ENSIFERUM

Release Year: 2024
Artist Origin: FIN
Style: expressive dynamic folk pagan metal

inspired by the world of bassist Sami Hinkka's as-yet-unpublished fantasy novel, recent opus by Finnish crew unfolds as a largely cohesive, interconnected tale of two warring factions bringing chaos, while its four music videos form a distinctive short film - creative concept also shapes colder, darker and more serious atmosphere of music, deliberately abandoning the carefree anthems of earlier releases in favour of longer, more progressively developed compositions, built around significantly rougher riffs, melodic folk motifs, grand orchestral arrangements and theatrical vocal passages, with keyboardist Pekka Montin's epic vocals fitting naturally into the dramatic sound and complementing harsher moments, where choral parts and traditional instruments further enhance the grandeur of cinematic approach; limited German gatefold sleeve ice marbled blue vinyl edition comes with a pro-printed lyric insert