Finnish folk metal giants Ensiferum have announced their new album, Winter Storm, is scheduled to arrive on October 18th via Metal Blade Records. The follow-up to 2020’s Thalassic was written largely during lockdown by guitarist Markus Toivonen with lyrics by bassist Sami Hinkka.
Produced by Janne Joutsenniemi and mixed by Jens Bogren, the album features guest artists Lassi Logrén, Mikko Mustonen, and Eleine’s Madeleine Liljestam. To celebrate the album reveal, the group has shared a video for their new single, “Winter Storm Vigilantes.”
Hinkka comments:
“The way I see it, this album is more like a ‘musical’ than a traditional album. The lyrics of Winter Storm are based on part of my unpublished fantasy book. One day it will be out… I don’t want to reveal the plot or details too much but ‘Winter Storm Vigilantes’ and ‘Fatherland’ tell of two factions in this long tale. The Vigilantes have gained knowledge to utilize certain rare elements, and even though there was already magic in this world, with this new epiphany they have reached a completely new level.
This element seems to interact with living things in a way that even the wisest men don’t completely understand. And through generations of trial and error, they have refined a skill to expose their horses to the element and managed to break the law of gravity, making their steeds fly.
But they became ruthless and greedy on their quest to gain more of this element. A small tribe in the north keep on fighting for their land, which the Vigilantes plan to take over. These North Folks will literally fight until the last man… Other characters include a Vigilante castaway, the last shaman of the North Folk, and a mysterious widow. The album ends with a great battle against the Vigilantes and the unholy alliance of the castaway and the North Folk shaman, who has transcended into a spirit wolf. Who will prevail?
Will this be the final battle of the book? Time will tell… I understand that all this sounds very far out — well, it is a fantasy book — but believe me, it will be truly an epic story!
‘Winter Storm Vigilantes,’ “Markus had quite grandeur visions of the song and it turned out to be even more heroic than we expected. It was an obvious choice to open the new album. This epic song serves as one faction of the big story. The song pushes forward with the might of a thousand horses and will surely be a great song in the future setlist.”
Watch the clip below and pre-order the album here:
Track List:
01) Aurora
02) Winter Storm Vigilantes
03) Long Cold Winter Of Sorrow And Strife
04) Fatherland
05) Scars In My Heart (Feat. Madeleine Liljestam)
06) Resistentia
07) The Howl
08) From Order To Chaos
09) Leniret Coram Tempestate
10) Victorious
11) Six Ribbons (Jon English cover) *
12) Lambada (Kaoma cover) *
* Special Edition Bonus Track
Feature Image Photo Credit: Svetlana Goncharova
