ENSIFERUM Acoustic – first time on tour in Europe in December 2018!
After performing several shows in Finland and recording a bonus “Live” DVD, which is available together with the recent ENSIFERUM album ‘Two Paths‘, released in September 2017 by Metal Blade Records, “ENSIFERUM Acoustic” will present their show for the first time live in Europe.
The tour will run from December 4th through December 22nd of 2018. In addition to playing some songs that have never been played outside of Finland, “Ensiferum Acoustic” will present the acoustic version of selected songs from the ENSIFERUM repertoire.
Do not miss out on these very special shows.
Check out ENSIFERUM Acoustic – Two Of Spades/ Live in Helsinki: youtube.com/watch?v=erpE4VRZaAc
Bassist Sami Hinkka comments:
“Hi folks! As some of you might know, we did a bunch of acoustic gigs in Finland back in 2016 and we even recorded the last gig in Helsinki and included that as a bonus DVD for the ‘Two Paths’ album.
We had talked about bringing Ensiferum’s acoustic spectacle abroad for years but there was never a proper time for it. This summer airlines lost our gear two times and since we do not want to cancel a show we asked from promoters to arrange us acoustic guitars and we did ex-tempore acoustic gigs on two festivals. We had fun and fans seemed to enjoy them also very much. So, we decided that now the time is right for our first acoustic tour outside of Finland.
On this upcoming tour, we will have our dear friend Laura Dziadulewicz to sing and to play keyboards. Her own band is called Medeia and you might remember her from our Unsung Heroes album where she sang Celestial Bond. Here is a link to Medeia’s last video, check it out: youtube.com/watch?v=EJK9a0zrh-I
Just to tell you guys a bit more about the whole idea of these acoustic gigs. Ensiferum has always had acoustic elements and also whole acoustic songs on the albums but those have been impossible to add to traditional metal gigs. So we decided to create a setlist that would include songs that haven’t ever been played outside of Finland. Not just acoustic songs but also some very rare songs that we rearranged a bit to fit the acoustic atmosphere. Most of the setlist will be songs that haven’t been heard ever outside of Finland so even if you saw Ensiferum within the last years, this show will blow your mind! Partying, beer, moshpits, singalong, crowd surfing has always been a big part of Ensiferum’s metal gigs, how about this time? Fear not, it’s not going to be a ballads-only-evening, because we also include some old hit songs that went through an acoustic metamorphosis to keep the party spirit high! So see you all in the acoustic moshpit!”
ENSIFERUM Acoustic are:
Petri Lindroos
Markus Toivonen
Sami Hinkka
Janne Parviainen
feat. Laura Dziadulewicz on keyboards
Legacy, MusiX and metal.de present:
ENSIFERUM ACOUSTIC and special guest (tba):
04.12.2018 (DE) MUNICH / Backstage Halle
05.12.2018 (HU) BUDAPEST / Dürer Kert
06.12.2018 (AT) VIENNA / Szene
07.12.2018 (CS) PRAGUE / Nova Chmelnice
08.12.2018 (SI) LJUBLJANA / Orto Bar
09.12.2018 (IT) MILAN / Legend Club
10.12.2018 (DE) LYON / Ninkasi Kao
11.12.2018 (FR) PARIS / La Machine
12.12.2018 (BE) ROESELARE / De Verlichte Geest
13.12.2018 (DE) COLOGNE / Volta
14.12.2018 (FR) NANCY / Chez Paulette
15.12.2018 (DE) MÖRLENBACH / Live Music Hall
16.12.2018 (CH) AARAU / KiFF
17.12.2018 (NL) APELDOORN / Gigant
18.12.2018 (DE) ERFURT / From Hell
19.12.2018 (DE) NÜRNBERG / Hirsch
20.12.2018 (DE) RAVENSBURG / Oberschwaben Klub
21.12.2018 (DE) LEIPZIG / Hellraiser
22.12.2018 (NL) HAARLEM / Patronaat
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ENSIFERUM ‘Path To Glory’ European tour kicking off shortly!
WIND ROSE from Italy have now been confirmed as the opening act. ENSIFERUM themselves will be available for meet & greet (free of charge!) at most shows. Check out the shoutout from the band about it here: facebook.com
Metal Hammer, Legacy, MusiX, metal.de present:
‘Path To Glory’ Tour 2018
ENSIFERUM+ EX DEO+ WIND ROSE
03.04.2018 (DE) HAMBURG / Gruenspan
04.04.2018 (DK) COPENHAGEN / Vega
05.04.2018 (SE) STOCKHOLM / Klubben
06.04.2018 (SE) GOTHENBURG / Sticky Fingers
07.04.2018 (DK) AARHUS / Royal Metal Festival
08.04.2018 (DE) ROSTOCK / Mau
09.04.2018 (PL) GDYNIA / Ucho
10.04.2018 (PL) WARSAW / Proxima
11.04.2018 (PL) KATOWICE / Mega Club
12.04.2018 (PL) WROCLAW / Zaklete Rewiry
13.04.2018 (CS) ZLIN / Masters of Rock Cafe
14.04.2018 (DE) LEIPZIG / Hellraiser
15.04.2018 (DE) LUDWIGSBURG / Rockfabrik
17.04.2018 (AT) DORNBIRN / Conrad Sohm
18.04.2018 (FR) STRASBOURG / La Laiterie
19.04.2018 (FR) GRENOBLE / Belle Electric
20.04.2018 (FR) LIMOGES / John Lennon
21.04.2018 (ES) BARCELONA / Salamandra 1
22.04.2018 (ES) MURCIA / Garaje
23.04.2018 (ES) MADRID / Mon
24.04.201825.04.2018 (FR) TOULOUSE / Le Metronum
26.04.2018 (IT) MILAN / Live Club
27.04.2018 (IT) TORINO / Hiroshima Mon Amour
28.04.2018 (DE) GEISELWIND / Music Hall
29.04.2018 (NL) DRACHTEN / Iduna
30.04.2018 (BE) KORTRIJK / De Kreun
01.05.2018 (GB) LONDON / O2 Academy Islington
02.05.2018 (DE) COLOGNE / Essigfabrik
03.05.2018 (DE) HANNOVER / Musikzentrum
04.05.2018 (DE) MUNICH / Backstage
05.05.2018 (DE) DRESDEN / Loco Club
06.05.2018 (AT) VIENNA / Szene
07.05.201808.05.2018 (HU) BUDAPEST / Barba Negra Track
09.05.2018 (HR) ZAGREB / Klub Mochvara
10.05.2018 (SK) BRATISLAVA / Majestic Music Club
11.05.2018 (AT) WÖRGL / Komma
12.05.2018 (CH) PRATTELN / Z7
13.05.2018 (NL) NIJMEGEN / Doornroosje
ENSIFERUM released their new album ‘Two Paths‘ in September of 2017 via Metal Blade Records; for their efforts, the band has entered the worldwide charts, e.g. # 4 in Finland, # 9 in Germany, # 18 in Switzerland, # 35 in Canada and # 160 in the USA.
