Dates and Headliners:

10/30/13 Soundstage – Baltimore, MD *KREATOR headlines*

10/31/13 The Trocadero – Philadelphia, PA *Overkill headlines*

11/01/13 The Palladium – Worcester, MA *Overkill headlines*

11/02/13 Club Soda – Montreal, QC – CANADA *KREATOR headlines*

11/03/13 Opera House – Toronto, ON – CANADA *KREATOR headlines*

11/04/13 Altar Bar – Pittsburgh, PA *KREATOR headlines*

11/05/13 Al Rosa Villa – Columbus, OH *Overkill headlines*

11/06/13 Mojoes – Joliet, IL *Overkill headlines*

11/07/13 Granada – Lawrence, KS *KREATOR headlines*

11/08/13 Gothic Theater – Englewood, CO *KREATOR headlined*

11/09/13 In The Venue – Salt Lake City, UT *Overkill headlines*

11/11/13 Rickshaw Theater – Vancouver, B.C. – CANADA *KREATOR headlines*

11/12/13 El Corazón – Seattle, WA *Overkill headlines*

11/13/13 Hawthorne Theatre – Portland, OR *KREATOR headlines*
11/14/13 Fillmore – San Francisco, CA *KREATOR headlines*
11/15/13 The Grove – Anaheim, CA *KREATOR headlines*
11/16/13 Marquee Theatre – Tempe, AZ *KREATOR headlines*

11/17/13 Sunshine Theater – Albuquerque, NM *Overkill headlines*
11/18/13 Trees – Dallas, TX *Overkill headlines*
11/19/13 Backstage Live – San Antonio, TX *KREATOR headlines*
11/21/13 Diamond Pub & Billiards – Louisville, KY *KREATOR headlines*
11/22/13 Empire – W. Springfield, VA *Overkill headlines*

11/23/13 Stage 48 – New York City, NY *Overkill headlines*

11/24/13 Stage 48 – New York City, NY *Overkill headlines*

Pre-sale tickets are available now at EnterTheVault.com. VIP tickets include a pre-show Meet & Greet with both KREATOR and Overkill, plus a limited edition poster. For New York City fans, there will be a special limited number of tickets that will grant admission to both shows at Stage 48.

Frontman Mille Petrozza had this to say:

The mighty Overkill have been a major influence on Kreator and they are killer guys. Our friends from Warbringer will also join us. It does not get more brutal than this!”

Well Mille…it does, if we can deliver them packed shows for each date!

Pre-Order tickets here: http://www.enterthevault.com/artist.php?id=45

The post New Tour | Kreator w/ Overkill and Warbringer – Legends of Thrash 2013 appeared first on Der Metal Krieger.

Paul: First thing’s first, as a huge fan, it’s a true honor to be speaking with you and I just wanted to thank you in advance for taking the time to do this interview.

James: Yeah, no problem man, thanks for the interview I really appreciate it.

Paul: So you guys are all set to release Unwelcome in a couple of weeks. How prepared were you to go into the studio, and how did the entire process play out in comparison to earlier Arsis albums?

James: Well, with Celebration of Guilt being our first album, we obviously had some demos out prior to recording, with a few of those songs actually being on the album. Even with Diamond and Disease and the second full-length, the way Mike Van Dyne and I used to demo stuff out was really super primitive. I would demo everything out on a full-track cassette recorder, then program the drums with a drum machine from the mid 1990s (laughs). So, it wasn’t high tech at all. Then I’d send it to him and he’d make boom box recordings of himself jamming along to my demos and mail it back to me. So by the time we got to the studio, I had an idea of what his drum parts were going to be like, but there were always some surprises that would turn out different than I imagined. But with the latest album, Noah and I actually demoed a lot of the stuff out at his place, went over and fine-tuned it, then sent it off to Shawn. Shawn would program pretty much exactly how he was going to play it, so we were actually super prepared to record Unwelcome.

