ensiferum iron (re release)

Released: 06 April 2009 Label: Spinefarm UK

Finland's Ensiferum have been around some time perfecting the art of the folk metal genre. Iron was their second album released on Spinefarm Records in their native country in 2004, and sadly the last one with then vocalist Jari Mäenpää.

The opening of the album, Ferrum Aeternum, is rather predictably a flute-based instrumental; a pretty folk piece, which borders on a folk Riders on the Storm at times. Then it's into the album proper, and a galloping fast-paced power folk metal ditty with frantic guitar riffs and slightly growling vocals which put the metal back into this folk metal band. Title track Iron has a folk instrumental in the middle which goes into whoa vocals and then an electric guitar solo, followed by Mäenpää 's growl. Varied and never boring. A very strong opening to the album with these two tracks, showing the band off at their best. There's also an 80s metal feel with the next track, Sword Chant, and more power metal style vocals in places to compliment the heavy metal riffs. Vocally we're off on a quest to fight for a mythical fallen sword (with the obligatory dragon involved somewhere along the way of course). An instrumental interlude with floating keys, Mourning Heart, let's us get our breath back for a minute after this exertion.

The album then takes a slower turn with Tales of Revenge which is quite melancholic. There's a surprise after 1:30 when the vocal style changes totally to almost operatic and the track then speeds up and gets faster and faster peaking in a shred fest, but a very melodic one. Lost In Despair slows down again, more epic and more throbbing, again with the strong clear vocal, rather than the growling, switching from powerful pleading to softer persuading.

'Slayer of Light starts with an incredible shredding and pounding drums. There's no let up. Mäenpää snarls his deathlike growls. It's quite Bodom-like. Into the Battle has beautiful operatic vocals at the beginning and end, and stunning guitar solos throughout. 'Lai Lai Hei again starts tunefully and with a folk feel comes in at a lengthy seven minutes with sing-a-long chorus... if you know some Finnish. It then speeds up as the riffs take over. There's a repetitive form to some of the songs, the starting off slow and folky and speeding up into a shredfest, which is one of the weaknesses of this album.

'Tears brings us full circle back to an instrumental flute-led piece as used at the start of the album, with added female vocals. I’m not sure this was necessary, and seems a little out of place, as pretty as it is. The bonus version of the album sees a folk-metal cover of Metallica's Battery.

Iron is a good folk (battle) metal album, and stands the test of time. Although this isn't necessarily an album you would put on replay again and again, if you want to check out this genre, then Ensiferum are one of the bands that do it very well indeed.

by Lynn Wyeth