New album this year from these guys, Finntroll, Orden Ogan and Alestorm! Hopefully we're in for a good year for Folk Metal.

Nice! Hopefully it will be better than last one, which was quite average. Exited to hear "Cold Northland (Väinämöinen Part III)", Love the two other parts though they were written like 20 years ago..

First track released

"Twilight Tavern" vibes off the first track. I can get behind this.

One of the most badass cover artworks I've seen in years. Loving all the color in it.

Written by ickoriss on 07.05.2020 at 20:52

One of the most badass cover artworks I've seen in years. Loving all the color in it.

Right?! Insta-hype

First single was fast and fun, second left me wanting. Seems like another decent release

Holy shit this is good

Damn this has to the best album since From Afar, I loved every song except for Midsummer Magic which sounds like a leftover from Two Paths.
Pekka's clean vocals are stellar and the strong melodies from the early years are back!

Pekka's clean vocals are stellar... for Stratovarius. Compare the chorus of The Defence of the Sampo sung by Sami/Markus with everything else. The guy got skill, can't deny that, that endind of Run from the Crushing Tide is furious, but he doesn't really fit this style.

Other than that, the album is pretty good, almost One Man Army level stuff. Zero solos though, am I right? Absolute shame if so.

Listening for the 4th or 5th time and keep asking myself: what did we do to deserve such an album?

Written by MeatWolf on 09.07.2020 at 16:40

Pekka's clean vocals are stellar... for Stratovarius. Compare the chorus of The Defence of the Sampo sung by Sami/Markus with everything else. The guy got skill, can't deny that, that endind of Run from the Crushing Tide is furious, but he doesn't really fit this style.

Doesn't fit the style? Ensiferum is basically power metal

Written by JÄY on 09.07.2020 at 21:46

Written by MeatWolf on 09.07.2020 at 16:40

Pekka's clean vocals are stellar... for Stratovarius. Compare the chorus of The Defence of the Sampo sung by Sami/Markus with everything else. The guy got skill, can't deny that, that endind of Run from the Crushing Tide is furious, but he doesn't really fit this style.

Doesn't fit the style? Ensiferum is basically power metal

Cue Jari Mäenpää on Iron. This vocal style isn't even that new for Ensiferum, though the arrangements are more varied.

Even I like Rum, women and victory, literally meaning best song is One with the Sea. band just made what they do
same sound, same album, same blackened folk sound, Great artwork, new lyrics, good album, but nothing special.

Aand... they're back.

Written by JÄY on 09.07.2020 at 21:46

Doesn't fit the style? Ensiferum is basically power metal

Freedom Call is power metal and Persuader is power metal, does that mean Bay should replace Calrsson and no one would notice?

Written by MeatWolf on 10.07.2020 at 16:32

Written by JÄY on 09.07.2020 at 21:46

Doesn't fit the style? Ensiferum is basically power metal

Freedom Call is power metal and Persuader is power metal, does that mean Bay should replace Calrsson and no one would notice?

I can see by your album ratings that you've just simply not heard the first two Ensiferum albums when Jari was in the band - if you had you'd realize Power Metal vocals is absolutely nothing new to Ensiferum - check out the songs "Eternal Wait", "Lost in Despair" and "Abandoned" if you don't believe me.

Or just the classic "Lai Lai Hei", which has more high notes than those three combined.

Definitely their best album in over a decade. Pekka is an exceptional vocalist and pushes the music to another level in terms of what they can do with melodies. My only complaint is that the first two songs released have more quality riffs than other songs but it's a small one. A great album I will be listening to for a while.

Written by HyperDrifter on 10.07.2020 at 16:55

I can see by your album ratings that you've just simply not heard the first two Ensiferum albums when Jari was in the band - if you had you'd realize Power Metal vocals is absolutely nothing new to Ensiferum - check out the songs "Eternal Wait", "Lost in Despair" and "Abandoned" if you don't believe me.

Jari is levels above as a singer with better control over his voice, better timbre, more depth to it etc, and that even back in the day, you can't be serious comparing him to the new guy.

Is a great album for the band

A fun album for sure. The new clean vocals really breathe some new life into their sound.

Written by MeatWolf on 11.07.2020 at 10:45

Jari is levels above as a singer with better control over his voice, better timbre, more depth to it etc, and that even back in the day, you can't be serious comparing him to the new guy.

There's a clear improvement in Jari's clean vocals on Iron compared to the self-titled, where they honestly are just... serviceable for what he was going for. As for the new guy being "incomparable" to Jari, I'm sorry but that's pure fanboy department. Pekka's singing is technically excellent, not liking his voice or it's use is a different matter.

I've never considered Jari a particularly good singer but man's got range to say the least.
Anyway, nothing wrong with the new guy but he doesn't sit well in the mix imo as he takes too much place but the blame lies in the guy behind the mixer board.
Petri's parts are very good

Written by Risto on 11.07.2020 at 21:29
Pekka's singing is technically excellent, not liking his voice or it's use is a different matter.

That was what I wrote in the first comment.

Not really a fan, but this is well done. The production, songwriting, performances are all good.

Holy shit. The new vocal style caught me off guard, but damn that guy is one of the finest singers I ever heard. Really getting into the atmosphere. One or two more fast-paced tracks like The New Dawn or Ace Of Spades would have been nice as well.

Solid album, I like the new direction. Accent on the new singer's voice is a bit twangy at times and he could use some work on the lower notes, but overall I'm impressed. "For Sirens" sounds straight off of an Amorphis album.

Struggling to pinpoint who the newer vocalist reminds me of - Stratovarius has been mentioned but I don't think he sounds too obviously like Timo Kotipelti. If anything, I'm getting 1980s Geoff Tate vibes at times, along with other people I can't properly identify yet. it's an interesting tone; this album does feel more 'power metal' in certain songs than I remember Ensiferum being previously

Edit: maybe a bit of Keeper of the Seven Keys Michael Kiske/Helloween at times too?

Written by musclassia on 13.07.2020 at 14:12

Struggling to pinpoint who the newer vocalist reminds me of

He somewhat reminded me of this guy, our local scene.
https://youtu.be/8iK-VHpNXUo?t=105