Paul: Both you and Brandon are excellent guitar players, so how did you divide the guitar solos?

James: When we tracked Unwelcome, it was before we actually asked Brandon to officially join the band. Well, we had the idea that we were going to ask him to join; I had just never met him. The other guys had toured with him when he filled in for me. We did plan a lot of guitar solos for the album with the idea that he would be joining Arsis. If there was a song that I had planned two guitar solo sections for, I wanted him to have one of those sections, and then there are a couple songs when he had the only solos on the song. “Let Me Be the One” is all Brandon, and there’s a lot of rocking 80s kind of riffs. It’s a really weird progression harmonically at the same time, but Brandon loves 80s music and he really gets off on being able to play over weird stuff, so it was really a perfect solo section for him to take.

Paul: How did his joining the band come about given that he’s considerably younger than the rest of the band?

James: It’s working out great actually. Brandon is pretty mature for his age, he keeps a level head, and he’s actually taken quite a bit of interest to the business side of things. Not only that, but Brandon Ellis is THE best guitarist I’ve ever played with in my life.

Paul: I’ve just gotta say, isn’t it amazing how he’s only 20 years old? He’s a young player but the stuff he’s doing is incredible! I remember listening to him play for the first time and was just like, WOW.

James: Oh yeah, Brandon’s a very mature player. And he really plays like a man, y’know? I’ll be like “you’re beating the fuck out of your strings dude.”

 Paul: What struck you guys to do a cover of Sunglasses at Night? Did it just come about as a joke like when Children of Bodom covered Britney Spears, or did you guys actually put a lot of thought into it?

James: (Laughs) Noah and I… Noah especially had really wanted to cover that song, probably for 5 or 6 years now, ever since he joined the band. He’d just be like “let’s do a melodic death version of that song, it’d be so awesome.” We were finishing writing up stuff for Unwelcome when we went over to his house, and he had the intro and the first riff written out in death metal style, and I was just like, “that is fucking badass.” (laughs) And I just sat down and finished arranging the rest of the riffs in a death metal type context, brushed up on the vocals really quick and was just like, “hey, I guess we’re covering Sunglasses at Night now!”

Paul: I actually had no idea that it was a cover of an 80s song in the first place, but I was wondering why you were singing “I wear my Sunglasses at Night.” Then I was playing it in the car with one of my bandmates and he burst out laughing and was like dude, you know this is an 80s pop song right? Then he played the original for me and I felt like the biggest idiot. It was like, “I already wrote the review! Fuck!”

James: (Laughs) it fooled everybody. When it was being reviewed for production, the guy was like “I dunno about these lyrics James.” And I was just like, “It’s a cover!” (laughs)

Paul: Then I showed it to my mom so you can imagine how that turned out.

James: Oh my god, what did your mom say?

Paul: We come back to the house, and I say, “Hey Mom, have you ever heard of the song Sunglasses at Night?” And she’s like “Oh, yeah, that’s a really cool song from the 80s!” And I’m like, “yeah, well this metal band covered it.” So I put it on. And at first, she’s kind of getting into the intro. Then she hears “I WEAR MY SUNGLASSES AT NIGHT!” (laughs) and her eyes pop out of her skull.

James: (laughs) Oh man, that’s a great story, glad it’s shocking some people. Mission accomplished with that! I think we kind of made it our own though.

Paul: Oh, yeah totally! I never would have guessed it was actually an old pop song, because I never heard the original before. I just wondered, “Why is he saying I wear my Sunglasses at Night?”

(laughs)

Paul: Anyways, I know that you guys are really big on King Diamond. When I saw you guys open for Sonata Arctica, I remember seeing you wearing a Mercyful Fate shirt, while Brandon was in a King Diamond shirt. And I said to myself, “Hmmmm… I think this band really likes King Diamond.”

James: I’m sure you weren’t paying attention to this, but I was actually wearing a King Diamond belt buckle.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNDf5y9CU7Q]

Paul: Oh, awesome! But yeah, after listening to Unwelcome, I felt that the album drew a lot of influence from them. Would you agree?

