Customer Reviews

Victory Songs

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Well I would have to say that I didn't know if I would like the band without Jari in it. It seems like a lot of people are saying that, but anyway, I would have to say that I actually like this CD more than Iron. This CD gets me more pumped up than Iron does, and I think there is a lot more catchy songs in these Victory Songs. I loved the songs Iron, Sword Chant, Into the Battle, and the intro on the CD Iron. This one I love the intro again, Deathbringer from the sky, ahti, one more magic potion, wanderer and raised by the sword. I mean I could listen to these songs over and over for hours. I really like both CD's, but I think this one is catchier and more intense

I have read a review posted about Victory Songs that I didn't really agree with at all. It was said in the review that Victory Songs didn't have as much of the folk in it as the CD's with Jari. If you read the lyrics they both talk about battles, but Victory songs seem to have more the finnish folklore in it! I mean, Ahti is a Finnish mythological God, that seems pretty folk to me. . . Victory songs has lyrics about battles, dragons, wiches/trolls/spirits, and gods. Perhaps Jari did a better job of mixing it up with his chanting and clean/harsh vocals like in sword chant and lai lai hei, and they had female vocals in Tears, which was pretty cool, but that is just a part of the folk aspect. Perhaps I'm not understanding what Jari writes in how it relates to folklore. . . I don't know, but I understand it better in Victory Songs if that is the case.

I also love how there is less singing in this CD than in Iron, not to dis Jari's singing. I like Jari's vocals in Wintersun a ton, but I like the vocalist for Victory Songs slightly better because it sounds like it fits the music better to me. Especially in Ahti when the singer has his deep scream, that was fricken awesome! Sometimes Jari's vocals completely took me out of the music that I was engrossed in, instead of adding to the dimension I was thinking in. If you understand my meaning, kinda like reading a book that your really into then having someone ask you a question, completely takes you out of the book. yeah, maybe a bad illustration, whatever.

On a downside however, this CD is way less technical in the guitars. and I mean WAY less technical. There isn't as many beat changes, crazy beautiful shredding, etc. This saddens me greatly, but the keyboards made up for it a thousand fold. I don't remember hearing much of any keyboards in Iron other than the intro that was catchy or interesting, so thats a great plus to Victory Songs. I would have to say the intro's to both CD's are fantastic.

Well anyway, great band, really gets you pumped up and completely engulfs your imagination while still being intense and beautiful, not many bands can do that for me, not even Amon Amarth. I say get all their stuff, cause it all sounds different to me, especially with the guitarist/singer change.

Victory Songs by Ensiferum is one of my five favorite albums of all time, and it is the CD that lured me into the Folk/Viking metal genre. This CD is, in my opinion, a masterpiece with superb guitar, fantastic folk instrumentation, and masterfully written and sung lyrics.

The introduction to this album, Ad Victorium, is epic. Beginning softly with the crashing of waves and the pounding of hooves, it progresses into an almost orchestral piece that steadily becomes faster and more involving.

The second track, Blood Is The Price Of Glory, is a sudden change into a hard-paced song with lyrics regarding honor and battle. This track has excellent, growling vocals and a very catchy chorus. The guitar part is amazing (I'm running out of adjectives).

The third track opens with a high scream that makes me think of Judas Priest, rapid drumming, and skillful guitaring. My only qualm with this song is that I have a slightly hard time understanding all of the lyrics, which isn't a problem with most of the other songs on this album for me.

The fourth track, Ahti, opens much like Ad Victoriam (i.e crashing waves) but quickly becomes hard and furious. This song is about the point I became absolutely hooked into the album on my first listen-through. The song is about a Finnish god of the sea, and I love the mythology of it.

The fifth song, One More Magic Potion, has a wonderful folk-instrument introduction with acoustic strings and what sounds like a flute. (I think it is a flute.) The folk instrumentation continues throughout the song, a nice touch. The song is about a witch/troll thingie. This is an odd note, but I think that this song is the only time I have ever heard the word "weird" actually used in a song.

