Album Info / Review

Eight years after the heavily layered, choir-dense experiment of Eonian (2018), Norwegian symphonic black metal kings Dimmu Borgir returned in May 2026 with Grand Serpent Rising. Following the 2024 departure of longtime guitarist Galder, the core engine was left entirely to Shagrath and Silenoz. Instead of stumbling, the duo treated the lineup shift as a catalyst to shed their skin.

Rejoining forces with legendary producer Fredrik Nordström at Studio Fredman—the architect behind their landmark early-2000s opuses—the band created a record that successfully anchors their signature cinematic bombast to a vicious, straightforward metal skeleton.

The Album: An Alchemical Thaw
Grand Serpent Rising feels like a deliberate calibration. Where Eonian occasionally got bogged down in symphonic excess, Grand Serpent bites. Named symbolically around the concept of renewal, ego death, and the Ouroboros, the album marks the first time since 2005 that Shagrath has snarled in his native Norwegian on multiple tracks. It balances modern widescreen theatricality with the cold, jagged guitar-driven malice of the band’s golden era.

The Sonic Pillars
The Return to Fredman: The guitar tone here is the star of the show. Nordström brought back the dry, cutting crunch that defined Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia. The orchestration doesn’t bury the riffs; it frames them.

The Norwegian Vernacular: Hearing Shagrath slip back into his native tongue provides an immediate, icy atmospheric shift. It adds a sinister folk-tinted gravity that English tracks occasionally miss.

Daray’s Unchained Performance: Session drummer Dariusz “Daray” Brzozowski delivers his most relentless work for the band yet, injecting frantic thrash-and-roll grooves and dizzying blast beats that keep the 69-minute runtime moving.

Key Tracks to Absorb
“Tridentium” & “Ascent”: The opening duo function as a single statement. “Tridentium” lays down the ominous, alchemical spoken word intro before “Ascent” explodes with a vicious, cyclic riff and a blazing solo from Silenoz that sets a frantic, high-stakes pace.

“Ulvgjeld & Blodsodel”: The lead single and the album’s spiritual anchor. It is a more measured, mid-tempo stomp rooted in old-school Norwegian black metal, instantly evoking the freezing spirit of Stormblåst.

“The Qryptfarer”: A total wild card. It kicks off with a spacey, progressive synth intro before descending into straight hellfire, punctuated by unexpected, eerie Victorian piano breaks.

“Slik Minnes en Alkymist”: The second Norwegian-sung track. It is a dense, ritualistic song dealing with the eradication of the self, balancing massive choir backing with an apocalyptic rhythm.

“The Exonerated”: Pure, unadulterated speed. This is straightforward, legacy black metal that feels like a modern update to the For All Tid era, features exceptional vocal dynamics from Shagrath.

The Review: A Rejuvenated Leviathan
Reviewing Grand Serpent Rising means confronting a band that has long been accused of prioritizing Hollywood theater over extreme metal substance. On this record, Dimmu Borgir proves they haven’t forgotten how to draw blood.

The Production:
Fredrik Nordström’s mix is arguably the best the band has had in two decades. The low end sits heavily without becoming muddy, and the symphonic elements—though still massive—function as an atmospheric fog rather than a suffocating wall. You can actually hear the pick scraping the strings, giving the entire experience a physical grit that the band’s mid-2010s material sorely lacked.

The Verdict:
Is it perfect? Not quite. At nearly 70 minutes, the album is a demanding listen, and a couple of the mid-album tracks like “Phantom of the Nemesis” linger a bit too long in their 80s horror-synth influences.

However, as a statement of survival and reinvention, Grand Serpent Rising is an absolute triumph. It stands as their most cohesive and urgent work since In Sorte Diaboli. It doesn’t run away from the symphonic identity they built, but it filters it through a leaner, meaner, and far more focused lens.

Final Thought: Dimmu Borgir didn’t just survive the eight-year wait and a major lineup fracture; they used the crisis to remember exactly who they are. The result is a theatrical, brutal, and thoroughly rewarding record that reclaims the symphonic black metal throne.

Album Info / Review

Six years after Under a Godless Veil established a late-career high mark for the band, Swedish gothic doom icons Draconian returned in May 2026 with In Somnolent Ruin. The headline surrounding this record was the official studio return of classic vocalist Lisa Johansson, who fronted the band’s first five records before departing in 2011. Sharing the microphone once again with founding growler Anders Jacobsson, Johansson’s return doesn’t just feel like nostalgia—it feels like a missing emotional gear shifting back into place.