James: Oh yeah, for sure. They were a really big influence on me when I first started playing guitar. Especially Don’t Break the Oath. It’s just so dark; I remember I was 13 years old when I bought it. I talked my mom into taking me to the record shop and bought Judas Priest’s Painkiller on cassette and Don’t Break the Oath as well. I fell asleep listening to Don’t Break the Oath and realized that this is what I wanted to do. After that I’d just take money my relatives gave me and bought King Diamond albums, and it all went downhill after that (laughs). But yeah, we’re definitely influenced by King Diamond, Brandon really loves Andy LaRocque. Big time.  

 Paul: More specifically, who are some guitar players who have inspired your sound? I’ve heard that your taste in music is rather diverse, so I’m especially curious to know.

James: Growing up as far as learning guitar, well, we talked about King Diamond. And I was a big fan of Paul Gilbert, especially his stuff on Street Lethal with Racer X. Also, Cacophony with Marty Friedman. Then after that I got into the more brutal stuff. Like Carcass and Dissection. Stuff like that.

Paul: I’ve noticed a lot of diminished arpeggios in your playing, which gives it a cool neo-classical kind of flavor. Are you classically influenced or trained?

James: Yeah, I guess so. My first instrument was violin, where I was taught a lot of theory and stuff like that. I was never really a classical guitarist though. I could never get into finger styled playing. And of course I like Yngwie Malmsteen.

Paul: Rising Force is one of my favorites.

James: Yeah man, that’s good stuff.

Paul: What do you guys do to pay the bills when you’re not on tour? I read somewhere that you’ve worked with hair. Did you go to cosmetology school or anything?

James: I did. I don’t work at a salon anymore. Right now, I’ll be a parks operation coordinator for a couple months at a time. The way it works is that I’m on call, but it’s a pretty cool job.

Paul: Do any of the guys balance the band with school?

James: The only one who I think is taking classes right now would be Noah. I know he works as well; he does stuff with audio visuals. Brandon I think just shreds for a living. Shawn… what does Shawn do? I think Shawn is the manager at a grocery store.

Paul: How much metal do you listen to nowadays? Is it stale now that you’re playing it every night alongside a bunch of other metal bands, or is it still fresh and exciting to you?    

James: Some metal is still fresh and exciting. I don’t listen to it as much as I used to, I’m not gonna lie, but we still listen to a fair amount of metal. If we listen to metal on tour, it’s usually going to be 80s metal. Or even glam rock. You know, the fun stuff. But yeah, I still am a metal fan.

Paul: You’re magically thrown back in time and can play in any band from the 70s or 80s. Which would you pick and why?

James: Wow, that’s a good question. Let me think… any band?

Paul: Any band, it doesn’t even have to be metal.

James: (long pause) Man… that’s a really good question. (More silence) I’m thinking hard about this one actually. I’m wrestling between artistic value and popularity. I would say King Diamond. I think they made money too, back in the 80s. They also had that glam imagery I really loved in the 80s, just darker.

Paul: As I mentioned before, I saw you guys back in December with Sonata Arctica. How did that tour go? What were those guys like?

 James: Oh, they were really nice. Everybody was really spot-on every night too. Tony really is an incredible singer. I know it seemed like a weird package to a lot of people but I had a good time. I mean, I know a lot of the fans weren’t as receptive to our style as I would’ve liked, but it was a good tour to get back into the swing of things. It wasn’t super long… We had a great time, we really did.

Paul: When you guys are touring, how do you guys make most of your money and how is it distributed?

James: Well, you sell merch of course, and have a guarantee from the venue every night. So what happens is we first pay off our dues, and then we just split the rest four ways.

Paul: Is it something you can make a living with while on tour?

James: Yeah, to be honest with you we’re smart about the money. We don’t order merch that we can’t pay off immediately, so we never have debt hanging over our heads. After we pay off everyone we need to, the rest is all profit and we keep our spending very minimal. It’s actually equivalent to what I make working my day job 40 hours a week so I can’t complain about that.

