Album Info / Review

By the time Two Paths arrived in 2017, Ensiferum had reached an interesting crossroads. Folk metal’s massive mid-2000s boom had receded, leaving behind a scene that either had to double down on hyper-polished symphonics or return to a rawer, analog foundation.

Ensiferum chose a mix of both, but with a twist: they recorded the entire album directly to analog tape rather than using digital Pro Tools manipulation. Visually wrapped in a striking green cover featuring a massive stone deity under the northern lights, the album reflects its title structurally, even offering alternative versions of key songs depending on which vocal style you prefer.

The Album: A Tale of Two Styles
The analog recording technique gives Two Paths an earthy, dynamic warmth that had been missing from the genre for years. It isn’t perfectly quantized or over-edited; it sounds like five people playing together in a room.

The biggest lineup shift here was the prominent introduction of Netta Skog, whose digital accordion took center stage, replacing the symphonic keyboard backing tracks with a bouncy, energetic folk drive that polarized parts of the fanbase.

The Sonic Trails
The Analog Warmth: Because it was recorded to tape, the drums have a natural boom, and the bass sits thick in the mix. The guitars have a rounder, softer edge that feels reminiscent of 90s heavy metal rather than modern, clinical death metal.

The Vocal Experimentation: The band embraced a heavy “democracy” in the vocal department. Petri Lindroos’ harsh growls share equal billing with Markus Toivonen’s clean power-metal belts and Sami Hinkka’s punkish shouts.

The Humppa Hedonism: Skog’s accordion work pushes several tracks directly into the realm of traditional Finnish party music—fast, rhythmic, and unashamedly upbeat.

The Key Tracks
“For Those About to Fight for Metal”: An absolute monster of an opener. Ignoring the slightly cheesy title, it’s a brilliant, driving power-metal anthem that builds from a majestic twin-guitar melody into a frantic gallop. The mid-song classical breakdown is classic Ensiferum.

“Way of the Warrior”: A short, sharp, radio-ready folk metal track. It moves at hyper-speed, driven by a bouncing rhythm and an incredibly catchy chant-along chorus that seems tailor-made for live festivals.

“Two Paths”: The title track serves as the conceptual anchor. It balances an aggressive black-metal-infused verse with a soaring, heroic clean chorus. The band actually included two versions of this track on the album—one featuring Petri’s harsh vocals on the verses, and another highlighting Markus’ cleans.

“King of Storms”: A furious callback to their early days. This is the fastest song on the record, leaning heavily on melodic black metal blast beats and blistering guitar leads that cut through the analog warmth like a lightning bolt.

“Feast with Valkyries”: A total departure, featuring Netta Skog taking lead vocal duties. It feels like an ancient folk ballad mutated into a mid-tempo metal march, leaning heavily on its melodic dance hooks.

The Review: A Flawed But Earnest Expedition
Two Paths is an incredibly fascinating entry in the Ensiferum catalog. It lacks the cohesive, monolithic perfection of From Afar, but it makes up for it with a raw, loose energy that feels completely refreshing.

The Production:
The choice to record to tape was a massive gamble by producer Anssi Kippo. For the most part, it pays off. The rhythm section sounds immense, and the organic vibe gives the folk instruments room to breathe. However, listeners accustomed to the hyper-compressed, punchy wall-of-sound of modern metal might find the mix a bit quiet or lacking a certain modern “bite” on the guitar tracks.

The Verdict:
Is it perfect? No. The album suffers from a slight identity crisis—it jumps from grim, icy black metal to jaunty, accordion-led folk-pop so quickly it can give you whiplash. Tracks like “God Is Dead” lean a bit too far into campy punk-rock territory, which dampens the epic atmosphere the band usually commands.

Yet, Two Paths succeeds because it feels human. It is the sound of a veteran band stepping out of the digital comfort zone, turning off the computers, and just letting their instruments roar. It’s an honest, highly entertaining record that shows a band willing to stumble in pursuit of a more authentic sound.

