Andromeda, new single, from Ensiferum’s Thalassic
Ensiferum are a true powerhouse when it comes to folk-inspired melodic death metal, something they hammer home more resolutely than ever with eighth full-length “Thalassic”. The title translating from ancient Greek as “of or relating to seas”, it’s a suitably huge and wide-ranging collection that incorporates orchestrations and traditional folk instrumentation alongside the roaring guitars, bass, and drums. “I think we managed to take another step ahead musically and we also utilized the best parts of our old sound,” states bassist/vocalist Sami Hinkka. “There are lots of Ensiferum’s trademarks: beautiful folkish melodies, ass-kicking riffs, a nice mix of different vocals and great singalong choruses.” The addition of new keyboard player/lead clean vocalist Pekka Montin also “really raised the new songs to another level”, while Mikko P. Mustonen once again presided over the orchestrations, and violin virtuoso Lassi Logren recorded folk instruments on a few tracks.
On July 10th, Ensiferum will release their new album, Thalassic, via Metal Blade Records. For a preview of “Thalassic”, a video for the new single, “Andromeda”
Sami Hinkka comments: ”Hi folks! Feels like it was aeons ago when we finished to record the new album Thalassic because so much has happened after that. But another milestone is here today because it’s time to release another video to please your ears and eyes! Vesa Ranta did excellent job to find the right people and locations to make this the most beautiful Ensiferum video so far. Eventually this tune will sure to be in the future setlists but there is a chance that you can hear a live version of it in our upcoming studio live stream so check it out! Enough talking, enjoy the breathtaking Finnish scenary and we hope you like the song too!”
The biggest difference separating “Thalassic” from the rest of Ensiferum’s catalogue comes from the fact that it’s the first of their albums to be built around a theme. “The idea of it started to brew in my mind when I was doing interviews for ‘Two Paths’ and many journalists asked if it was a theme album, and I noticed that I was answering all the time that because of the way we compose it’s almost impossible to make a theme album. This really started to piss me off and the decision was made: the next album would have a theme. At that time, we already had a few songs almost ready for the next album, and I started to listen to the demos much more from the feeling aspect instead of analyzing them musically. For some reason, all of them took me to a seashore, and the theme was found: something related to sea or water. So I started to read about history, myths and legend around the world that had something to do with the theme, but even though all of the lyrics are obviously inspired by this, I tried my best to keep Ensiferum’s heroic mentality in them. In the end, there were too many ideas for lyrics, because I didn’t set myself any boundaries – like all stories would have to be Nordic, etc, and one of my favourite songs on the album tells about Andromeda from Greek mythology. I can’t promise that this way of lyric-writing will be the future of Ensiferum, but at least we did this once.”
Thalassic track-listing
1. Seafarer’s Dream
2. Rum, Women, Victory
3. Andromeda
4. The Defence of the Sampo
5. Run from the Crushing Tide
6. For Sirens
7. One with the Sea
8. Midsummer Magic
9. Cold Northland (Väinämöinen Part III)
10. Merille Lahteva (Bonus Track)
11. I’ll Stay by Your Side (Bonus Track)
Ensiferum members:
Markus Toivonen – Guitars, Vocals (backing), Percussion (1995-present), Vocals (clean)
Sami Hinkka – Bass, Vocals (clean, harsh, backing)
Petri Lindroos – Vocals (harsh), Guitars
Janne Parviainen – Drums, Percussion
Pekka Montin – Keyboards, Vocals (clean)
Stay safe, stay healthy and wash your hands