The sixth track, the Wanderer, is my favorite Ensiferum song of all time and one of my top 5 songs of all time. Opening with a flute and acoustics, a chorus is added shortly after with a tolling bell. Then the song has a hard, simple, and very catchy guitar part that leads to the superb clean vocals of the song. This is one of two tracks on this album with entirely clean vocals. The chorus of the Wanderer is very, very catchy, sung by what I think is the entire band.

The seventh song, Raised By The Sword, continues the tradition of a nice folk-metal instrumentation preceding a sudden shift into a hard and fast guitar part. This is a good song, perhaps with one of the strongest folk sounds throughout. The song has some parts sung by multiple band-members, a touch I always enjoy.

The eighth track, the New Dawn, is perhaps the only song on here that blends together in my head. It's perhaps my least favorite song on here, though I can't particularly say why.

The ninth track, Victory Song, is simply, astoundingly good. At ten minutes and some-odd seconds, it is also simply, astoundingly good. It intros with a long folk instrumentation with a galloping acoustic rhytm and tribal drums. The folk continues for approx. two minutes before entering into the metal part. With a good mix of harsh and clean vocals, this song has a very catchy chorus and vivid lyrics. I can literally see what's going on in the song's story while listening to it. There is a segment in some Scandinavian language as well, which is a pretty nifty touch.

The tenth track, Lady In Black, is also entirely clean vocals. With a very catchy overlying rhythm, the song's chorus is a choral ahh-ahh-ahhh-ahhh that I think sounds pretty good. The ahh'ing continues for about a full minute or so after the end of the song, then there is a long silence. After a few minutes of quiet, the entire band pitches in to sing the choruses of the Wanderer and Victory Songs accapella.

Overall, this is a fantastic album. In my opinion, it is superior to Iron, which is usually touted as Ensiferum's greatest CD. It was certainly good enough to hook me on an entire genre which is now my favorite form of music. (Viking metal.)

An acquaintance mentioned Ensiferum to me and I gave them a listen - their "Victory Songs" CD has become #1 on my rotation. Really an amazing CD - a completely different style of metal than I've ever heard, with music composed and performed by a seriously talented group of musicians. I've never been into metal very much (well, was into Alice Cooper, Led Zeppelin, Queen... I'm too old to have understood Metallica, Motorhead, Megadeath...). But Ensiferum's music is quite different - more musical than any (recent vintage) metal band I've ever listened to. I think Ensiferum refers to their brand of music as folk/viking melodic metal; any of epic viking melodic folk battle metal work for me. In short, I think of Ensiferum as producing musical metal.

"Victory Songs" features some of the best crafted songs I've heard in a long time - actually, a really long time. I like the musicality of the group, but also that the band incorporates a lot of dynamic range. It is refreshing, for me, to hear metal musicians who don't play as fast or as furious as possible 100% of the time, instead showing their chops at the appropriate time during each song. My favorite track on the CD is "Victory Song" (track nine); it contains just about every musical feature you could ever wish for in one song. At ten minutes in length, if Ensiferum breaks into the U.S. in a big way I can see "Victory Song" becoming the "Green Grass and High Tides" (Outlaws) or "Highway Song" (Blackfoot) of metal. I'm not into the harsh vocal thing, but Petri (lead singer) actually carries a tune while doing them. Not my taste, but he does harsh for me better than anyone I've ever heard. The other guitarist and bass player do a great job with clean vocals.

Ensiferum's drummer (Janne Parviainen) is amazing, and Sami Hinkka (six-string bass player) is pretty darn good too. I wouldn't say they are as good as Keith Moon and John Entwisle, but they are each in the same ballpark - and very very few musicians are even in the same zip code as those two. I've never seen anyone other than Geddy Lee (Rush) follow note for note a lead guitarist (check him out on "Working Man" on the "Rush in Rio" DVD) - Sami can absolutely do the same thing. Additionally, both guitarists can smoke, when the song calls for it.

When you first get this CD, listen to the first track on your good stereo (preferably with subwoofer) as they use the kettle drum to great (but not overbearing) effect.