Paul: Plus you love what you’re doing, so that must make it even better.

James: Yeah, exactly.

Paul: Well thanks again James for taking the time to do this interview, it was great talking with you.

James: No problem man, thanks a lot for the review!

 Paul: Anything else to say to the fans?

James: Thank you all so much for the support, looking forward to seeing you on tour soon!

Catch Arsis on tour with Hypocrisy, Krisiun, and Aborted!

05/01 – Gramercy – New York, N.Y. *
05/02 – Palace – Stafford, Conn. *
05/03 – Foufounes Electriques – Montreal, Quebec *
05/04 – WreckRoom – Toronto, Ontario *
05/06 – Reggie’s – Chicago, Ill. *
05/07 – Station 4 – St. Paul, Minn. *
05/08 – The Zoo – Winnipeg, Manitoba *
05/09 – The Exchange – Regina, Saskatchewan *
05/10 – Pawn Shop – Edmonton, Alberta *
05/11 – Republik – Calgary, Alberta *
05/13 – Rickshaw Theater – Vancouver, British Columbia *
05/14 – Studio Seven – Seattle, Wash. **
05/17 – The Vex – Los Angeles, Calif. **
05/18 – 910 Live – Tempe, Ariz. **
05/20 – Trees – Dallas, Texas **
05/21 – Korova – San Antonio, Texas **

* with Starkill
** with Autumn’s End

The post Interview | James Malone of Arsis appeared first on Der Metal Krieger.

The Mystery of Time boasts a large roster of heavy metal heroes that Tobias sought out to help bring it to life. You have Biff Byford (Saxon), Michael Kiske (Unisonic, ex-Helloween) and Joe Lynn Turner (Deep Purple, Rising force) among others. All of whom either co-sing with Tobias or you have tracks that you’ll have a full chorus of singers.

I found the additional singers a nice touch and several songs to be really strong on the album, such as the opening track, ‘Spectres’, which has a great catchy chorus. I found the songs featuring Byford and Kiske being the predominately stronger tunes with the exception of Turner singing in the opening track and Eric Martin’s ‘What’s Left of Me’ also being a highlight of the album.

What I found The Mystery of Time to be, is an album featuring many guest musicians weaving a fantasy tale, written by Sammet, that would be cool to see conceptualized live. I compare Avantasia to the likes of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra especially with the German Film Orchestra-Babelsberg performing on this album. I’m not sure as to the budget Avantasia would need to pull off a show that TSO could, but I think what would really bring The Msytery of Time all together would be a stage show that helped visually conceptualize the album. As it stands the album is a good listen featuring some great songwriting and talent. It didn’t grab me as much as I would have liked but I still enjoyed listening to the songs and the amazing voice of Tobias Sammet and the other singers.

Maybe one day we will get lucky and Avantasia will write a story about the movie Labyrinth.  Sammet will rake in millions, produce a stage show to visualize the concept, and David Bowie will reprise his role as the Goblin King singing ‘Magic Dance’ tossing around a baby.

The post Music Review | Avantasia’s Mystery of Time appeared first on Der Metal Krieger.

Southern California’s own folk metal fury, Helsótt, is proud to debut their first video here on DMK.  We gave their EP Fólkvangr a solid review last year, so check it out and pick up a copy!

Formed Feb 1st 2010 Helsótt is a melding of American Thrash/Death and Pagan Metal. Very melodic and very brutal music sets the pace for a high energy live act that can only be described as crushing.

Helsótt has supported national and international acts such as: Finntroll, Ensiferum, Nile, Ex Deo, Turisas, Nevermore, Suidakra, Eluveitie, Arkona, Alestorm, Fear Factory, Kill Devil Hill, Rotting Christ, Epica, Death Angel, Hate, Keep of Kalessin, Kampfar, Vreid, Warbringer, Mayhem, Destruction, Heathen, Goatwhore, Possessed, Origin, Decrepit Birth, Aborted and many more.

