Ensiferum – Unsung Heroes

Releasedate: 27-08-2012; Label: Spinefarm Records
By: Martine Goffard

The famous Finnish folk metal band has released its fifth album last august. It’s fair to say that “Unsung Heroes” is a bit of a disappointment for many. Considering how entertaining and brilliant was “From Afar”, we had put our expectations on a high level.

Now the longtime fans of the band will be satisfied. As In My Sword I Trust shows, this is the same riveting sound, symphonic, Scandinavian western atmosphere that Ensiferum use to do. Burning Leaves has this campfire chorus we know too well. Fortunately there are some fresh touches like the female singer on the melancholic ballad “Celestial Bond”. Her enchanting voice floats on the notes like mist over a lake in a Finnish forest. “Star Queen” shows some improvement in their skills. “Pohjola” has some decent, chilling choirs and as well as “Last Breath”, it stands out for its folk instruments, which give these two songs an atmospheric and sad sound. “Passion Proof Power”, with its 17 minutes is a full story with its lot of exotic noises, dialogs and epic parts but basically goes nowhere and you lose the thread at some point.
Except the very weak singing, the quality in the performance is obvious. It’s joyful, catchy but so slow-tempo that you never want to stand up and headbang! The question with this album is more: can they really produce something new that could be astonishing as well as audacious? Ensiferum is definitely a “you like it or you hate it” band. It all depends if you enjoy listening to the same songs over and over again. At a point that the best track here is “Celestial Bond”.

Line Up:
Petri Lindroos – Singing, Guitars
Markus Toivonen – Singing, Guitars
Sami Hinkka – Singing, Bass
Janne Parviainen – Drums
Emmi Silvennoinen – Keyboard

Tracklist: 01 Symbols 02 In My Sword I Trust 03 Unsung Heroes 04 Burning Leaves 05 Celestial Bond 06 Retribution Shall Be Mine 07 Star Queen (Celestial Bond Part II) 08 Pohjola 09 Last Breath 10 Passion Proof Power

Links:
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