The Album: Plato in the Dark
In Somnolent Ruin is a massive, 58-minute meditation on the weight of consciousness. Unusually for extreme metal, the lyrical spine of the record draws heavily from Plato’s theory of the soul—dealing with alienation, spiritual amnesia, and the sensation of being trapped in a material cage.

Musically, the album doesn’t reinvent the wheel; instead, it perfects the “Beauty and the Beast” dynamic that Draconian helped pioneer. The instrumentation, tracked largely in guitarist Johan Ericson’s living room before being handed to Karl Daniel Lidén for mixing, possesses an organic, dry intimacy that prevents the massive orchestral and synth layers from feeling plastic or over-sanitized.

The Major Monuments
“I Welcome Thy Arrow”: An eight-minute opener that acts as the record’s portal. It begins with dense synths, a tolling bell, and distant choirs before dropping into a fragile vocal melody from Johansson that grounds the track’s crushing doom weight.

“The Monochrome Blade”: Driven by thunderous drumming from new member Daniel Johansson, this is a darker, more theatrical cut. The riffs are jagged and heavy, serving as a stark platform for Jacobsson’s deep, measured guttural delivery.

“Anima”: Featuring guest clean vocals from Daniel Änghede (ISON), this track is a masterclass in spatial writing. It breathes, stacks vocal harmonies slowly, and lets a melancholic guitar lead do the heavy lifting rather than crowding the mix.

“Misanthrope River”: A song whose title existed way back during the 2020 writing sessions. It features an extended instrumental prelude and bleak narration by Simon Bibby before escalating into an operatic grandeur that ranks among the most melodic sequences the band has ever penned.

“Lethe”: The closing track borrows its name from the Greek mythological river of forgetfulness. It functions as a dark lullaby, built around a rhythmic pattern that mimics the steady, slow flow of water, leaving the listener drifting in starlight as the guitars fade out.

The Review: Refined Desolation
To review In Somnolent Ruin is to look at a veteran band completely comfortable in their own skin. Following Heike Langhans’ departure, there was a risk that the band would struggle to recapture the spectral brilliance of their last two records. Instead, Johansson’s older, matured voice brings a grounded, tragic weight that perfectly balances Jacobsson’s cavernous roaring.

The Production:
The sonic choices here deserve immense credit. By shifting away from the hyper-polished, digital compression that ruins so much modern symphonic doom, the guitars retain a gritty, wooden texture. The bass lines throb with a physical pulse, and the cinematic keys float like low-hanging fog rather than dominant orchestration. It sounds like an album recorded by humans in a room, not algorithms in a computer.

The Verdict:
If you are looking for frantic tempo shifts or radical genre-bending, this album isn’t for you. It stays firmly within the classic parameters of gothic doom metal, taking cues from early Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride, and Katatonia. But what it lacks in structural novelty, it more than compensates for in sheer emotional immersion. It is a slow, beautiful, and devastating piece of art that rewards patient, repeat listening.

The Gist: In Somnolent Ruin is the sound of a band arriving exactly where they belong. It is cold, heavy, and deeply romantic in the classic literary sense—the perfect soundtrack for watching the stars freeze over.

Draconian – Anima feat. Daniel Änghede

This lyric video showcases the atmospheric depth and vocal harmonies of “Anima,” highlighting the band’s collaboration with guest artist Daniel Änghede.

Album Info / Review

The Historical Weight: Out of the Ashes of Windir
To understand I Krig, one must understand Vreid’s origin. The band was formed by the surviving members of the legendary pitch-black folk metal band Windir after their frontman and mastermind, Valfar (Terje Bakken), tragically died of hypothermia in a blizzard in 2004.

Instead of continuing under the Windir name, bassist Hváll (Jarle Kvåle), drummer Steingrim, and guitarist Sture formed Vreid (which means “Wrath” in their local dialect). While their early work was trying to find a new identity, I Krig was the moment Vreid truly stepped out of Windir’s shadow to forge their own signature genre: “Black ‘n’ Roll.”