You can catch these heathens on the highly anticipated PAGANFEST AMERICA IV tour featuring Ensiferum, Tyr, Heidevolk, and Trollfest.

They are also opening select dates of Turisas’s Guards of Glory North America 2013 tour, so head over to their Official Website to pick up your tickets!

The post Video Exclusive – Helsótt’s HONOUR THY VALKYRIE appeared first on Der Metal Krieger.

Swedish progressive melodic death metal icons SCAR SYMMETRY will return to the North American continent once again with November/December with “The Unseen Empire” North American Tour 2012! Commented guitarist Per Nilsson:

“It is with great joy that we can finally make it official: next month we’ll return to North America for our very first North American headlining tour! No more thirty or forty minute sets; this time you will get the full monty - a set-list jampacked with songs from all our albums, and we might even throw in a few surprises! Along with us, we’re bringing melodeath super virtuosos THREAT SIGNAL, progressive masterminds STEALING AXION and space deathcore aficionados LORD OF WAR. It’s gonna be a shredfest!”

“The Unseen Empire” North American Tour 2012
SCAR SYMMETRY, THREAT SIGNAL, STEALING AXION, LORD OF WAR
11/24 – Springfield, VA – Empire

11/25 – Trenton, NJ – Championship Bar

11/26 – Montreal, QC – Foufounes Electriques

11/27 – Ottawa, ON – Maverick’s

+ Many more TBA

Stay tuned for more tour dates soon!

SCAR SYMMETRY’s latest album The Unseen Empire was released on May 17^th 2011 via Nuclear Blast. View this video of drummer/lyricist Henrik Ohlsson explaining the lyrical concept of the album, which deals with conspiracy theories/illuminati themes, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwON-tZOxQ0.

via Nuclear Blast

The post SCAR SYMMETRY North American Headlining Tour Announced! appeared first on Der Metal Krieger.

After seeing the announcement of the Lamb of God/Dethklok tour with Gojira, all of us at DMK were pretty excited.  But then of course, poor Randy Blythe had that whole fiasco in the Czech Republic resulting in Lamb of God dropping from the tour.  LoG recently announced a new tour with In Flames and Sylosis/Hellyeah but we were still wondering what the fate of Dethklok would be.  Yesterday Adult Swim, the network that hosts Metalocalypse, ran a TV Spot briefly announcing a NEW DETHKLOK TOUR!

This is probably the highest resolution copy of the artwork online.

The tour will feature headliners DETHKLOK, brutalizing the airwaves along with MACHINE HEAD, ALL THAT REMAINS, and THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER! See dates below.

DETHALBUM III has also been teasing us for some time now.  With the album having an official street date of October 16th the wait is finally over.  The band recently “I Ejaculate Fire” online as the albums first single.  A NSFW video was also posted online:

Tour Dates:
10/30 Norfolk, VA – Norva
10/31 Philadelphia, PA – Electric Factory
11/02 Silver Spring, MD – Fillmore
11/03 New York, NY – Roseland Ballroom
11/04 Worcester, MA – Palladium
11/05 Montreal, QC – Metropolis
11/07 Toronto, ON – Sound Academy
11/08 Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE
11/09 Columbus, OH – LC Pavilion
11/10 Detroit, MI – Fillmore
11/11 Grand Rapids, MI – Orbit Room
11/13 Fargo, ND – The Venue
11/14 Minneapolis, MN – Myth
11/15 Milwaukee, WI – Rave / Eagles Club
11/16 Chicago, IL – Aragon Ballroom
11/17 Kansas City, MO – Midland
11/18 St. Louis, MO – The Pageant
11/20 Denver, Co – Fillmore
11/21 Salt Lake City, UT – Great Salt Air
11/23 Seattle, WA – Showbox SODO
11/24 Portland, OR – Roseland Theater
11/26 Oakland, CA – Fox Theater
11/27 Hollywood, CA – Palladium
11/28 Phoenix, AZ – Marquee
11/30 Dallas, TX – House Of Blues
12/01 Austin, TX – Stubbs
12/02 Houston, TX House of Blues
12/04 Orlando, FL – House Of Blues
12/06 Chattanooga, TN – Track 29
12/07 Charlotte, NC – Fillmore
12/08 Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle

The post DETHKLOK TOUR Reannounced! New Music Video Online appeared first on Der Metal Krieger.

