Ensiferum

Angry Metal Guy’s Top 10(ish) of 2015

By Angry Metal Guy on December 30, 2015 in 2015, Blog Posts, Lists, 234 comments

Twenty-fifteen has been a hell of a ride. It’s been one of my favorite years for music in quite a long time, and I’ve been struggling to prune this list down to 10(ish) records that I really love. But in some ways, the top 5 has never been easier for me to choose. What I find most fascinating about this list is how completely out of step I feel with what I see as being touted as the coolest parts of the underground. I seem to be pretty far afield while everyone else seems to be fawning over the latest ’70s retro doom phenomenon, hope drones, or the latest example of black metal kids missing that intensity not 15 minute songs was the cool part of black metal. This is what it feels like to have been left behind by a scene; to have lived long enough to be that old guy shaking his fist at new trends in metal.

Artaius – Torn Banners Review

By Madam X on May 14, 2015 in 2015, Bakerteam Records, Folk Metal, Italian Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Folk Metal, Melodic Metal, Progressive Metal, 9 comments

“It took two lines in the Artaius promo blurb to stop me in my tracks – Artaius has shared the stage with well known metal acts like Ensiferum and Primal Fear and Torn Banners features special guests Tim Charles (Ne Obliviscaris), Lucio Stefani (Mé, Pek e Barba) and Dario Caradente (Kalévala). Those be some big selling points right there!” Madam X willing reviewing folk metal? The end is nigh.

Ensiferum – One Man Army Review

By Angry Metal Guy on March 9, 2015 in 2015, Finnish Metal, Folk Metal, Metal Blade, Reviews, 21 comments

“Ensiferum isn’t Finland’s most popular or well-loved melodic folk/viking metal band, but they certainly are a band whose legacy cannot be ignored. For me, they revolutionized the music I was listening to in 2001 with their immense self-titled debut Ensiferum, which took Children of Bodom and made it fruitier.” Fruity Viking metal is an important part of any balanced diet.

Frosttide – Blood Oath Review

By Madam X on March 5, 2015 in 2015, Finnish Metal, Folk Metal, Melodic Death Metal, NoiseArt Records, Reviews, Folk Metal, Melodic Death Metal, 13 comments

“Melodic folk metallers Frosttide crossed my path back in 2013 with their debut full-lengh. Now a mere two years later, the Finns are back tipping tables and generally upsetting the orderly offices we have here at AMG central.” Honestly, it wasn’t all that orderly to begin with.

Furor Gallico – Songs from the Earth Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on February 17, 2015 in 2015, Folk Metal, Italian Metal, Reviews, Scarlet Records, Folk Metal, 44 comments

“When I hear someone mention a band with nearly as many active members in its ranks as the starting lineup of a baseball team, I immediately think of that one band from Des Moines (which is, honestly, the worst kind of buzzkill). There is always the risk of biting off more than you can chew when trying to incorporate so many musicians/instruments into an album, not to mention trying to balance everything on the stage.” Celtic themed folk metal from Italy? Now that’s fooking international!

King of Asgard – Karg Review

By Steel Druhm on August 4, 2014 in 2014, Melodic Death Metal, Metal Blade, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Viking Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Viking Metal, 18 comments

“Formed from the ashes of the highly underrated and (AMG worshipped) Viking metal act Mithotyn, King of Asgard has more or less continued the mission statement of releasing odes to the northern winds, Viking valor and snowy landscapes, all heavily influenced by latter period Bathory as well as Einherjer, Ensiferum. Karg is their third such endeavor and it observes the traditions of its ancestors with all due reverence, while moving things in a darker, more stripped down direction.” Do you feel the need to plunder and pillage? If so, here’s your liege lord.

Frosttide – Awakening Review

By Madam X on August 16, 2013 in 2013, 3.5, Finnish Metal, Folk Metal, Melodic Death Metal, NoiseArt Records, Reviews, Folk Metal, Melodic Death Metal, 2 comments

“Last year NoiseArt Records graced my greedy hands with Survival of the Fittest, the debut release by Italian band Krampus. With two well received EPs already floating about, I had some excitement in hearing their brand of modern folk metal. By the end of the year the album had worn a considerable groove in my playlist, so much so it eventually ended up on Madam X’s Top 10(ish) of 2012. Until now, 2013 has felt a little lean in terms of folk metal, outside of Månegarm’s (Legions of the North) blackened folk offering, nothing’s jumped out at me – Finnish melodic folk metallers Frosttide are doing their damnedest to change that.” We don’t let Madam X review much folk metal because she’s too dark for such things. We made an exception with the new Frosttide and since nobody got hurt, The Providers are pleased.

SuidAkrA – Eternal Defiance Review

By Noctus on May 9, 2013 in 2013, 3.0, AFM Records, German Metal, Reviews, Viking Metal, Viking Metal, 14 comments

“It’s true, going into any Viking metal-related band and expecting innovation is an exercise in futility. With Eluveitie basically making the same album over and over again and Ensiferum getting more clichéd and boring with every passing record [How dare you??? — Steel Druhm], not to mention countless other bands putting out forgettable records; they all tend to blur into one. I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for SuidAkrA though — a band that offers all the enjoyment of bands of Ensiferum’s ilk, but with none of the cringe-worthy theatrics and clichés.” Noctus takes to his Viking soapbox to praise SuidAkrA and bury such luminaries as Ensiferum. Seems like a good way to get a broadsword in the skull, but that’s his way.

October Falls – The Plague of a Coming Age Review

By Angry Metal Guy on March 13, 2013 in 2013, 4.0, Black Metal, Debemur Morti, Epic Metal, Finnish Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Atmospheric Black Metal, Black Metal, 22 comments

Back in ’10—when I was wearing an onion on my belt ’cause that was the fashion in those days—I reviewed a record from Finnish atmospheric black metallers October Falls called A Collapse of Faith. At 40+ minutes of a single song, my Angry Attention Deficit Disorder hindered me from loving this record. While it was good, had great melodies, interesting ideas and an old school production that added a fuzzy atmosphere to the whole thing, I was never able to really bring myself to come back to it. It might have been perfect for some of the depressing, snowy days that we get here in Sweden, but I’ve got a quite bit of go-to music for that. Still, I was curious was when I received the promo for The Plague of a Coming Age. With its fantastic cover art, and its 9 easily distinguishable songs, I thought this might be a step in a direction I could enjoy.

Wintersun – Time I Review

By Angry Metal Guy on October 29, 2012 in 2012, 3.0, Finnish Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Nuclear Blast, Reviews, Melodic Death Metal, 37 comments

For a few years now, the proverbial white whale of the heavy metal scene has been a new Wintersun record. After the band’s initial, highly acclaimed (some would say overrated), self-titled debut from 2004 former Ensiferum frontman Jari Mäenpää essentially fell off the face of the earth. Now, I’m not a die-hard fan, so I have not kept up with the ridiculous, neurotic, Axl Rose-like kabuki theater that apparently drove fans nuts, but the fact that 8 years later we’re getting record number two should probably tell you the torture that Jari put his fans through. Teaming up with Kai Hanto of Swallow the Sun on drums, Jukka Koskinen of Amberian Dawn and Cain’s Offering on bass and Teemu Mäntysaari of the short-lived Imperanon on guitar, Jari’s new record, what we now know to be 2012’s Time I, has teased fans for years and has ruffled some feathers. So the question is at it always is: can this record possibly live up to the sky-high expectations that the fans have.