Search - Ensiferum :: Victory Songs

Great stuff

J. L. Brown | 11/25/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Well I would have to say that I didn't know if I would like the band without Jari in it. It seems like a lot of people are saying that, but anyway, I would have to say that I actually like this CD more than Iron. This CD gets me more pumped up than Iron does, and I think there is a lot more catchy songs in these Victory Songs. I loved the songs Iron, Sword Chant, Into the Battle, and the intro on the CD Iron. This one I love the intro again, Deathbringer from the sky, ahti, one more magic potion, wanderer and raised by the sword. I mean I could listen to these songs over and over for hours. I really like both CD's, but I think this one is catchier and more intense



I have read a review posted about Victory Songs that I didn't really agree with at all. It was said in the review that Victory Songs didn't have as much of the folk in it as the CD's with Jari. If you read the lyrics they both talk about battles, but Victory songs seem to have more the finnish folklore in it! I mean, Ahti is a Finnish mythological God, that seems pretty folk to me. . . Victory songs has lyrics about battles, dragons, wiches/trolls/spirits, and gods. Perhaps Jari did a better job of mixing it up with his chanting and clean/harsh vocals like in sword chant and lai lai hei, and they had female vocals in Tears, which was pretty cool, but that is just a part of the folk aspect. Perhaps I'm not understanding what Jari writes in how it relates to folklore. . . I don't know, but I understand it better in Victory Songs if that is the case.



I also love how there is less singing in this CD than in Iron, not to dis Jari's singing. I like Jari's vocals in Wintersun a ton, but I like the vocalist for Victory Songs slightly better because it sounds like it fits the music better to me. Especially in Ahti when the singer has his deep scream, that was fricken awesome! Sometimes Jari's vocals completely took me out of the music that I was engrossed in, instead of adding to the dimension I was thinking in. If you understand my meaning, kinda like reading a book that your really into then having someone ask you a question, completely takes you out of the book. yeah, maybe a bad illustration, whatever.



On a downside however, this CD is way less technical in the guitars. and I mean WAY less technical. There isn't as many beat changes, crazy beautiful shredding, etc. This saddens me greatly, but the keyboards made up for it a thousand fold. I don't remember hearing much of any keyboards in Iron other than the intro that was catchy or interesting, so thats a great plus to Victory Songs. I would have to say the intro's to both CD's are fantastic.



Well anyway, great band, really gets you pumped up and completely engulfs your imagination while still being intense and beautiful, not many bands can do that for me, not even Amon Amarth. I say get all their stuff, cause it all sounds different to me, especially with the guitarist/singer change."

Better than I expected.

Timothy Lazaroff | Fairfax, VA | 11/30/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I say it's better than I expected, however, that isn't entirely true. Victory Songs was the first Ensiferum album I've purchased, and I've heard a lot of their previous stuff off the web. So, I expected an average folk/viking metal album. After one listen, this CD met my expectations. After a few listens, it exceeded my expectations. This album follows themes of anything you would expect from any viking/folk metal band: battle, dubious pleasures, and victory. I must say that I love both Jari and Petri, and I do believe that Petri does a great job in Ensiferum.



The disc starts out with a nice, short instrumental entitled "Ad Victorium". Crashing waves, thundering skys, and a running horse are just a few features of this song. It starts slow with a steady (steel?) drum beat and light instruments which make you really feel like you're forming a line before a great battle. The perfect precursor to the second song on the album..



"Blood is the Price of Honor" really delivers in my eyes (ears?). Not many people talk about this song but I have to say I really enjoy it. It's played at a furious speed as Petri belts out the story of a great battle in which the victors absolutely crushed their opponents.



"Deathbringer from the Sky" is an interesting song. Musically I think it falls a bit short, however, the subject matter and lyrics are quite nice. It tells the story of a Dragon whom, I believe, is being hunted and must defend itself against his mortal enemy, man.



"Ahti" is a God of the seas who watches over sailors apparently. This is quite a good song, very singable and will be great Live. Probably one of those "it's better live songs than it is on the album" type of songs. This song doesn't seem to be about anything but Ahti and how he governs his world. Based on Finnish folklore.



"One More Magic Potion" is possibly the greatest song on this CD. I love drinking songs, and this doesn't disappoint! It has quite the fun story to it too. It's about some soldiers who got lost in the woods and found a house. The resident let them come inside her house to rest and she was making some alcohol (presumably some sort of moonshine), the soldiers liked the smell. She served some of it to them and it made them feel good and seemed to make their wounds hurt less, therefore they dubbed it a "magic potion". HAH! It goes on about how they keep drinking and have a good old time. Everything about this song screams sing-along!



"Wanderer" is a close second as favorite on this disc. When I listen to this song I can picture sitting around a campfire hearing a great tale of the Wanderer being told. He is a well known old man who grew tired of fighting wars, so he picked a direction and started to ride. He rode away from the cares of his world, and while he misses them, he welcomes new adventures.



"Raised by the Swords" is a song simply about men who were raised as warriors from birth. Kind of reminiscent of Ancient Roman soldiers. Another really good song, man those drums!



"The New Dawn" is another battle song in which warriors are riding into a final battle against their opponent. This song goes by pretty quickly, and isn't one that really stands out.



"Victory Songs" is amazing. Clocking in at just over ten minutes this song starts slowly and really kicks it up by the end. From what I can gather this song is about an invading army who sneak attacks our heroes in the middle of night. However, a guard manages to blow a horn before he is killed which wakes the inhabitants of the village. Our heroes manage to fight off these barbarians at a great loss of life. The village remained safe for their children to live and prosper. Beautiful song, a top one on this album."

The best folk metal since Fintroll

Christopher M. Ford | san diego, ca | 10/05/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If Black Metal and Power Metal were to ever have a child (gods forbid save this exception) it would be Ensiferum.



Ensiferum uses the melodies and choral arrangements without sacrificing the thrash and black elements.



Nothing is more evident than in their new album Victory Songs. With tracks such as the Wanderer and Victory Songs we see the professional and creative side of folk metal. With Ahti and Raised by the Sword we see the more hard-hitting skills that Ensiferum still possess.



The album is an awesome listen and I personally can listen to it all the way through without ever getting bored. Whether you are looking for original muscianiship or creative lyrics or both, consider this a perfect buy."