Ensiferum
The Skyway Theatre welcomed the “Path To Glory Tour” to Minneapolis. Performing were Ensiferum, Septicflesh, and Arsis. I have heard the names before but the night proved to be my initiation into each of these bands. Continue reading
2018 is finally here! I don’t know about you, but after all the terrible shit that happened in the world this past year I’m definitely glad there was a heaping mound of great metal album releases to fall back on when things got rough. I think we can all agree that good music is more than just luxury we enjoy, but to many of us, a necessity, an escape from the tumultuous clamor of our increasingly difficult realities. When you’re a person who loves heavy music more than you love most people sifting through all of the stellar releases 2017 has given us can become a daunting task, but after some time for reflection I’ve compiled my ten favorites, and I’m excited to share them with you. Continue reading
There is a bit of sad news that is coming out of Finland’s folk metal band, ENSIFERUM, as their sole female member, the talented Netta Skog has decided to quit the band as she wants “to move on and focus on other things” and thus “head into new adventures.” Netta joined the band in 2016 and was a part of their most recent album, ‘Two Paths‘, she played the accordion and also toured with the band all over the world, even though her stay was short lived. This unfortunate but inevitable news hits us before the band sets itself into a mini Asian tour where they are slated to play three shows in China and two shows in Japan starting this New Year’s Eve. As per the band’s official statement, they “are not looking for a replacement” as of now, and will still go ahead and play all their scheduled gigs without Netta. The band promises to announce their future plans soon.
Today (September 15th), ENSIFERUM release their seventh full-length, ‘Two Paths‘, worldwide via Metal Blade Records. Produced by Anssi Kippo, the master was recorded on tape, for a true analog experience, that gives you the sort of raw, unadulterated sonic boom. In anticipation of this release, the band has now launched a “making of” documentary video for the album, which can be viewed at below. The documentary walks one through various interviews with the band members where they talk about the recording process, the recording process itself. Clocking in half an hour, it is a short but deep insight of what goes in during the recording of an album in a studio. The fans will love this video.
Few bands have the ability to form the embodiment of an entire genre quite like Ensiferum, a 5 piece Melodic Folk Metal outfit from Helsinki, Finland. The band has released 3 E.P.’s since they formed in 1995, and 6 full length albums since they released their self titled debut in 2001. Ensiferum has undergone few lineup changes since their conception, now charging forward into battle with the current lineup of Markus Toivonen (Guitar/Backing Vocals/Clean Vocals), Petri Lindroos (Harsh Vocals/Guitar), Sami Hinkka (Bass/Clean Vocals), Janne Parviainen (Drums) and Netta Skog (Formerly of Turisas – Digital Accordion/Backing Vocals)- Netta coming in as a tour replacement for long time keyboard-player Emmi Silvennoinen in 2016, before becoming a full fledged member when Emmi (Silvennoinen) decided to part ways with the band. Continue reading
Hailing from the most metal country in the world, Finland, folk metallers or melodic death vikings ENSIFERUM are back to the grind with a new album entitled, ‘Two Paths‘, following the legacy and aura of their previous release ‘One Man Army‘ which was out back in 2015. On September 15, ENSIFERUM will release their new album worldwide via Metal Blade Records. The album is produced is Ansi Kippo and the master was recorded on tape for a true old school analog experience. Talk about being trve!