I've played this CD for a high school buddy who normally listens to softer music like the Eagles (and has been in the music business all his adult life), some 40ish friends who play in a country band, and their children in their late teens (who "know" metal). Every one of them loves this band, every one is surprised at the musicality and musicianship of Ensiferum. If you have ever liked any kind of metal, and unless you just hate the harsh vocals (not incorporated on every song), there is a good chance you will fall madly in love with Ensiferum. (Since there are no clips here on Amazon, check out the four songs on their myspace page; search for officialensiferum. And be amazed.)

Get on the bandwagon early and give this CD a try. (And check out Ensiferum's first U.S. tour ever, late April and most of May 2008.)

I've been curious about this band for a while and finally ran across one of their CD's in a shop in Las Vegas. The sound samples I'd heard on the net were from this album and I'm not sorry I bought it.

The music is definitely Viking metal and very well done. At first, I was wondering where all the clean vocals were supposed to be, as I was expecting more of them, but they finally showed more prominent later on. The harsh vocals are fine, but I would have liked a little more variety. However, that is not enough to knock down the five stars.

Another thing I really like about this album is that there are actually a few guitar solos! I find in so many bands today that real guitar solos are almost non-existent. The trend seems to be "anti-guitar" in that the instrument is always there, but is relegated to riffing.

This is a really great album and especially comes into its own toward the end with the more symphonic tracks. Highly recommended.

Victory songs is the first effort without one of the original members jari. Who was one of the lead guitarist and was the lead vocalist. Replacing him is peter lindross the lead vocalist and guitarist of norther. The big question is what the impact of jaris departure would do to the sound of ensiferum. Im happy to say not much has changed. While their self titled debut is still my favorite victory songs is very good but short of a masterpiece. While still of the most uniuqe bands in metal blending their folk elements with melodic death metal, sometimes bordering on black metal. Which they do very well. Some of the experimentation which i found so great on their first two releases is gone. Victory Songs is my favorite at over ten minutes long it is one of the more experimental tracks. Great riffs,vocals, and a great chorus with the great pure folkish sounding vocals i like so much about their sound assure that it remains captivating throughout. Deathbringer from the sky is another example of metallic greatness as is raised by the sword. The other songs while not bad i feel are not as good. The main complaint i have about Victory Songs is lack of experimentation which i always found and exciting and great part of their sound. For fans of ensiferum this another great release by one of the most dependable bands in metal at this point for others i would start with their self titled debut.

Ensiferum's cd Victory Songs is excellent. Brilliant blend of Metal and Folk. In my opinion, they are the next big Metal Band to come from Finland, Look out for them. Come to the United States, please! They have some of the best Artwork on their cd's and T-shirts. Top quality recordings, Highly Recommended.

I say it's better than I expected, however, that isn't entirely true. Victory Songs was the first Ensiferum album I've purchased, and I've heard a lot of their previous stuff off the web. So, I expected an average folk/viking metal album. After one listen, this CD met my expectations. After a few listens, it exceeded my expectations. This album follows themes of anything you would expect from any viking/folk metal band: battle, dubious pleasures, and victory. I must say that I love both Jari and Petri, and I do believe that Petri does a great job in Ensiferum.

The disc starts out with a nice, short instrumental entitled "Ad Victorium". Crashing waves, thundering skys, and a running horse are just a few features of this song. It starts slow with a steady (steel?) drum beat and light instruments which make you really feel like you're forming a line before a great battle. The perfect precursor to the second song on the album..

"Blood is the Price of Honor" really delivers in my eyes (ears?). Not many people talk about this song but I have to say I really enjoy it. It's played at a furious speed as Petri belts out the story of a great battle in which the victors absolutely crushed their opponents.

"Deathbringer from the Sky" is an interesting song. Musically I think it falls a bit short, however, the subject matter and lyrics are quite nice. It tells the story of a Dragon whom, I believe, is being hunted and must defend itself against his mortal enemy, man.

"Ahti" is a God of the seas who watches over sailors apparently. This is quite a good song, very singable and will be great Live. Probably one of those "it's better live songs than it is on the album" type of songs. This song doesn't seem to be about anything but Ahti and how he governs his world. Based on Finnish folklore.