The Concept: The Poetry of War
What makes I Krig incredibly unique is its lyrical foundation. Rather than writing typical metal lyrics about violence, Hváll based the entire album on a 1946 collection of poems written by Gunnar Reiss-Andersen, a member of the Norwegian resistance movement during the Nazi occupation of Norway. The music serves as a dark sonic landscape to honor those poems, capturing the grim reality of occupation, sabotage, and survival in the freezing Norwegian mountains.

Musical Style & Characteristics:
Black ‘n’ Roll Production: The album perfectly blends the cold, tremolo-picked atmospheres of traditional Norwegian Second Wave Black Metal with the driving, groovy, and infectious rhythms of classic 1970s rock and thrash metal.

Grim Melodicism: The guitars possess a distinctively melancholic tone. The melodies are beautiful but wrapped in an oppressive, gray blanket of sadness and tension.

Aggressive, Clear Vocals: Sture’s harsh vocals are raspy and cutting, but delivered with a rhythmic cadence that emphasizes the poetic meter of the Norwegian lyrics.

Notable Tracks:
“Jarnbyrd” (Iron Burden)

The opening track sets an intense, marching pace. Driven by a heavy, pulsating bassline and sharp guitar riffs, it perfectly mimics the feeling of an advancing army and the weight of psychological oppression.

“I Krig” (In War)

The title track is a masterpiece of dynamic songwriting. It seamlessly shifts from high-velocity black metal blasting to slower, groove-laden sections that highlight the band’s stellar rock ‘n’ roll sensibilities.

“Under Isen” (Under the Ice)

A deeply atmospheric and chilling track. The melodies evoke the frozen Norwegian winter, building a sense of isolation and claustrophobia that perfectly mirrors the underground resistance fighters hiding in the wilderness.

“Søvnlause Netter” (Sleepless Nights)

A melancholic, mid-tempo song driven by fantastic melodic guitar leads. It captures the psychological torment and dread of war, making it an incredibly emotional highlight of the record.

Critical Reception & Legacy
The Breakthrough: I Krig was a major turning point for Vreid. It received universal acclaim from extreme metal critics who praised its historical depth and artistic maturity. It proved that the band had successfully moved past the tragedy of Windir to build a unique legacy of their own.

A Cultural Document: By using the poetry of Reiss-Andersen, Vreid created an album that transcended the standard tropes of metal music, turning the record into a piece of Norwegian historical storytelling.

Live Staple: To this day, songs from I Krig remain central fixtures in Vreid’s live setlists, embodying the raw energy and patriotic grimness of the Sogndal metal scene.

Album Info / Review

Thalassic (2020) stands as one of the most triumphant and creatively revitalizing albums in Ensiferum’s modern era. As the band’s eighth studio album, it shattered expectations by introducing a massive structural change to their vocal dynamic and delivering their very first cohesive, maritime-themed concept album.

The title Thalassic comes from the ancient Greek word for “of or relating to the sea,” and the entire record perfectly captures the vast, beautiful, and treacherous nature of the ocean through the lens of ancient myth and folklore.

The Turning Point: The Clean Vocal Renaissance
While Thalassic features all the classic Ensiferum hallmarks, its defining feature is the debut of keyboardist and clean vocalist Pekka Montin.

For years, Ensiferum relied on rough group chants for their clean vocals. Montin brought a soaring, dramatic, and pitch-perfect power metal tenor that injected a massive dose of cinematic grandeur into the music. The brilliant “call-and-response” contrast between Petri Lindroos’s harsh, rumbling death metal growls and Montin’s glass-shattering highs completely re-energized the band’s songwriting.

Musical Style & Characteristics:
Maritime Concept: Every track tells a story revolving around the sea, ranging from the wrath of ancient sea gods (like the Finnish deity Ahti or the Greek god Poseidon) to historical pirate tales and oceanic shipwrecks.

Symphonic Power-Folk: The album leans heavily into a symphonic power metal direction while keeping the traditional folk melodies and thrashy, galloping guitar riffs intact.

Balanced Pace: Unlike previous albums that occasionally felt bloated or overly slow, Thalassic is lean, punchy, and hits with a relentless forward momentum.

Notable Tracks:
“Rum, Women, Victory”

The blistering first single and a hyper-fast folk-thrash sprint. It serves as an explosive introduction to Pekka Montin’s vocal range and features some of the most frantic drumming and guitar solo duels the band has put to tape in a decade.

“Andromeda”

A mid-tempo masterpiece that highlights the absolute peak of the Petri/Pekka vocal dynamic. The chorus is immensely catchy, soaring, and instantly memorable, backed by a driving folk-metal rhythm.