Final Thought: It isn’t their grandest epic, but it might be their most honest. It’s a record meant to be experienced like an old-school vinyl—flaws, warmth, and all.

Album Info / Review

By 2009, the folk metal wave was threatening to drown under the weight of its own accordion tracks and tavern-hall cliches. For Ensiferum, the stakes were personal: their previous album, Victory Songs, had proven they could survive the departure of foundational mastermind Jari Mäenpää, but they still needed to prove they could evolve without him.

With From Afar, the “sword-bearing” Finns didn’t just survive—they went to film school. This is the moment the band stopped writing simple drinking songs and started scoring a widescreen, cinematic blockbuster.

The Album: Cinematic Pagan Splendor
The secret weapon of From Afar was the full-time integration of keyboardist Emmi Silvennoinen and the orchestrations handled by Mikko P. Mustonen. Rather than relying entirely on the Humppa-flavored folk dances of their past, Ensiferum injected a massive, bombastic symphonic backbone into their sound. It sounds expensive, panoramic, and aggressively grandiose.

The Sonic Battlefields
The Symphonic Upgrade: The traditional folk textures—flutes, mandolins, and kantele—are still present, but they are wrapped in a roaring orchestra. The keyboards don’t just mimic accordions anymore; they mimic Hollywood film scores.

The Vocal Triad: Petri Lindroos delivers his sharpest, most vitriolic black metal snarls on this record, but they are consistently matched by Markus Toivonen’s heroic, clean baritone. Add in Silvennoinen’s ethereal backing layers and a massive male choir, and the vocal landscape feels like an assembly of warlords.

The Progressive Undercurrent: The band stepped outside their usual fast gallop to write multi-part, ten-minute epics, anchoring the record with a structural ambition they hadn’t flexed since their debut.

The Standard Bearers
“From Afar”: After the gentle acoustic woodwinds of the intro, the title track hits like a stampede. The drums are absolutely rampant, but it’s the colossal choral chorus that cements it as an all-time classic. It’s an instant hit of adrenaline.

“Twilight Tavern”: The obligatory, hyper-melodic anthem. It’s fast, bouncy, and features an unforgettable, soaring clean vocal hook that practically forces you to hoist a horn of mead in the air.

“Heathen Throne” & “The Longest Journey (Heathen Throne Part II)”: These twin monoliths frame the second half of the record. Spanning over ten and twelve minutes respectively, they are slow-building, dramatic sagas that move from doom-laden marches to triumphant, blast-beat-driven crescendos.

“Stone Cold Metal”: The absolute wildcard of the album. The band takes an abrupt left turn into an Ennio Morricone-inspired spaghetti western territory, complete with whistling, a saloon-style piano interlude, and a blistering banjo solo. It sounds completely unhinged on paper, but in practice, it’s a brilliant stroke of genius.

The Review: Defiant, Glorious Excess
From Afar is an album that demands you leave your cynicism at the door. If you are looking for grim, underground purity, you will find none here. This is maximalist metal, polished to a mirror shine and executed with zero restraint.

The Production:
Produced by Janne Joutsenniemi and mixed by Hiili Hiilesmaa, the record avoids the muddy pitfall that ruins most folk-metal mixes. Despite the sheer density of the instrumentation—electric guitars, folk strings, brass, and choirs all competing for space—the sonic image is remarkably clear. The drums have a punchy, mechanical drive, and Lindroos’ vocals bite through the orchestral wash with satisfying grit.

The Verdict:
Is it over-the-top? Inherently. There are moments where the sheer density of the symphonic layers flirts with pure fantasy-metal cheese. But Ensiferum carries it with such sincerity and technical precision that it completely wins you over. It stands alongside the early classics as a peak achievement for the band, proving they could widen their scope to a global, cinematic scale without losing the savage edge of their Finnish heritage.

The Gist: This is the ultimate “battle armor” record. It’s a beautifully bloated, high-octane epic that makes you want to paint your face blue, grab a replica broadsword, and charge headfirst into a brick wall.