Ensiferum – Winter Storm Review

Maybe you’re one of those unfortunate souls whose attention was drawn elsewhere when Ensiferum’s Thalassic redrew the folk metal band’s boundaries ever so slightly in 2020 – unfortunate because that slight boundary push reinvigorated a band that once delivered genre classics (Ensiferum, Iron, and Victory Songs).

Funny how an almost infinitesimal aesthetic retool can reshape the narrative of a band so sharply. Yet here I am, listening to Ensiferum’s ninth record, Winter Storm, an album that sounds – not unlike Thalassic, warm and familiar ala Victory Songs/From Afar but also pushes even further into power metal pomposity and, well, power. And I invite you, dear reader, soul and soulless alike, to draw your attention once again to a band that has done some very cool things with instruments and is doing them again in these modern times.

Any review of Winter Storm would be remiss not to mention at least three things. First, as was true of Thalassic, the man responsible for the sound on Victory Songs and From Afar (Janne Joutsenniemi of Stone fame) is back at the helm. This is good, as all those records sound terrific. Second, clean vocalist and keyboardist Markus Toivonen continues to play a pivotal role in the reinvigorated, boundary pushing sound. This is good, as he was a welcome if not essential addition to Thalassic. Third, Winter Storm is notably, though not extremely, more power metally than Thalassic. Know that where this album sits with you will largely depend on (1) your willingness to accept that power, folk, and melodic death metal can and often has been a spectrum and (2) whether that rather potent mix suits you.

That out of the way, if it’s anthemic, powerful, dynamic, and well-produced songs you’re looking for, you’ll find them on Winter Storm. Seven of them, to be exact. And at about forty minutes – not counting the three interludes – the album is appropriately brief and striking.

That no-nonsense approach carried through in the album’s rollout, too. First single (and album opener) “Winter Storm Vigilantes” is perhaps a smidge speedier than the other six songs but represents the band’s newly developed aesthetic well: a power metal framework and song structure that embraces and incorporates, yet is never overwhelmed or eclipsed by, the galloping epic folk metal spirit of Victory Songs.

A smooth listen, Winter Storm is an album in the traditional sense. Though its reward is immediate, one’s enjoyment of and appreciation for it grows over time. This was true of Thalassic but moreso here, where you don’t have the peak of “Andromeda” – instead, you have a marginally stronger and more diverse album. From the full-scale power metal assault of “Fatherland” to the folkier quasi-melodeath of “From Order to Chaos,” there’s a lot to love. There’s a bit of an initial whiplash effect. What at first feels like a breeze, though, quickly evolves into something with teeth. And you’ll soon have at least a few of these songs fixed quite firmly in your head, the aforementioned “From Order to Chaos” the most likely culprit.

Winter Storm is at least as good and likely an improvement on Thalassic, which many – fair or not – felt righted the Ensiferum ship. The continued shift toward a more prominent power metal sound suits the band well. More impressively, that shift is accomplished in such a way that it likely won’t turn away most listeners with fond memories of Ensiferum’s first four albums. Another notch in the band’s belt.