“Run from the Crashing Tide”

A relentless power-folk anthem driven by rapid double-bass kicks and a galloping guitar riff that evokes the feeling of fleeing a massive, incoming tsunami.

“The Defense of the Sampo”

A cinematic track that pulls directly from the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala, telling the story of the battle for the magical artifact known as the Sampo over the stormy seas. It features a brilliant western-inspired folk whistle melody.

“Cold Northland (Väinämöinen Part III)”

A massive 8-minute progressive epic that closes the album. It serves as the long-awaited continuation of the “Väinämöinen” saga from their earliest records, shifting from cold, melancholic atmosphere to blistering extreme metal fury.

Critical Reception & Legacy
A Modern Classic: Thalassic was met with widespread critical acclaim and was widely considered by fans to be their best album since From Afar (2009) or Victory Songs (2007).

Chart Success: The album was a massive commercial success in Europe, continuing the band’s streak of high-charting releases in Finland and Germany, and solidifying their place at the top of the modern folk metal hierarchy.

A New Era Solidified: The inclusion of Pekka Montin was universally praised. It proved that even after 25 years of existence, Ensiferum was capable of evolving their sound in a way that felt fresh and exciting without losing an ounce of their original folk-metal identity.

Album Info / Review

Victory Songs (2007) is widely considered by fans and critics to be an absolute masterpiece and a definitive cornerstone of the entire Folk Metal genre. It is Ensiferum’s third studio album, and it carried massive historical weight: it was the first full-length album to feature Petri Lindroos on harsh vocals following the departure of the band’s legendary co-founder, Jari Mäenpää.

Rather than stumbling under the pressure of a major lineup change, Ensiferum delivered an album that was bigger, faster, and more triumphant than anything they had done before.

The Turning Point: A New Era Begins
Produced by Janne Joutsenniemi, Victory Songs seamlessly bridged the gap between the raw melodeath roots of their early records and a grand, cinematic folk aesthetic. Petri Lindroos brought a deeper, more aggressive death metal growl to the band, which provided a brilliant contrast to the soaring clean vocals and massive masculine choirs that define the record.

Musical Style & Characteristics:
Unstoppable Energy: The album is defined by its blistering pace. The drums and bass deliver a relentless, galloping rhythm that makes almost every track feel like a charge into battle.

Orchestral and Traditional Layers: The band expanded their sonic palette by incorporating a wide array of guest musicians playing authentic folk instruments, including the nyckelharpa (keyed fiddle), bagpipes, bodhrán, and the traditional Finnish kantele.

Massive Choirs: The choruses on this album are legendary. The band utilized multi-tracked group vocals to create the feeling of an entire army singing along.

Notable Tracks:
“Blood Is the Prince of Glory”

After a beautiful acoustic intro, this track explodes into a high-speed folk-thrash attack. It features some of the catchiest dual-guitar and keyboard harmonies in the band’s history.

“One More Magic Potion”

A fan-favorite and a live staple. This song highlights the lighter, more whimsical side of folk metal, utilizing bagpipes and a highly infectious, sea-shanty-style rhythm that makes it the ultimate tavern anthem.

“Ahti”

Named after the ancient Finnish god of the sea. It is a relentless, hyper-fast track driven by traditional folk melodies translated onto heavy electric guitars, culminating in a massive, fist-pumping chorus.

“Victory Song”

The monumental 10-minute title track that closes the album. It begins with a haunting folk melody before evolving into a progressive metal epic. It features sweeping movements, beautiful clean vocal passages, and a triumphant finale that ranks as one of the greatest moments in folk metal history.

Critical Reception & Legacy
The Fan Verdict: Victory Songs was a massive success, universally praised for proving that Ensiferum could thrive without Jari Mäenpää. It solidified the “Petri-era” lineup and reassured fans that the band’s songwriting power was fully intact.

Genre Blueprint: Alongside albums like Wintersun’s self-titled debut and Eluveitie’s Slania, Victory Songs defined the mid-2000s golden age of European folk metal.

Live Staples: Nearly two decades after its release, tracks like “Ahti,” “One More Magic Potion,” and “Blood Is the Prince of Glory” still form the backbone of Ensiferum’s energetic live concert setlists.