“We are very excited to tour US and Canada for the first time in November/December, ” commented WINTERSUN mstermind Jari  Mäenpää. “We´ve had lots of requests from the fans before, but finally we are able to come there and kick some ass with new material from the Time I album and of course play the old stuff too! Hope to see you guys there. Let´s make it special!”

ELUVEITIE, WINTERSUN, VARG

11/21/12 House of Blues – Hollywood, CA

11/28/12  910 Live – Tempe, AZ

11/29/12  The Roxy Theater – Hollywood, CA **CHANGED TO 11/21 at the House of Blues, ROXY Tickets will be Honored at the HoB

11/30/12  Oakland Metro – Oakland, CA

12/01/12  Hawthorne Theatre – Portland, OR

12/02/12  El Corazon – Seattle, WA

12/03/12  Rickshaw Theatre – Vancouver, BC – CANADA

12/05/12  Starlite Room – Edmonton, AB – CANADA

12/06/12  Republik – Calgary, AB – CANADA

12/07/12  Louis’ Pub – Saskatoon, SK – CANADA

12/08/12  West End Cultural Centre – Winnipeg, MB – CANADA

12/09/12  Station 4 – Saint Paul, MN

12/11/12  Bottom Lounge – Chicago, IL

12/12/12  Peabody’s – Cleveland, OH

12/13/12  The Opera House – Toronto, ON – CANADA

12/14/12  Mavericks – Ottawa, ON – CANADA

12/15/12  Club Soda – Montreal, QC – CANADA

12/16/12  Imperial – Quebec City, QC – CANADA

12/18/12  Water Street Music Hall (at The Club) – Rochester, NY

12/19/12  Mr. Small’s Theatre – Millvale, PA

12/20/12  Gramercy Theatre – New York, NY

12/21/12  Royale Boston – Boston, MA

ELUVEITIE will release The Early Years, a collection of re-rerecorded and re-mastered early material, via Nuclear Blast Records on August 17^th (Europe) and September 25^th (North America).

ELUVEITIE scanned 4,242 copies of their latest album Helvetios in its first week of sales in the United States according to Nielson Soundscan. Helvetios came in at #143 on the US Billboard Top 200 Chart and #3 on the Heatseekers chart, making it their highest charting record yet! ELUVEITIE also cracked the Canadian Top 200 coming in at #73! Helvetios was released on February 28 in North America via Nuclear Blast Records.

WINTERSUN’s long awaited new album Time I will be released October 12 (Europe) and October 22, 2012 (North America) via Nuclear Blast.

For more info on ELUVEITIE visit: www.eluveitie.ch | www.facebook.com/eluveitie | www.nuclearblast.de/eluveitie

For more info on WINTERSUN visit: www.wintersun.fi | www.rockthenation.eu | www.nuclearblast.de/wintersun

Via Nuclear Blast

The post ELUVEITIE/WINTERSUN North American Tour Announced! appeared first on Der Metal Krieger.

Bearers Of The Sword Tour 2012:

The post Amoral and Profane Omen to support Ensiferum on European Tour! appeared first on Der Metal Krieger.

As you all may know, I am a huge Amoral fan, as they are my favorite band. I am very much into death metal, but I feel the path Amoral is taking is the best path. They still play death metal songs on their newer album (Won’t Go Home from Beneath), yet have more progressive songs, such as the track Beneath. In one of my interviews with Ben, he asked me what I thought of the change. I told him ” I am a huge death metal fan and first heard of Amoral during the Reptile Ride period. But what I love more is a band who can switch from extreme metal to more melodic metal and still perfect it.” Amoral is that band who can quickly switch styles, and still sound unique.

