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Ensiferum are back with Unsung Heroes, their fans had to wait 3 years for a new album, but as Ensiferum is playing live a lot it's no surprise that it took some time to present the follow-up of From Afar.
Symbols lead into the album slowly - and shows their folk-ish roots. The intro is creating soundscapes and could have been a motion picture soundtrack. With In My Sword I Trust they present the first real song, a mid-paced track with a stomping beat and sharp riffs. While guitarist Petri Lindross is doing the main vocal work here, his harsh vocals get answered by clean vocals and powerful backings. Towards later marching drums and keyboard bring back the atmospheric soundscapes before they storm off into other spheres. In a way a quite typical Ensiferum battle tune which is followed by the title track Unsung Heroes which is a bit slower, more anthemic... One of my favorites is the catchy Burning Leaves. Celestial Bond begins slowly and with female vocals, Ensiferum asked Laura Dziadulewicz to sing this folk tune, if you would hear it on air or at some other place, you wouldn't think of Ensiferum! The folk track is followed by a very fast track called Retribution Shall Be Mine, a song which reflects their melodic death metal influences. Next in line Star Queen (Celestial Bond Part II), another folk-ish tune - at least for the fist minute. Then the song becomes an atmospheric track with mid-paced parts and slow passages - spiced up with a sing along chorus. The Finnish tune Pohjola introduces Finnish actor Vesa-Matti Loiri who does the speech in the middle part of the tune, but at the begging it's an up-tempo track which - not just for the vocals - reminds me a bit of Finntroll... After the folk-ish stuff this one is a bit bulky, but also offers some big backings / a choir which gives it this bombastic sound track edge. It's somehow representing the sound universe of Ensiferum quite well. Last Breath has a chanty-edge... Not as catchy as the typical chanty, but an Ensiferum folk-ish tune with this additional sound element. The closer is Passion Power Proof, and it's just shy of 17 minutes! So you can expect something special... And so you get the sound of the didgeridoo at the beginning, then they offer some desert rock-ish sounds. Slowly this one develops - and offers some surprises! It's also a challenge for the listener with different sounds, soprano vocals by Ulla Bürger, a spoken words, a dialog in German (by members of Die Apokalyptischen Reiter) and more. Check this one out!
Ensiferum show diversity on Unsung Heroes, while the first tracks are for their head banging followers others are more atmospheric and folk-based which some metal heads might find boring. Personally I like the different sounds and to be honest I prefer the more varying sounds. But I know that some fans might be disappointed by Unsung Heroes, so I can just recommend to check out several songs to get an idea of this album!
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