I don't have a lot to say about this album. Well... I should clarify that I do have a lot to say but I won't, because this is such a good album that I don't need to. I won't say that this is their best album or the best album this year, only because it's still early and I try not to label things as best and worst and so on.
Honestly and simply put, this is the
most solid album Ensiferum could have made and I am more than pleased
with it. It has all of the elements of a fantastic Ensiferum album:
an intro track that builds up to a fast and heavy opener, a slower
and more epic, meaningful song, a great title track, an interlude and
song combo in the style of my favorite Ensiferum song, tracks that
are a great mix of Ensiferum's folk, death, and Finnish metal, a
fantastic western inspired tune, and, besides the polka/country
ender, an improved version of the epic ender from
their previous album.
I enjoyed that last sentence, a
grammatically and annoyingly correct sentence that went on for far
too long, just like Unsung Heroes' "Passion, Proof,
Power"--a great song that is so long it is almost too difficult
to listen to. "Descendants, Defiance, Domination" is so
awesomely and obviously in the mind of and a correction of its
predecessor that it is one of my favorite parts of the album.
As I mentioned above, I have to love
this album because it harkens back, in more ways than one, to Iron
and my favorite Ensiferum song, "Tale of Revenge." Preceded
by the beautiful and sorrowful "Mourning Heart," this is my
favorite of their songs because it so perfectly shows both their
metal side and their Finnish side, mixing heavy death metal riffs
with a longing and sorrow filled sound only Finnish bands have
mastered. "Warrior Without a War," preceded by "Burden
of the Fallen," does this same thing, and beautifully.
The album is closed by a country/polka
song with beautiful vocals performed by Netta Skog, formerly of
Turisas. This song caught me off guard because of it's complete
difference from the other songs, though it does a nice job of ending
the album on an upbeat and thoughtful note.
I was suggested to add more critiques
to this review and I had to really look for them, which I think says
a lot about how great this album is. The only thing I can really say,
and something that spans the whole album, is that the guitars seem to
lack a certain prominence. That is not to say that they aren't skillfully
performed and ever present, but to say that many of the melodies are
made with other instruments and that there are less outstanding
riffs and solos that I would have hoped for. I would have liked to see more of the older
Ensiferum guitar work and that is the critique I have found.
Let me also take a moment, or rather a
paragraph, to comment on the way they teased and actually
pre-released this album. I half wrote a post ranting and annoyed at
their release of Suomi Warmetal as a teaser because they
didn't release it and it isn't a teaser for anything but the bonus
tracks. I am, however, impressed by their releasing of a track a day
from this album on Spotify the week before its release. I'm sure this
is more Metal Blade and Spotify's doing, but I'll not lie that it got
me really excited for this album, checking first thing every day to
see what that day's song would be like. Although Spotify did win in the end because this got me to make an account and start actually using it.
I cannot say that this is my favorite
Ensiferum album. I cannot say that I like any of these songs more
than any of their previous ones. I can say, however, that since the release of
One Man Army I listened to nothing else but this great work of
Suomi metal for almost a week.
This review brought to you by Solemn Oath's Kidnapped by Vikings.
