I'm glad none of their records sound the same. Why would you want to listen to the same record for the entirety of a bands career? I really dig this song and am stoked for the album. I honestly love all their albums for different reasons.
Finland is amazing certainly, not only has Ensiferum, got Nightwish of course, Battle Beast, and Santa Cruz, but I think than the best country for Rock and Metal still be England, followed by German, USA, Sweden, and then Finland
This lifeless soil Barren of good thoughts Scorched By grudge and grief Doomed to linger on Wandered aimlessly Blinded By their lies Now I raise my head and sword When shadows steal the light Fire Desire Denial Burning Yearning Discerning Fire Desire Denial In my heart Burning Yearning Discerning I see it now
Excellent. No idea what the complainers are talking about. This song is a beast. It's depressing that every time a metal band comes out with a new album, the haters come out of the woodwork. Can't impress anyone! I for one welcome any new metal we can get in 2015 particularly when it sounds this good. It's Ensiferum for sure.
Everything from Ensiferum is a beast! They are Nr. 1 in my list for maaaaany yars! I am listening and searching on Spotify every day to find a band as good as they are (cause I need more) but I can't find any. They are just too good!
Probably the perfect 2015 blend of folk and metal. This album could be the best blend of epic battle metal we've heard in a long time. Breakneck and uncompromising in it's authenticity while effortlessly mixing the styles of Turisas, Epica and Stratovarius. Ensiferum are certainly onto something big here.
9 лет назад
Great visuals! Finally Ensiferum delivers us a fantastic metal video! Their music has always been something amazing but they finally got the perfect mix between image and sound both alike! I must have this album!
Jari and Petri have a very different take on the ambiance of their pieces. Jari had more of a theatrical, ambient and reminiscent melody that enthralled you into this element of being a heroic warrior in Ancient Norway. Simply a genius writer and is so good at doing so, the music sends chills through your spine. Petri has a different take on it, I respect his music as well because he has a knack for turning a song into something you wouldn't expect and forces you into the story itself. Both excellent artists. I hope for many more albums from both parties.
Personally love it! This group continues to grow and expand, which is why so many people are crying about the "they're older stuff is better" or "oooohhh jari blah blah blah". Who cares? Jari is doing his own thing now so let him take 10 years to make 1 album while we get 4 or 5 from this amazing band! Yeah they have great albums from before (From Afar is my favorite), but you gotta keep growing and trying new things. I love the darker feel to this. I'm stoked for this album!
I haven't really listened to Ensiferum after Victory Songs. I didn't like this song either at first, but now I'm really waiting for the new album. From Afar and Unsung Heroes didn't have as good song as this one. 1:58 is pure awesomeness.
From folk to thrash, these guys do it all. One hell of a band. I feel quite comfortable saying they are within the Viking Metal spectrum. But I'm a Manowarrior, so what would I know.
How can someone dislike this beauty!! You call it cruelty I call it strength I am cursed to be A one man army You call me inhumane I call this life regained I am blessed to be A one man army
One of the greatest ensiferum songs, as a long time listener when this song came out it was a quick favorite. This album powered me through the hardest time of my life. Back here again to feel the rage against the relentless onslaught of time.
Just saw them live for the first time. Wow!!!! They are so freaking talented and provide a fantastic concert! Highly recommended to all metal lovers \m/
Pretty sure I just played this for over a hundred times. After the first listen I was a bit confused since I didn't know what to expect, now I can't get enough of this track. Great stuff.
Wooaw! I liked this a lot! This is much better than anything on unsung heroes. Really looking forward to the new album now :) Btw, all the Jari lovers should realise that he runs his own band, Wintersun. Also they should consider supporting them in the upcoming crowdfunding so they can release the five albums worth of material that Jari already has written in the desired quality. I love both bands and also think Petri was a good replacement for Jari :)
Penner Opa You're totally right. I also think Jari is a better vocalist and actually like him better as a guitarist as well (Jari lover myself). I was mostly disappointed to see all the negative comments when Ensiferum, also in my opinion, really improved from unsung heroes with this song alone. I also like the old albums better but I mean the old albums are still there and everybody can listen to them whenever they feel like it. I'm just happy that Ensiferum continued making music. There is indeed something special with the Jari spirit. Even his old demos you mentioned are awesome. I really hope he will get his studio so the rest of the world can eargasm till the end of time. Still i see no reason talking bad about the new Ensiferum because they doesn't sound Jari enough when Jari has his own band. Anyways, I can't wait to see both bands live this year!
Jari uses a different vocal technique, that's why it sounds different. Thing is that his technique is better for melodic metal because it's way easier to change pitches, Petri doesn't do that as much. Penner Opa The songs you mentioned were all written by Markus Toivonen, one of them co-written by Oliver Fokin. (source: album booklet) I'm obviously a huge Jari fan, but it's not all his credit that "Old Ensiferum" is so special. Vocals, yes, but Markus' song writing changed as well over the years. It's been actually quite similar to Jari's back then, while he additionally tried to bring in some old Amorphis vibes as you can hear in the song "Old Man".
Penner Opa It's really sad :( I personally like the "new" Ensiferum, it really has changed, but it's still the same quality. But what you describe is really heartbreaking.
Honestly I can hear some elements in here that are similar to the classic Ensiferum (including a bit of slayer of light). It wasn't just Jari's voice that made Ensiferum great but the whole sound; The guitar rhythm and melodies and their tone, also the drumming, it all came together very well. To me the problem here is that the guitars are not in the foreground enough and the choir bits are distracting. You can still hear a bit of what made them great. Older Ensiferum almost had a simple complexity. That said, I think I could like this. Anyone listen to Brymir? I think they pull off the large epic sound with the old Ensiferum-style framework pretty well.
