Artist: ENSIFERUM
Album: 10TH ANNIVERSARY LIVE (DVD)

Year: 2006
Media type: DVD

In honour of Ensiferum's tenth year of existence Spinefarm releases this group's first live DVD "10th Anniversary Live", which was recorded on New Year's Eve (December 31st, 2005) at Nosturi, Helsinki. First of all, I have to admit I've never been the biggest fan of Ensiferum, and for a reason - sure the band has some good sections on their songs (especially the solos influenced by classical music), but as a whole their material doesn't impress me that much. I believe that Ensiferum's blend of metal-tinted folk melodies and pagan black metal screams along with the occasional clean sections just has potential for much more than is audible on this record... in my view, this group could have crafted even better songs, though the weak spot for Ensiferum is mainly their vocalists, not the music. I've never regarded the Norther-growler Petri Lindroos being one of the best extreme vocalists. Also, I think there's something wrong if one of the best songs on band's set is a cover - in this case, Amorphis' Into Hiding was one of the highlights of this gig.

The production on this DVD is rather mediocre... while the picture quality is OK, the sounds get fairly frequently distorted, and that always sets my teeth on edge. In addition, I don't like the current trend of most Finnish mixing and mastering engineers over-accentuating the boominess of bass frequencies. On the other hand, the lack of dynamic depth on the mix hinders my enjoyment too. Despite of all, I'm sure many fans of Ensiferum find 10th Anniversary Live worth checking out, after all it's the first DVD release of Ensiferum. I also reckon this release is the best way to familiarize oneself with Ensiferum's music if one hasn't listened to this group before, as this DVD contains songs from all of the band’s albums.

TRACKLIST:

1. Intro
2. Hero in a Dream
3. Guardians of Fate
4. Tale of Revenge
5. Dragonheads
6. Windrider
7. Warrior's Quest
8. LAI LAI HEI
9. Old Man (Vainamoinen)
10. Slayer of Light
11. Finnish Medley: Karjalan Kunnailla / Myrskyluodon Maija / Metsamiehen Laulu
12. Tears
13. Token of Time
14. White Storm
15. Into Hiding (AMORPHIS Cover)
16. Into Battle
17. Kalevala Melody (intro)
18. Iron
19. Treacherous Gods
20. Naita Polkuja Tallaan
21. Battle Song
22. Congratulation Song for Ensiferum
(Bonus Track performed by Finntroll)

Length: 105:10

LINE-UP:

Markus Toivonen: Guitar
Sami Hinkka: Bass
Janne Parviainen (Ex-BARATHRUM, Ex-WALTARI): Drums
Meiju Enho: Keyboards
Petri Lindroos (NORTHER): Vocals, Guitar