The last time Ensiferum were given 3 years to record an album we got ‘Unsung Heroes‘, and effort from the folk metal titans that was arguably weak for a band that has produced some smashing albums in the past. Again the band have had a 3 year gap to write an new album, although there is a fundamental difference with this one, and that is the band are debuting on a brand new label, Metal Blade. Surely the pressure is on this time to justify a new contract with a new label? Let’s see how the new album ‘One Man Army‘ weighs up…

Past Ensiferum’s folky traditional intro track, in almost an instant you get the feeling that speaks, ‘Yup, this is so much better!’. The opening track ‘Axe of Judgement‘ blasts in at full pace and is absolutely relentless, like the ‘Iron‘ track on steroids. The first track on the album pretty much foreshadows the things time come, a much more streamlined approach to the songwriting incorporating classic Ensiferum folk melodies, crushing guitar and drum work and a live orchestra whose key goal is to do nothing more than add bombast and atmosphere to the tracks, nothing overly technical, just pure epic. This approach has wound up making ‘One Man Army‘ quite the success, as every track is as listenable and entertaining as the next.

Ensiferum manage to show off their refined progressive side with the tracks ‘Cry For The Earth Bounds‘ and the lengthy ‘Descendants, Defiance, Domination‘ again using a more simplistic philosophy on the songwriting, creating a much more neat flow to the tracks compared to the last 17-minute progressive effort from ‘Unsung Heroes‘. The knock you on your ass, soothe you into a folky trance and everything in between. There is even a surprise Ensiferum folk disco medley in ‘Two of Spades’, shows there is still some great creativity and humour in the band.

It seems Ensiferum have come back to what they do best, a plain approach to attack and conquer. While recent efforts have been impressive, they have seemed to lack the passion that led the band to the top of the rising folk metal scene. ‘One Man Army‘ in stark contrast to it’s title represents the team effort to get the band back to it’s roots by stripping down and rebuilding the essentials. While some people may miss the complexities and the more technical nature of ‘Unsung Heroes‘ and ‘From Afar‘, you can guarantee that tracks from ‘One Man Army‘ will come across great live. A reiteration that this album is not ‘Iron‘ Part II, but the purity and aggressiveness and that raw unadulterated passion has returned. Ensiferum will be seriously fun to see live again!