Wrong. One masterpiece that still impresses people after 10 years, and one half of a masterpiece that is still better than most of the stuff bands release today. I'm not talking about Ensiferum now, one needs to hear an album from start to finish to be able to judge it.
I saw so many people saying they were disappointed after listening to this song ...and I just have to say that unlike these people, I loved the atmosphere of "One Man Army'!
Good song, people need to stop kissing Jari's ass, and this is coming from a Wintersun fan as well. The material with Petri especially From Afar is as good if not better than the first 2 albums, they have much better replay value for me.
From Afar is by far the best Ensiferum album, but each album has it's own theme and sound which is great since having 5 Iron albums would suck. (since 1 is enough) Hopefully One Man Army will be a worthy follow up album to From Afar. (Unsung Heroes wasn't that great...)
The music must evolve, I can't understand why some people are always complaining with the new band's stuff. Also, this is just ONE SONG, wait for the upcoming album and you'll have a better and clear idea.
ross Agreed. This song sounds alright if you haven't heard Ensiferum before, but if you go back and listen to their stuff with Jari, the older ones blow this one out of the water.
This lifeless soil Barren of good thoughts Scorched by grudge and grief Doomed to linger on Wandered aimlessly Blinded by their lies Now I raise my head and sword When shadows steal the light Fire Desire Denial In my heart Burning Yearning Discerning I see it now You call it cruelty I call it strength I am cursed to be A one man army You call me inhumane I call this life regained I am blessed to be A one man army I will take the lives of my enemies Yet still this battle feels like a defeat to me Death or victory, only emptiness I feel The spring of hope runs dry Because I'm already dead inside
Man, I was so pumped about this song right up till 1.15m. When did they lose melodic riffs, contrasting vocals, and raw epic sound. This epic sounds forced.
Someone called me a "One Man Army" today.. so I looked up the meaning and this brought me here..I am not sure if I should feel flattered or not hahahaha
The song is really good but I feel something is missing. Is it the very silent choir segments? Is the guitar missing somehow? What's wrong here, tell me, please.
Not only leads, but it also needs more folk. Would I recognise the band without title or vocals? Probably, intro part reminds me of From Afar but some parts don't really sound like Ensiferum in my opinion. Yet again, mastering is disastrous, there's basically zero dynamic range. Mix is kinda flat, guitars should stand out a bit more. Well as already mentioned, I hope for more (folk) lead guitars overall, it's only one track out of 11 after all so I'm still excited to hear the full album.
This lifeless soil Barren of good thoughts Scorched by grudge and grief Doomed to linger on Wandered aimlessly Blinded by their lies Now I raise my head and sword When shadows steal the light Fire Desire Denial Burning Yearning Discerning Fire Desire Denial In my heart Burning Yearning Discerning I see it now You call it cruelty I call it strength I am cursed to be A one man army You call me inhumane I call this life regained I am blessed to be A one man army I will take the lives, lives of my enemies Yet still this battle feels like a defeat to me Death or victory, only emptiness I feel The spring of hope runs dry Because I'm already dead inside I will take the lives, lives of my enemies Yet still this battle feels like a defeat to me Death or victory Fire Desire Denial Burning Yearning Discerning Fire Desire Denial In my heart Burning Yearning Discerning I see it now You call it cruelty I call it strength I am cursed to be A one man army You call me inhumane I call this life regained I am blessed to be A one man army One man army
This song has actually grown a lot to me. I didn't really like it that much at first, but the more I listen to it the more i like it. And to be honest, this song is very similar to Slayer of Light for example. And I haven't seen any of you complain about that song. I think most of you are just hating because Jari isn't with them anymore, and it doesn't matter what kind of song they make, you still complain. I miss Jari too, but we have Wintersun, and this song is very much a step in the right direction for Ensiferum! :)
After listening this a couple of times, I'd argue that this is one of the best Ensiferum songs since victory songs. There is some nice harmonic interplay between the guitar parts and keyboards. The choir is spot on. However, this track has some piss-poor mixing. It seems as though everything was dulled and made quiet so that the choir could song big. Musically, I'd be stoked to hear this live, but if this track is any indication, the mix is at demo quality. They really need to delay this album a month or two so that the mixing can be worked out, because if not, I'm afraid we'll have a musically kick ass metal album that sounds like a demo a local opener would hand out at a show after their set.
Estou contando ansiosamente os dias para ouvir novamente essa magnífica banda que amo de coração aqui no Brasil, mas uma vez obrigado por existirem, vocês são bárbaro no que fazem
People need to remember that they are a FOLK Metal Band...that means they incorporate a lot of variety in their musical style. Power, Thrash, sometimes even Death Metal into their music. Just because they didn't use their guitars in the same way as before doesn't mean they've gone stale or lost ability, just means they're changing it up. Still great music either way.
I used to love these guys, but this current sound they're playing is so stale. I wish they'd go back to the sound their earlier material had, which was more folky and had some great thrash metal influences with the guitars. I'm so tired of this Nightwishy orchestral style where everything has to sound HUGE and epic. Suidakra has adopted a similar orchestral vibe to their music recently and it just sounds cheesy.
***** I'm not upset about them changing. I don't expect bands to stay the same forever. It's just that this particular change I feel is a step back rather than a step forward. They're just adding trendy symphonic and choir elements which a ton of other bands have already done.
eric20ike A tons of bands also have long hair, use drumming, have black and white videos, use female extras, come on dude. Don't hate on shit just because 'it has been done before'.
Sun Seeker Yes thank you, your clichéd response of "If you don't like it, then don't listen to it!" is very helpful. Instead of having an intelligent debate with me on why you like the song, posting brain-dead comments like that is typical of people who have nothing smart to say.
