Artist: ENSIFERUM
Album: VICTORY SONGS (CD)

Year: 2007
Media type: CD

Finland’s sword-bearing metal merchants Ensiferum are back with a crushing new ‘Victory Songs” "Iron" was a great success and grew the band's popularity to whole new heights. The album also got the band some extensive touring abroad, but these metallic recordings and gigs finally took such a toll on the band that the year 2004 saw three band members depart: drummer Oliver Fokin, bassist Jukka-Pekka Miettinen and vocalist Jari Maenpдд (later known for his work on Wintersun).

This was not the end of the world for the kind of warriors that Ensiferum and its mastermind Markus are, they just took along new, excellent members to replace these sudden gaps in their lineup. Aboard stepped bassist / vocalist Sami Hinkka, drummer Janne Parviainen (also known for his work on Waltari and Barathrum), and vocalist / guitarist Petri Lindroos. The new lineup was tried and tested on the road touring all through 2005, and from the tour the members headed straight for the studio to make a new mini-album. This mini-CD, later titled "Dragonheads", saw the band test their new growler Petri's vocals and their new bassist and drummer's antics in a recorded form.

Such fun was the recording that the band did not stop with the mini-album, but also made a live DVD to honour their 10-year career. The "10th Anniversary Live" showed the new line-up playing hits from all Ensiferum-albums, from some of the earliest songs to the latest offerings from "Dragonheads". Selling thousands and thousands worldwide, the DVD was the definitive proof that Ensiferum was as strong as ever with its new members in its ranks.

This year, Ensiferum took their gear to Helsinki's Sonic Pump Studios to record their third full-length album with producer Nino Laurenne (Thunderstone, Finntroll). And what an album they made! With metallic guitars combined to the traditional sounds of such instruments as the Finnish kantele, a bagpipe, nyckelharpa and bodhrans, the sound of "Victory songs" is a full, balanced mixture of folk, heavy and battle anthem-like power, complete with the gentle balance between Petri's growling vocals and Markus's and Sami's harmonised choruses.

TRACKLIST:

01. Ad Victoriam
02. Blood Is The Prince Of Glory
03. Deathbringer
04. Ahti
05. One More Magic Potion
06. Wanderer
07. Raised By The Sword
08. The New Dawn
09. Victory Song

LINE-UP:

guitarist - Markus Toivonen
bassist/ vocalist - Sami Hinkka
drummer - Janne Parviainen
ocalist/ guitarist - Petri Lindroos