Ensiferum (Latin: , n adj., meaning "sword bearing") is a Finnish folk metal<!-- See WP:Lead for word usage at the start of articles. It is to generalize the genres as a whole and not to be used as a descriptor. --> band from Helsinki. The members of the band label themselves as "melodic folk metal". The group has released nine studio albums.

History

Formation, demos and Ensiferum (1995−2002)

thumb|right|The highly stylized logo of Ensiferum has appeared on all of their releases.

thumb|Guitarist Markus Toivonen is the band's sole constant member.

Ensiferum was founded in 1995 by Markus Toivonen (guitar), Sauli Savolainen (bass) and Kimmo Miettinen (drums). In the next year, Jari Mäenpää was taken into the band as singer and second guitar-player. In 1997, the first demo was released, containing three songs.

In 1998, Savolainen and Miettinen left the band and were replaced by Jukka-Pekka Miettinen (Kimmo Miettinen's little brother, then 14 years old) and Oliver Fokin. In January 1999, a second demo was recorded, which although it did not produce a recording deal, boosted the band's confidence. In November 1999 a third demo Hero in a Dream was recorded, and was successful in obtaining a record deal with Spinefarm Records. The logo that appears on all the band's releases was designed for the third demo by Tuomas Tahvanainen, who also designed the logos for the earlier demos. In 2000, the band went into the studio to work on their first album, Ensiferum, which was released in July 2001. In the same year, Meiju Enho joined them as a keyboard player.

Iron, line-up changes, Dragonheads and 10th Anniversary Live (2003−2006)

In early 2004, after the work was completed on the second album, Iron, Mäenpää was fired from the band due to conflicts between scheduled studio work on his side project Wintersun and touring with Ensiferum. For the tour with Finntroll starting in April, Petri Lindroos from Norther replaced Mäenpää on guitar and as singer, and became a member of the band after the tour. In December 2004, Jukka-Pekka Miettinen left the band and was replaced by Sami Hinkka (Rapture). Fokin also left in 2005, to be replaced by Janne Parviainen.

The new Ensiferum line-up entered the studio later that year to record an EP to be called Dragonheads, which was released in February 2006. As well as the title track, it also contained two reworked demo songs: an Amorphis cover and a short rendition of the Kalevala melody, as well as a medley of three traditional Finnish songs.

In June 2006, Ensiferum released their live DVD, 10th Anniversary Live, which was recorded in Nosturi, Helsinki, on 31 December 2005.

Victory Songs and Meiju's departure (2006−2009)

The recording of the third studio album, called Victory Songs, took place between November 2006 and early 2007, and was released on 20 April 2007. A single titled "One More Magic Potion" (after the track of the same name) was released on 7 February. Following the album's release, the band released through the producer's MySpace page, a music video for the song "Ahti", which included all band members featured as extras. The video was released after the album release due to video filming problems.

On 10 September 2007, it was announced that keyboardist Meiju Enho would leave the band. This was posted in a bulletin on their MySpace page and later confirmed on their website. The band used Emmi Silvennoinen of Exsecratus as a touring fill-in. Silvennoinen later became a permanent member of the band during the recording of the From Afar album.

Ensiferum headlined the Paganfest tour in Europe and North America in 2008. Others playing the tour included Týr and Eluveitie, with Moonsorrow and Korpiklaani also joining them on the European part of the tour, and Turisas in North America. In August, they performed at the Global East Rock Festival in Ukraine, Ankkarock and Jurassic Rock in Finland, and Let's Open Air in Turkey. The limited edition of the album includes a cover of Swedish folk rock group Nordman with guest vocalist Heri Joensen of Faroese band Týr. Following the release, the group embarked on a European tour with Estonian folk metal band Metsatöll and Finnish melodic death metal band Tracedawn. After release of the album, Ensiferum embarked on a tour of Europe and South America.

New label, One Man Army and Two Paths (2013−2019)

thumb|Ensiferum at Rockharz Open Air 2016 in Germany

Ensiferum's sixth album, One Man Army, was released on 20 February 2015. The album was recorded at Astia Studio with producer Anssi Kippo. A music video for the title track "One Man Army" was released prior to the album's release. In March of that year, Ensiferum announced on their Facebook page that keyboardist Emmi Silvennoinen would not be able to make the European and North American "One Man Army Tour" due to personal commitments at home. Former Turisas accordion player Netta Skog filled her role for the tour. Skog had performed clean vocals on the One Man Army songs "Cry for the Earth Bounds" and "Neito Pohjolan". Heri Joensen of Týr makes an appearance on the track "Heathen Horde", quoting stanza 16 of Hávamál in Old Icelandic.

On 31 March 2016 it was announced that Emmi Silvennoinen would take a leave of absence from the band because of personal issues. Netta Skog was confirmed as her permanent replacement. With Skog in the line-up, the band entered the studio to record their seventh studio album, Two Paths. Anssi Kippo, who had produced One Man Army, was again chosen to produce the album. The band focused on a more "organic" sound for Two Paths, using analog recording and neglecting to use a click track for certain songs. Two Paths was released on 15 September 2017.

Skog left the band in December 2017.

Thalassic and Winter Storm (2020−present)

thumb|right|"Andromeda" music video

On 7 January 2020, the band announced that they had begun recording a follow-up record to Two Paths, at Studio Petrax in Hollola, Finland. This release coincides with the band's 25th anniversary.

On 27 February, the band confirmed Pekka Montin as their new keyboard player and clean vocalist.

The single "Rum, Women, Victory" was released on 6 May, followed by a music video of the second single "Andromeda" on 17 June. The band's eighth studio album, Thalassic, was released on 10 July 2020.

The band's ninth studio album, Winter Storm, was released on 18 October 2024.

