I was riding a proud stallion up a mountain with armies behind me until we overlooked a region that was to be ours for the taking. The orchestrations end and the band attack commences with as “Blood Is The Price Of Glory” which is a thunderous number where you can really envision a terrible battle taking place as it plays through. It is right then that you realize this is going to be an exciting album. There is straight ahead Metal found on “Deathbringer From The Sky” with its crushing guitar riffs and bombastic double bass drumming and with the song “Ahti” the guys sound quite a lot like Children Of Bodom based on the structure used in the tune and in the way that singer Petri Lindroos is handling the vocal lines. The band is also comprised of founder Markus Toivonen (guitar), Sami Hinkka (bass), Meiju Enho (keyboards) and Janne Parviainen (drums). The keyboards on the album however were the work of Finntroll’s own “Trollhorn” Henri Sorvali who uses his vast talents to bring different worlds of sound to the release. The guys also make strong use of the traditional Finnish Folk instruments such as the kantele, bagpipe, nyckelharpa and bodhrans which really help to make this album sound all the more interesting.
Continue reading “Victory Songs” by Ensiferum →
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