I suppose I oft am unfairly dismissive of Ensiferum inasmuch as on both occasions where I have seen them play live, they have ploughed on for a good hour and a half paying no heed to the usual curfew. When you live in the middle of nowhere with last trains to catch, the only alternative being a £30 taxi ride, such late night shows are no fun at all. While I’ve never been able to fully appreciate their live shows partly for this reason, it hasn’t stopped me from enjoying them on CD. Funnily enough, the last time I saw them was at Paganfest (which was renamed as Topless-man-fest by a fellow scribe) where they were wearing very little at all and listening to this CD in such a state would hardly be advisable and rather I would suggest that one dons their finest imperial plate of armour, equips their shiniest shield of +5 great fortitude (oh god, perhaps I am a nerd after all!) and wields their most formidable weapon in anticipation for the great battles to come.
Yea, yea, you’ve heard this before and so have I; this is the fourth full-length album from the Finnish warriors and while it may be a safe bet, knowing fairly well what I was going to get, it doesn’t make it any less enjoyable. In fact, far from sounding like a bunch of battle-hardened warriors with no fight left in them, they sound like dewy-eyed young hobbits ready to take on the world! I’m told that Iron is the best album which ironically is the only missing piece of my collection, but that aside I must say I find this has been far easier to get into than their previous work and already I find the catchy melodies dancing around in my brain. ‘By The Dividing Stream’ eases the listener in with a soundscape of serenity that jangles and toots before the clan come raging through on horseback, having come ‘From Afar’ to give a thorough thrashing within the rhythm section while the keyboards rise above with pompous aplomb. There’s even a big, cheese-coated choral section near the end with all it’s over the top clean vocal lines that contrast the regular battle rasps of Petri Lindroos.
There are some really catchy numbers here, not least on the deliriously catchy ‘Twilight Tavern’ which kind of skips merrily through pastures green, arms linked, swords waving in the air like you just don’t care as the adventurers approach the inn ready for some drunken cavorting and boozing away the night before carrying on the journey. The female elven calls of ‘you’ll find your peace at the end of the journey’ sound beautiful and reassuring, before ‘Heathen Throne’ comes battering in with guitars and ravaging vocals while the twinkly keyboards offer a sense of drama. At almost 10 minutes in length, this feels quite epic and also has that storytelling vibe as it trundles along, as though reflecting on the sword-wielding action to come. The epic length of this is surpassed only by the final track ‘The Longest Journey; Heathen Throne II’ which really does seem to be a continuation of part one and all feels incredibly regal.
‘Stone Cold Metal’ has a lively spring in its step that has me thinking of ‘One More Magic Potion;’ incidentally whatever magic potions this lot are taking to make them so merry, all I can say is I want one of those too! This is a real What The Fuck? Moment, as it suddenly all winds down in place of a Western-esque romp; lonesome whistling that brings to mind the tobacco-chewing Stetson-wearing gun-toting cowboy before a kind of duelling banjos ensues, twanging away like crazy through the dramatic twilight journey before all suddenly comes back to life. It’s certainly different, and one of the highlights of the album along with the aforementioned ‘Twilight Tavern.’ ‘Smoking Ruins’ is far more laid back; tired after fierce battles, barroom brawls and trailing through the countryside, it’s time for a brief respite and again gives the feeling that, like most albums of its ilk, is taking one on a journey. A very strong album that will absolutely not disappoint. Who knows, maybe I’ll even give them another shot live. Right, speaking of taverns….
http://www.ensiferum.com
http://www.spinefarm.fi
