From The Metal Archives, “The band name is Latin for "sword-bearing" or "sword-bearer". It is the neuter form of "ēnsifer", "ēnsis" being a third declension noun meaning "sword" and "-fer" a suffix signifying the carrying/bearing of the noun modifies (cf. the verb "ferre"). They were founded as a three-piece by Markus Toivonen, Sauli Savolainen and Kimmo Miettinen. They began mostly as a cover band before persuading Jari Mäenpää to join as vocalist and second guitarist a year later. Frontman Jari Mäenpää quit in 2004 after creating his own project (WINTERSUN). At this point, the band's vocal duties were split as Lindroos performed only the harsh singing while Markus Toivonen and Sami Hinkka took over the clean vocals. Toivonen is now the only founding member left in the band.”

The album has ten songs, “Aurora” is first. It’s a mood setting instrumental, leading to “Winter Storm Vigilantes,” and it’s not hard to make comparisons with WINTERSUN, because the band has similar roots. The song is epic, in the sense of both the lyrics and the music, although ENSIFERUM has more Folky qualities than WINTERSUN. It’s Power Metal on steroids. “Long Cold Winter of Sorrow and Strife” has a slower, and more ominous message, and you can feel the chill of the winter and the pelt of continuous snow on your face. It’s like they took you along for the ride. “Fatherland” has that familiar gallop in the drums and backing symphonic elements to go along with the energetic sound and lyrics. “Scars in my Heart” seems to bring the title of the song to life in the music, and you can feel the scare that were left from yesteryear, just enough to remind you of their power years ago. Yhe female vocals are tender and gentle, but also fortified.

“Resistentia” is a short connecting piece to the final four songs on the album, consisting mostly of spoken word and backing ambiance. “The Howl” has a combination of hardened Metal sounds mixed with doses of melody. It’s in the chorus that the band realizes much of their trademark sound. There are also a couple of key changes. “From Order to Chaos” is an eight-minute beast. Dual guitar harmonies and heavy bass notes carry the opening sound, with harsh vocals. From there, the song takes you on a quest filled with various events…some smooth and others difficult. “Leniret Coram Tempestate” is another short instrumental that leads us to the final romp, “Victorious.” It’s the perfect cap to the album, an energetic song that showcases the band’s strong musicianship.

Overall, this was a solid album. I think that fans will get exactly what they want here…a familiar sound that is comfortable for them as well as one that doesn’t take the album on tangents. No one can question the band’s talent, but the songwriting is just a bit too predictable for me. Still, it was an enjoyable listen.