Change is not always a bad thing. For these guys, the change is the best thing for them, as they develop their own sound, and set a new standard for melodic metal. All of their works are great, but Beneath is their best thus far. Having a mix of progressive, heavy songs, to nods to their death metal roots, to their high-octane vocals and melodic instruments, this album has it all. It gives you a crash course of Amoral’s history and what they have in mind for the future.

I know some of you may be asking “What’s next? Will their be another death metal album, or will they continue their melodic style?” As I talked to Ben, he says there will be no full on death metal album, but they will maybe write death metal songs (Won’t Go Home, and Staying Human). He said he noticed that the fans loved the more heavy and progressive tracks, like Beneath, and that the band also enjoys playing those songs. The next Amoral album may be more similar to that, but nothing is for certain, as Ben stated, giving a little insight in what’s next.

I hope this intrigues you, and for those who have not listened to the newer material, give it a chance. You may like what you hear, as I did. Pick up a copy of the highly acclaimed album Beneath, and continue to support melodic metal. Be sure to catch these guys on tour with Ensiferum and Profane Omen this fall over in Europe!

Bearers Of The Sword Tour 2012:

The post Amoral: Why the change? – On Tour with Ensiferum and New album Info appeared first on Der Metal Krieger.

Band: Ensiferum
Album: Unsung Heroes
Genre: Pagan/Folk Metal
Label: Spinefarm
Release Date: August 27, 2012

I like to break down albums song-by-song, but if you want to spare yourself from a plethora of reading, I’ll give a quick synopsis of the album for you.  It’s a great leap forward for Ensiferum.  Not only does it show the range of the band’s musical attributions, it shows that they can make more than just catchy battle songs.  Petri’s vocals really flow well with the enhanced atmosphere of the album and it shows.  They’ve also added new dynamics to their overall sound, and even though the drum work seemed to lack a strong presence on the album, everything feels like one cohesive work of art.  Now on to the track-by-track review.

The album starts off with an instrumental introduction, “Symbols“, which seems to be a trending style in creating a more dramatic effect.  This track in particular does succeed in delivering an awe-inspiring orchestration that brings you to a far off, ancient land filled with mysticism and unexpected splendor.  The sounds are almost ethereal and quite reminiscent of composition you might find on the most recent Nightwish release.  The song gently ends and the first track featuring the band starts up.

I found that the opening riff for “In My Sword I Trust” had a nice heavy metal groove to it, then the staple Ensiferum folk riffs came in to remind you that these Finns keep it real.  I personally have found Petri’s vocals unsuitable for certain Ensiferum songs–go ahead and grab your torches and pitchforks.  However, his voice fits this song perfectly, matching the tone and melody fantastically.  Maybe it’s that new belly of his–I think I’ll congratulate it personally.  The song also features an awesome chorus line that no folk metal album can go without, so raise your drinking horns and party like a viking.

The title track “Unsung Heroes” is a bit more mellow but it has that signature Ensiferum style, that no band has been able to successfully replicate. Overall it’s not what it could be as it seems to be lacking instrumental charm.  The choir and female vocals, however, are divine and really add a new layer of melody.

“Burning Leaves” leaked online a few weeks ago so those of you who have been following the band should know how this song turned out: EPIC.  While it lacks a big atmosphere, the soft vocals, chants in Finnish, and beautiful guitar mastery, drive this song as one of the best tracks that the band has ever produced.

But, soft! what voice through yonder Ensiferum song breaks? I’d like to assume that’s the band’s young keyboardist Emmi Silvennoinen.  This track,”Celestial Bond“, caught me by surprise…in a good way! Her voice is subtle, but passionate, and while it is a forgettable voice, this song is in no way forgettable.