"One More Magic Potion" is possibly the greatest song on this CD. I love drinking songs, and this doesn't disappoint! It has quite the fun story to it too. It's about some soldiers who got lost in the woods and found a house. The resident let them come inside her house to rest and she was making some alcohol (presumably some sort of moonshine), the soldiers liked the smell. She served some of it to them and it made them feel good and seemed to make their wounds hurt less, therefore they dubbed it a "magic potion". HAH! It goes on about how they keep drinking and have a good old time. Everything about this song screams sing-along!

"Wanderer" is a close second as favorite on this disc. When I listen to this song I can picture sitting around a campfire hearing a great tale of the Wanderer being told. He is a well known old man who grew tired of fighting wars, so he picked a direction and started to ride. He rode away from the cares of his world, and while he misses them, he welcomes new adventures.

"Raised by the Swords" is a song simply about men who were raised as warriors from birth. Kind of reminiscent of Ancient Roman soldiers. Another really good song, man those drums!

"The New Dawn" is another battle song in which warriors are riding into a final battle against their opponent. This song goes by pretty quickly, and isn't one that really stands out.

"Victory Songs" is amazing. Clocking in at just over ten minutes this song starts slowly and really kicks it up by the end. From what I can gather this song is about an invading army who sneak attacks our heroes in the middle of night. However, a guard manages to blow a horn before he is killed which wakes the inhabitants of the village. Our heroes manage to fight off these barbarians at a great loss of life. The village remained safe for their children to live and prosper. Beautiful song, a top one on this album.

I had the same problem listening to this album as I did listening to the Wintersun album- it wasn't Jari singing here, and it wasn't Jari in Ensiferum. I knew Petri was there to stay, and I loved the Dragonheads EP, but something about him being in the band for good just didn't sit right. I wasn't sure how the band would do now that they had brought in what was essentially just a screamer. Petri doesn't do any of the clean vocals, and that really bothers me. I knew that the old classics would never sound the same again, and it was that that really made it hard to listen to this album. However, once I accepted that Jari was gone for good and it was Petri's chance, listening to this album became much easier and much more enjoyable. I ended up loving this album. Sure, Petri is no Jari, and Markus and Sami definately don't match up to Jari's clean vocals, but this is a new era for Ensiferum- you just have to accept that.

If Black Metal and Power Metal were to ever have a child (gods forbid save this exception) it would be Ensiferum.

Ensiferum uses the melodies and choral arrangements without sacrificing the thrash and black elements.

Nothing is more evident than in their new album Victory Songs. With tracks such as the Wanderer and Victory Songs we see the professional and creative side of folk metal. With Ahti and Raised by the Sword we see the more hard-hitting skills that Ensiferum still possess.

The album is an awesome listen and I personally can listen to it all the way through without ever getting bored. Whether you are looking for original muscianiship or creative lyrics or both, consider this a perfect buy.

Imagine there are 100 notches to rate this 100 being highest, 1 being lowest. This falls at 99, when compared to Iron, and Ensiferum when they are at 100.
As many know, Jari left Ensiferum because Spinefarm(or at least, I believe spinefarm did most of the planning for the tour) had Tour dates on the same days Jari was doing recording on Wintersuns first album, even after Jari told them he would not compromise those dates.

Now to the real review. Without Jari, the band has suffered a lot, Don't get me wrong, Petri is a good vocalist. But it's the difference between a Fillet Mignion, and a sirloin. Both are good, but one is significantly better. Jari Maenpaa, and Johan Hegg(Amon Amarth) Are quite positively the best vocalists(in my opinion) around. I think the only person who would possible, truly fill Maenpaa's shoes, would be Johan.

As for the music. The music is great, some of it is more fast paced, and epic than anything else(see One More Magic Potion, yay Drinking songs) while others really have the bands more melodic death roots (IE Blood is the Price of Glory). Petri does competent, good work, the Guitars are high quality, as would be expected from such an amazing band, and Meijho also does a good job on her keyboard.

Although I've stopped refering to Ensiferum as Melodic Death Metal, and started refering to it as Harsh Vocaled Power Metal. While it may not quite sound terribly power metally, It does the same job PM does, It uplifts my spirits, and energises me, the same way Sonata Arctica, and Running Wild do.