To preview and purchase ‘Two Paths‘, please visit: metalblade.com/ensiferum
You can’t talk about the true greats of folk-inspired melodic death metal without reverent mention of ENSIFERUM, and with ‘Two Paths‘ they once more affirm their place in the pantheons of the genre. Further building upon the thrilling metallic hybrid honed across six full-lengths, ‘Two Paths‘ is simultaneously the Finnish quintet’s most epic and far-reaching collection and their most organic, which definitely sets it apart from the pack. Additionally, the album literally takes the concept of ‘Two Paths‘ to heart, with two different versions of standout tracks ‘Don’t You Say’ and ‘God Is Dead’. “Even though Ensiferum has always had clean vocals and choirs, harsh vocals have been the main style, and those songs worked so well with both styles that we decided to include both versions,” explains bassist/vocalist Sami Hinkka. With Mikko P. Mustonen again handling orchestral arrangements and Lassi Logren returning to play nyckelharpa and violin on a few songs, Hinkka is also more than happy that they brought “more bombastic orchestral and down to earth folk aspects” to the record, further fleshing out their vision. This also applies to the contribution of Gyula Havancsak, who provided the artwork for both ‘Two Paths‘ and its predecessor, ‘One Man Army‘. “It was really nice to work with him again because he always wants to hear our ideas and then he adds his own magic and improvements to them, and the result is always astonishing.”
ENSIFERUM line-up:
Petri Lindroos – Vocals/Guitar
Markus Toivonen – Guitar/Vocals
Sami Hinkka – Bass/Vocals
Janne Parviainen – Drums
]]>This time around, via Indiegogo’s crowdfunding, as well as Nuclear Blast, Wintersun is releasing The Forest Seasons. It offers fans to embark on a musical voyage of approximately 54 minutes through a magical forest with four massive tracks, each running over 12 to 14 minutes.
The Forest Seasons starts out blithely with ‘Awaken from the Dark Slumber (Spring)’, a song exhibiting many meticulous arrangements. Some slightly emulating the sounds of Nightwish, a bit of black metal executed à la Dimmu Borgir, and the second half echoing various features of old Ensiferum. The melody of the song ‘Iron‘ springs to mind perhaps. The most upbeat piece on the album overall.
‘The Forest That Weeps (Summer)’ is a very atmospheric track that sonically characterizes more of a frozen, serene landscape. It’s an anthem more suitable for the winter season if you ask me. It is exceptionally chord-oriented, capturing a broad somber setting – something that Moonsorrow or Summoning would showcase in their discography. Aside of course, from the choir allotment that Wintersun, as a rule, unearths for the sake of elevating dramatic effects and theatrics, which is a good thing.
“Well, where are the guitar doodley-things?” you may ask. That would be on ‘Eternal Darkness (Autumn)’, the third track of the album. The lead guitar starts to kick in after the six-minute mark, riding the main melody at first and then eventually becoming more interesting and shreddy, unveiling a riff akin to Marty Friedman‘s playing in Cacophony (although it ends quickly). This piece has an eerie, turn of the millennium era of symphonic black metal feel to it – a new venue for the band – as well as acoustic engravings clearly influenced by the mighty Dissection. It is a song filled with alluring concepts, but a tad bit too long with the drums dismally repetitive and monotonous for a Wintersun song.
The fourth and last track, ‘Loneliness (Winter)’ is where Jari displays the many facets of his vocal capabilities. Perhaps showing some aspects that went amiss from the predecessor’s ‘Sons of Winter and Stars’.
The Forest Seasons is Wintersun’s least creative output in my opinion. At the end of the album, I was left wondering when they will ever release anything that comes close to the self-titled album again. And where is The Way of The Fire?!? My fixation with the band (as is with many others I’m sure) is mainly due to the dedication and impressive amounts of the guitar work displayed on the self-titled album back in 2004, which noticeably has neither returned nor revealed itself even after this release. This album just seems like an immense gap filler designed to keep their fans from complaining momentarily until they finally release what they know the fans have been patiently waiting for; something that closely resembles the album that has made them so notorious in the first place.
Musicians have the right to creative freedom, of course, but I can think of many other bands who plunge and thrive in the waters which convey the same sort of sentiments found on this album. Undoubtedly, many others will enjoy this new release through and through, but this is not the Wintersun I was looking for.
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