Did her voice serenade you to sleep? How are you going to listen to the rest of the album then? Oh nevermind, let the band take care of that.  ”Retribution Shall Be Mine” starts to blast right after Emmi’s soft voice fades away.  The song has the heroic mantra, as expected, but it was completely toned down, which I’d have to say was a good idea.  Repetition can kill any masterpiece, so this interesting mix of speed riffs, epic shreds, gnarly keyboarding, and Petri’s raspy scream pulls off a fun transitional tune.

“Star Queen (Celestial Bond Part II)” continues where Emmi left off in the first part of this compilation.  Finnish lore and masterful instrumentation combined with creatively fun vocal lines complements the entire flow of the album

The next song is another track deeply rooted in Finnish mythology.  ”Pohjola” is basically a condensed epic with shrieking choirs, an illuminating narrative and a triumphant melody.  If the word Pohjola looks familiar, it is a major location found in the great lore of Finland.  Other bands like Amorphis have incorporated Pohjola in their songs.

Okay almost there, take your “Last Breath“.  See what I did there? I don’t.  Anyways, this song sounds like a mellow farewell that includes some well placed atmospheric sounds.  As an acoustic song, it’s a bit lackluster, but the lyrics hold a deep meaning which most people can appreciate.

To finish this story of unsung heroes, Ensiferum thought it would be interesting to add a 17 minute epic at the end of the album.  It’s like the 17 extra pounds Petri added to his abdominal region…only joking.  It’s what you’d expect if Ensiferum sat down and made a 17 minute song. 17 minutes of glory, epicness, and “Passion Proof Power“.  The song shifts from an acoustic folk session, to a lighter sounding Ensiferum track, to a heavy melodic death smash to the face.  The band used more synthetic keyboard melodies much like those of Sabaton, which I personally think adds a little fun to the song.  But it’s broken up in a few places which seem to unevenly break into the next part of the song.  There is even a sampling of what seems like German men talking about Ensiferum in an older village setting.

So this little band from Finland might actually have a chance at making big…ahem, I’ll stop with the pointless sarcasm now.  Ensiferum ends up feeling like that band you grew up with, the one that helped shaped your musical taste, even if you just started listening to them yesterday.  There’s something about the music, the passion, that makes you want to just live in a time where glory could be earned on the battlefield.  Markus Toivonen and Sami Hinkka never disappoint when providing engaging lyrics, though at times cliche, never seem to get old.  Petri  has found his vocal mark and Emmi has left a greater impression.  My major gripe is with the lack-luster drum work provided by Janne Parvainen.  He is no way a casual drummer as he has shown in previous albums, like Victory Songs, that he can deliver battle-ready war beats.  Do I think you should pre-order/buy this album? Do you like having good things? Do you wish you could be more awesome? Did you realize that these are rhetorical questions? YES PRE-ORDER THE ALBUM. You won’t be disappointed…unless you have really stupid expectations that don’t exist in this mortal realm.  Naturally you should expect to see Ensiferum on a worldwide tour soon so stay tuned!

Rating:

Track Listing:

1. Symbols
2. In My Sword I Trust
3. Unsung Heroes
4. Burning Leaves
5. Celestial Bond
6. Retribution Shall Be Mine
7. Star Queen (Celestial Bond II)
8. Pohjola
9. Last Breath
10. Passion Proof Power

Personnel:

Petri Lindroos – lead vocals & guitar
Markus Toivonen – guitar & backing vocals
Sami Hinkka – bass & clean vocals
Emmi Silvennoinen – keyboards & backing vocals
Janne Parvainen – drums

PRE-ORDER

T-Shirt + Deluxe Edition (CD/DVD)

Girlie T + Deluxe Edition (CD/DVD)

Deluxe Edition (CD/DVD)

Standard Edition (CD)

The post It Takes True Heroes to write Unsung Heroes – A Review of Ensiferum’s New Album appeared first on Der Metal Krieger.