CD Review: Ensiferum – “From Afar”

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CD Review

This review was originally written by Jose Bernardo for www.theweeklyriff.com between 2008 and 2010.

These were Jose’s first impressions of the songs and were not written after multiple spins.

Artist : Enisferum
Album : From Afar (2009 Spinefarm Records)
Tracks : 9

Artist website : http://www.ensiferum.com/

OVERVIEW

This is the fourth studio album for Finnish metal band Ensiferum. The band draws inspiration from Nordic/Viking sagas and the Finnish National Epic “Kalevala”.

The musicianship is very good. If I had to describe the music in terms of style, this is somewhere between symphonic metal (like Nightwish and Within Temptation) mixed with a power metal (like Children of Bodom and Stratovarius) and add the energy of a band like Lamb of God and you have the makings of Ensiferum.

The drumming is extremely fast and powerful. The arrangements are huge. There are some very pretty mellow moment and some extremely heavy moments.

Good album. I wish there was more singing though and not so much cookie-monsteresque stuff.

HIGHLIGHTS : 

Twilight Tavern, Elusive Reaches, Tumman Virran Taa

PLAY BY PLAY

Track 1 – By the Dividing Stream
A very cool, mellow, instrumental track to open the album. It’s great to have a sense of mystery at the start of the album.

Track 2 – From Afar
Cool track. 

Track 3 – Twilight Tavern
I really like the riffs in this one. 

Track 4 – Heathen Throne
Very heavy. Very epic (at 11 minutes).

Track 5 – Elusive Reaches
Cool!

Track 6 – Stone Cold Metal
This one was a bit on the repetitive and boring side. The mid section that sounds like a country song (or carnival song) with whistling and all was a real unexpected twist. 

Track 7 – Smoking Ruins
The intro is almost like something out of a medieval movie. Interesting track. Definitely built as a singalong track. (It’s almost like a drinking song.)

Track 8 – Tumman Virran Taa
Very cool and short acapella choir performance! In Finnish! This might just be THE highlight of the album. So very unexpected. 

Track 9 – The Longest Journey (Heathen Throne Part II)
Part 2 to the already epic track 4. This one extends that epic by another 12 minutes. There are lots of cool ideas in here but I felt it sort of drags on. 

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Posted in CD Reviews, The Weekly Riff (2008-2010) Reprinted.