ENSIFERUM — Ensiferum (review)

ENSIFERUM — Ensiferum album cover Album · 2001 · Folk Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
bartosso
The music from the Viking's heart

I'll put it bluntly - I love this album! Everything is on board of this Viking ship - captivating melodies, fantastic riffing, great musicianship and, most of all, metal. Every time I need something melodic and accessible yet still ambitious, I reach for ENSIFERUM.

This album is like well told Nordic legend - fantastic melodic intro engrosses the listener in a fabulous world of almost forgotten events and heroes (with beards and axes for sure). The effect is attained with blackened growls, great Viking choirs and catchy riffs with folk feel about them. The guitarists draw from heavy metal and black metal traditions to create absolutely flawless guitar themes. Every song flows like the Norwegian current - there is no place for boredom, the music simply abound with consistent, atmospheric ideas. Although normally I would give 3 stars to that kind of record - good melodies and execution are not enough to describe an album as excellent - in this case it's neither atmosphere nor concept nor technical prowess which make up the core of this release. It's the heart. Those Finns know how to use it.

Why not 5 stars then? Well, there are two reasons: 1. not all of the songs are equally appealing. I don't mean that they're worse in term of structure/composition. It's just that some songs (e.g. "Eternal Wait", "Battle Song") leave me cold. They're nice folky tunes, I enjoy them, but nothing more. 2. That is highly enjoyable record, really. But it lacks in true depth which usually induce me to give the highest recommendation. I believe that with such a talent these guys would be able to create a breathtaking masterpiece. But they just want to play folk metal. And all credit to them for that.

ENSIFERUM is a must-have for all fans of heavy folk metal with beautiful, fabulous melodies. Honestly, I've never heard anything better in this sub-genre. It's a very, very good record, with a few masterpiece attributes, but it's definitely not a masterpiece. Well, in the Viking metal - yes it is. In the whole metal - no. Anyway, highly recommended!
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