Ensiferum - Victory Songs
Following the strong, yet slightly uninspired 'Dragonheads', I was rather curious to see what Ensiferum could come up with for their sophomore effort with new singer Petri Lindoos. Luckily, 'Victory Songs' is a fantastic new release from the Finnish folksters, one that not only adds new, strong songs to their repertoire but also brings in some much needed variety.
All the familiar Ensiferum elements are here; strong technical guitar work, icy harsh vocals, sing-along choruses and plenty of folk-style keyboard parts courtesy of Meiju Enho. Their a wide variety of styles present too. Lead-off single 'One More Magic Potion' is a familiar mix of drinking-tune styled choruses with a strong, heavy guitar riff. 'Wanderer' is an oddity due both to it's strong melancholy tones, but also due to the fact it is the only song on the album sung entirely in clean vocals. The real treat of the album though is the final 10 minute closer 'Victory Song', although the intro goes on a tad too long, when this song kicks in it is one thing and one thing only: Epic.
Overall, this represents an attempt (successful, may I add) by Ensiferum not only to improve their music, but also to diversify it. Whilst 'Ensiferum' and 'Iron' were solid, enjoyable folk metal albums, they often were rather samey. 'Victory Songs' solves this problem, with a variety of songs of different tones, lengths, sounds and styles. Make no mistake, this is still the same old folky Ensiferum you know and love, but they've gone to even greater measures with this album to provide the listener with a truly interesting listening experience.
Whether you're a mead-chugging Scandinavian enthusiast or simple an interested newcomer from other genres, Ensiferum's latest is a fantastic listen. With this album, the band have managed to forge forward with a new singer, and with a slightly new style, to create an excellent sing-along folk metal classic. This album is the perfect one for those wintery nights in, or those summer drinking sessions with friends. It's the duty of all self-respecting metal-heads to give this at least one listen, or at least see the band on their upcoming European tour.