Heavy Metal Suggestions for this Winter - Ensiferum - Heroes of the North
This is the continuation of the series in which I write about heavy metal bands most suitable for these cold winter days. I find subgenres like folk, atmospheric black, ambient, melodic death metal to go best with this season. So if you are
- Taking a walk through the snow covered woods
- Riding on an empty subway while passing by the beautiful white landscapes, or driving late at night trying to forget what's bothering you
- Being curled up in a comfy chair covered in blankets, drinking hot chocolate beside the crackling fire
- Reading epic fantasy book like Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones
- Writing a new story for your Steemit blog
... I think you'll find these bands worth listening.
In the first three posts we took a better look at Wintersun, Agalloch and Summoning. If you missed those, I recommend you check them out.
Ensiferum
Ensiferum is a melodic death and folk metal (or as they call themselves - Heroic folk metal) band from Finland formed in 1995 as a trio. The band did mostly cover songs until Jari Mäenpää agreed to join year later as a second guitarist and lead vocalist.
They went through the Latin dictionary and found the word ēnsiferum meaning sword bearing, or sword bearer and decided it is the perfect fit for the band name.
After releasing first two albums frontman Jari Mäenpää decided to leave the band as one of the band's tours conflicted with scheduled studio recordings for his side project Wintersun. He was replaced by Petri Lindroos from Norther, first just for the live tour, but later stayed as part of the band. As Petri could only sing harsh vocals, that meant Markus Toivonen and Sami Hinkka had to take over the clean singing.
Ensiferum is true representation of viking metal. Their music is fast, aggressive, exploding in your ears, but also melancholic and emotional due to traditional folk influences and the band's unique talent of creating such melodies.
Lyrical themes describe topics like fantasy, heathenism, warriors and battles, odes to ancient gods and legends, sorrow and pain of wanderers and heroes in search for their place in the world.
Golden age of this band was during the time Jari Mäenpää was still a part of it. That's why I'm recommending you to start with either of the first two albums - Ensiferum or Iron. Jari's outstanding both harsh and clean vocal singing and guitar excellence made those first two albums among the best in the genre. Even though the quality has dropped since then according to majority of fans, the band still goes strong and shows it has a lot to offer.
Here is few song suggestions and a lyrics teaser. Let me know what you think.
Wait for me in the land where nothing lives
Until the day I have found revenge, I will feed my sword
Until my heart is cold, every breath of mine is yours
You can find more about Ensiferum on Enter Night, website I'm developing for the fans of heavy metal sound. You can also check out my folk metal playlist to find and enjoy similar bands.
Until next time \m/
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You can't go wrong with Ensiferum :)
I'm glad to find fellow Ensiferum fan here. :)
I'll check them out tomorrow!
Fantastic! Be sure to let me know what you think. :)
I like it! I'm pretty sure my boyfriend will too :D
Something to add to our playlist!
They can seem harsh to an unaccustomed ear, but once you accommodate there is no going back. :D Thanks for the feedback!