Musical style

The band has been described as folk metal, melodic death metal, power metal

Band members

<gallery perrow="5" caption="Ensiferum at Rockharz Open Air 2022">

File:Ensiferum Rockharz 2022 12.jpg|Markus Toivonen

File:Ensiferum Rockharz 2022 32.jpg|Petri Lindroos

File:Ensiferum Rockharz 2022 26.jpg|Sami Hinkka

File:Ensiferum Rockharz 2022 15.jpg|Janne Parviainen

File:Ensiferum Rockharz 2022 11.jpg|Pekka Montin

</gallery>

Current

  • Markus Toivonen&nbsp;– guitars, backing vocals <small>(1995–present)</small>, clean vocals <small>(2004–2020)</small>
  • Petri Lindroos&nbsp;– guitars, harsh vocals <small>(2004–present)</small>
  • Sami Hinkka&nbsp;– bass, clean and harsh vocals <small>(2004–present)</small>
  • Janne Parviainen&nbsp;– drums <small>(2005–present)</small>
  • Pekka Montin&nbsp;– keyboards, clean vocals <small>(2020–present)</small>

Former

  • Sauli Savolainen&nbsp;– bass <small>(1995–1998)</small>
  • Kimmo Miettinen&nbsp;– drums <small>(1995–1998)</small>
  • Jari Mäenpää&nbsp;– lead vocals, guitars <small>(1996–2004)</small>
  • Oliver Fokin&nbsp;– drums <small>(1998–2005)</small>
  • Jukka-Pekka Miettinen&nbsp;– bass <small>(1998–2004)</small>
  • Meiju Enho&nbsp;– keyboards <small>(2001–2007)</small>
  • Emmi Silvennoinen&nbsp;– keyboards, backing vocals <small>(2007–2016)</small>
  • Netta Skog&nbsp;– electric accordion, female vocals <small>(2016–2017)</small>

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

  • Ensiferum (2001)
  • Iron (2004)
  • Victory Songs (2007)
  • From Afar (2009)
  • Unsung Heroes (2012)
  • One Man Army (2015)
  • Two Paths (2017)
  • Thalassic (2020)
  • Winter Storm (2024)

Compilation albums

  • 1997–1999 (2005)
  • Two Decades of Greatest Sword Hits (2016)

EPs

  • Dragonheads (2006)
  • Suomi Warmetal (2014)

Live DVD

  • 10th Anniversary Live (2006)
  • Ensiferum Acoustic Live @ On the Rocks, Helsinki, Finland 28.10.2016 (DVD included in the Two Paths limited edition) (2017)

Videos

  • "Ahti" (2007)
  • "From Afar" (2009)
  • "Twilight Tavern" (2009)
  • "One More Magic Potion" (2010)
  • "In My Sword I Trust" (2012)
  • "One Man Army" (2015)
  • "Way of the Warrior" (2017)
  • "For Those About to Fight for Metal" (2019)
  • "Rum, Women, Victory" (2020)
  • "Andromeda" (2020)
  • "Run from the Crushing Tide" (2021)
  • "Winter Storm Vigilantes" (2024)

Singles

  • "Tale of Revenge" (2004)
  • "One More Magic Potion" (2007)
  • "From Afar" (2009)
  • "Stone Cold Metal" (2010)
  • "Burning Leaves" (2012)
  • "In My Sword I Trust" (2012)
  • "One Man Army" (2015)
  • "Way of The Warrior" (2017)
  • "For Those About to Fight for Metal" (2019)
  • "Rum, Women, Victory" (2020)
  • "Andromeda" (2020)
  • "Winter Storm Vigilantes" (2024)
  • "Long Cold Winter of Sorrow and Strife" (2024)

Demos

  • Demo (1997)
  • "Frost"
  • "Old Man (Väinämöinen)"
  • "Knighthood"
  • Demo II (1998)
  • "Dreamer's Prelude"
  • "Little Dreamer (Väinämöinen part II)"
  • "Warrior's Quest"
  • "White Storm"
  • Demo III: Hero in a Dream (1999)
  • "Intro"
  • "Hero in a Dream"
  • "Eternal Wait"
  • "Battle Song"
  • "Guardians of Fate"

Cover songs

Recorded cover songs

  • "Into Hiding" (by Amorphis from Tales from the Thousand Lakes) − Found on Dragonheads, 10th Anniversary Live as a live version and Victory Songs Special Edition
  • "Battery" (by Metallica from Master of Puppets) − Found on "Tale of Revenge" single and Iron digipak
  • "Lady in Black" (by Uriah Heep from Salisbury) − Found on "One More Magic Potion" single and Victory Songs digipak and Japanese version
  • "Breaking the Law" (by Judas Priest from British Steel) − Found on the digipak version of their eponymous album. Song was covered again in 2010 and released as a bonus track of "Stone Cold Metal" digital single.
  • "Vandraren" (by Nordman) – Found on the limited-edition version of From Afar
  • "Wrathchild" (by Iron Maiden) − Released as a bonus track of "Burning Leaves" digital single
  • "Bamboleo" (by Gipsy Kings) − Released as a bonus track on "Unsung Heroes"

Covers only played live

  • "Battle Hymn" (by Manowar)
  • "Enter Sandman" (by Metallica)
  • "Fight Fire with Fire" (by Metallica)
  • "Näitä polkuja tallaan" (by Matti ja Teppo)
  • "Olen suomalainen" (by Kari Tapio)
  • "Rentun Ruusu" (by Irwin Goodman)
  • "Run to the Hills" (by Iron Maiden)
  • "The Trooper" (by Iron Maiden)
  • "Tsingis Khan" (by Frederik)
  • "Sweet Child o' Mine" (by Guns N' Roses)

References

  • Official webshop
  • Ensiferum at Spinefarm Records (archived)