Conducted by:	Undercraft
Published:	04.02.2004
Band profile:	Ensiferum
Album info:	Ensiferum

01. Intro
02. Hero In A Dream
03. Token Of Time
04. Guardians Of Fate
05. Old Man (Väinämöinen)
06. Little Dreamer (Väinämöinen Part II)
07. Abandoned
08. Windrider
09. Treacherous Gods
10. Eternal Wait
11. Battle Song
12. Goblins' Dance

01. Hero in a Dream:
This song was finished in 1999. This song is the fastest song in the album,
so it's "short'n effective ass-kicker". The verse is your basic metal, as
the chorus reminds again that Kalevala and herofeeling. The fast
double-bass-speedy-drumbeat reminds a little bit of the style of "Children
of Bodom". The bridge of the song is complex and melody filled combination
of fantasy and folk music.
Lyrics: It's basically a heroic tale written not so seriously.

02. Token of Time:
Song was completed in the year 2000. This is one the folkish sounding song
in the album. It is played with nice light mid-tempo.Very hard rocking
completeness kicks ass pretty nicely, although it isn't played with a tempo
over 200 bpm. If one must compare this song, then the verse reminds slightly
to "In Flames", but the bridge is again good old Finnish folk music. The
compilation of instruments are added with acoustic guitars.
Lyrics: A mystical quest for the wisdom of time with courage and determination.

03. Guardians of Fate:
Completed in 1998. This is pure Power-metal. "Stratovarius goes
growl-vocals" spiced with "Amorphis". Pure hero-metal with a fast tempo and
spiced up with clean vocals.
Lyrics: You must not know your fate, so it is guarded by...

04. Old Man [Vainamoinen Part I]:
Completed in 1996. This song started it all. The first song manufactured for
Ensiferum, which can also be found in the first demo of the band. The
"Doom"-beginning turns very fastly to hard rocking folk metal melody. The
melody of the verse might be regocnized for the well-known Finnish folk-tune
"Vakavanha Väinämöinen", which was and still is one of the greatest
influences to me with "Amorphis" when the band was founded. Great choir
singing, which are supported by kantele, makes this song even better. One
can find legendary melodic death-metal in the bridge, which has also a
little bit of power-metal.
Lyrics: A finnish landscape, nightly forest, a
cabin, solitude, despair, great wisdom gained from life´s disappoitments, a
beautiful verse by J.L.Runeberg... and of course the Old Man.

05. Little Dreamer [Vainamoinen Part II]:
Finished in 1997.´The song can be found in the second demo of the band, and
it was also composed with "Väinämöinen" in mind, so it became part II. This
is once again a swinging mid-tempo song, which is absorbed influences mostly
from, yes, again, "Amorphis". Kantele once again an imported instrument.
Lyrics: This could be the part I, cause´ the boy "little dreamer" actually
is the...

06. Abandoned:
Completed in 1999. Now you can hear how "melodic-blackdeath-metal" unites to
real crybaby-style ballad. It is so sensitive. Very peculiar waltz-rhytmed
song offers a combination of hard metal and mushiness. It is almost
impossible to find comparison to this song. It's the longest song of the
album and at the end of the song you can find a great feelplay.
Lyrics: Trying to capture the feeling of getting abandoned. Pure wallowing in
sorrow.

07. Windrider:
Finished in 2000. This is definetly the most heavy-metallic and the one of
the fastest motherfucker in the album. Very kicking riffs and a fast "double
bassdrum-power-metal-chorus". The first bridge is again folk music in the
style of Basil Poledouris's "Conan", as the second bridge is almost pure
western-music. It's also one of the longest track in the album.
Lyrics: A legend of the mighty and fierce Windrider who is fighting for his freedom
and seeking revenge, cause´ he has been prisoned to the skies.

08. Treacherous Gods:
Manufactured in 1999. There is the largest amount of herofeeling in this
song, cherishing the hero-feeling all the way and unbelievable showing-off,
a genuine superhero-metal explosion. A good comparison might be "BalSagoth".
Also there's a great choir/canon. The song starts in a intriguing and very
good 5/4-time. The hero-feeling is endorsed at the end in a way, that a true
warrior would shit his kilt.
Lyrics: In this one the weather is pretty bad, and guess whose to blame.

09. Eternal Wait:
Finished in 1998. This track is the second "ballad" of the album, and this
is also waltz-rhytmed and mid-tempo song (Ensiferum hasn't and never will be
a slow-tempoed songs). With medieval theme in the beginning beautiful melody
gets your grandma getting all sentimental and shit. There is lot of acoustic
guitar and big choirs endorsing the basic instruments. Rated PG song.
Lyrics: It´s about cannot facing the truth that your loved one ain´t never
coming, so you start to slowly lose your life.

10. Battle Song:
Completed in 1998. Now we're really cooking with fast tempo and with horse
and sword power. Hero-machoing all the way with war crys and choirs. "You'll
get Battle song when putting Manowar, Judas Priest, Einherjer, Enslaved and
Bal-Sagoth in a power-blender pressing the ignition button." (I hope you put
enough salt in it?) In the end you have the fastest and the most powerful
batllescene spiced with the most incredible doublebassdrums a man can find.
Lyrics: Very forward lyrics. No mysteries or legends just BATTLE AND
VICTORYYY!!!

11. Goblin's Dance:
1998. This track was originally made for a sideproject, which fucked up
later on. Thats why this is a bonus track. "Goblins" is the ruffest and yet
the most cheerful song, in which the harsh "black-death-metal" combines with
the drinkfest of the goblins. That's why it can be compared with the bands
like "Morbid Angel" and "Finntroll" (although Finntroll didn't excist when
this track was composed). In the bridge of the song you can find influences
of traditional "trash". A unique and aggressive song, which tambourine and
beer bottles complete the instruments of the track.
Lyrics: Written by Valtias Mustatuuli from ArthemesiA. The human race is gonna get mayhem, so pretend to be a goblin and sing along LALALALAI LALALALAI...!