Ensiferum — Ensiferum

𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐘𝐏𝐓𝐒 - 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐔𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊 & 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐘 𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐋…

22 years ago today, we were guided by the “Guardians of Fate”!

On this day (July 9) in 2001, Ensiferum released their debut full-length studio album, “Ensiferum” via Spinefarm Records.

Background:

Viking Metal is a term that has been thrown around quite a lot since Bathory gave birth to the sub-genre with the release of the album, “Blood Fire Death” (1988). Black Metal bands from Enslaved to Helheim have at some point been deemed Viking Metal, as well as Melodic Death Metal bands like Amon Amarth and Unleashed. But, there is something to be said for a band when their songs are imbued in Viking lore and the core of their songs are integrated with Nordic Folk music. Ensiferum embraces these aspects without prejudice, and are truly the embodiment of Viking Metal.

Along with the bands strong Folk influences, they are also steeped in a blend of Melodic Death and Power Metal. While Ensiferum’s fast, melodic passages allude to bands like Battlelore, the vocals are typical of bands like Kalmah or Children Of Bodom, with the exception of some minor clean passages. But, all in all, Ensiferum are definitively Vilking Metal. Dynamic, melodic, mostly fast and powerful, and their Folky aspects are magnificently administered, making their debut album a very strong and consistent release. — E.N. Wells

Critical Reception:

In his review for AllMusic, Eduardo Rivadavia stated;

“A half-decade's worth of inconsistent activities amid occasional demo recordings gave little indication that the members of Ensiferum (which comes from the Latin words for "sword bearer") would ever give up their multiple alternate projects long enough to create this self-titled debut. And yet, by the time it finally did arrive in 2001, said album delivered with such astonishingly high songwriting and production standards -- not to mention a particularly well-developed thematic vision -- that its dynamic contrasts of extreme and more commercial heavy metal elements instantaneously vaulted Ensiferum to the front of the Viking folk-metal class.”

Links to Artists, Albums, and Music Videos:

Click this link to listen to “Ensiferum” via Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/ensiferum/1469576399

Click this link to listen to “Ensiferum” via Spotify: Ensiferum https://open.spotify.com/album/5Z80Dy2SOR6lgCzPS4Bvxs

Click this link to follow Ensiferum on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Ensiferum

Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells

Ensiferum — Ensiferum

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