Album Info / Review

Unsung Heroes (2012) represents one of the most cinematic, atmospheric, and highly debated chapters in the Ensiferum discography. As the band’s fifth studio album, it took a sharp turn away from the relentless, high-speed “battle metal” of its predecessor, From Afar (2009), opting instead for a more cinematic, progressive, and folk-heavy approach.
Produced by Hiili Hiilesmaa (known for his work with HIM, Amorphis, and Apocalyptica), the production on Unsung Heroes is noticeably organic, warm, and dynamic. Instead of a relentless wall of sound, the album leaves room for acoustic instruments, theatrical spoken-word passages, and massive choral arrangements to breathe.

Musical Style & Shift:
Slower Tempos: The album relies less on the hyper-fast thrash metal “galloping” beats that Ensiferum is famous for. Instead, it focuses on mid-tempo grooves and grand, sweeping structures.

Authentic Folk Focus: The band minimized digital synthesizers, choosing instead to use authentic traditional instruments like the kantele (a traditional Finnish plucked string instrument), tin whistles, acoustic guitars, and bouzoukis.

The Progressive Masterpiece: The album culminates in a massive, multi-movement epic that shows the band’s deep appreciation for progressive rock and orchestral arrangements.

Notable Tracks:
“In My Sword I Trust”

The definitive single and standout anthem of the album. It features the classic Ensiferum formula: a highly infectious guitar hook, fist-pumping folk melodies, and a massive, masculine chant-along chorus that quickly became a live concert staple.

“Unsung Heroes”

The title track is a mid-tempo, march-like song that builds an atmosphere of a weary army returning home. It leans heavily on clean backing vocals and emotional storytelling.

“Burning Leaves”

A melancholic, deeply atmospheric track that showcases the “darker, colder side” of Finnish folklore, blending heavy riffs with a brooding melodic progression.

“Passion Proof Power”

A monumental 17-minute epic that closes the album. It is a wildly ambitious progressive metal journey featuring voice acting, sudden tempo shifts, classical piano interludes, and operatic arrangements. It stands as one of the longest and most complex songs the band has ever recorded.

Critical Reception & Legacy
The Fan Divide: Unsung Heroes polarized the Ensiferum fanbase upon release. Fans expecting the non-stop, aggressive speed of Victory Songs or From Afar were caught off guard by the album’s slower pace and acoustic focus.

A Critical Appreciation: Over time, many critics and fans have come to appreciate the album as a bold artistic experiment. It proved that Ensiferum wasn’t afraid to step out of their comfort zone to create a theatrical, folk-first experience.

The Transition: It served as an important stepping stone that allowed the band to master the grand, symphonic elements they would later perfect on albums like One Man Army (2015) and Thalassic (2020).

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.

Album Info / Review

For a few albums prior, Bodom had experimented with a stripped-back, punchy thrash metal template that occasionally muted what made them unique. On Hexed, they let the freak flag fly again. The secret weapon here is the massive return of neoclassical melody and complex, syncopated arrangements. Daniel Freyberg’s arrival on rhythm guitar injected fresh energy, anchoring the low-end so Laiho could run rampant across the fretboard.

The Sonic Architecture
The Neoclassical Renaissance: The album breaks out of basic verse-chorus patterns. Songs turn on dime-store melodies and sweeping minor-scale runs that recall the golden Hatebreeder and Follow the Reaper days, though handled with the restraint of older musicians.

The Balanced Duel: The legendary guitar-and-keyboard skirmishes between Alexi and Janne Wirman are fully revitalized. Rather than Wirman just filling space with heavy modern synth pads, his keyboards are back out front, cutting through with bright, aggressive harpsichord leads and eerie digital patches.

A Technical Edge: The tempo is quick and unpredictable. Songs utilize erratic, twisting riffs that require pinpoint accuracy from the rhythm section of Henkka Seppälä and Jaska Raatikainen.

The Key Pillars
“This Road”: A furious statement of intent to open the album. It bursts with a classic, spiraling melodic death metal lead that proves the band’s songwriting instincts were sharper than they had been in a decade.

“Under Grass and Clover”: The standout single. Built on an incredibly bouncy, almost joyful keyboard hook that completely contrasts with the grim lyricism, it captures that distinct “Bodom party vibe” perfectly. It’s an instant earworm.

“Glass Houses”: A relentless thrasher that showcases Laiho’s frantic, snarling vocal delivery. The mid-song solo trade-off feels urgent, like a band with everything to prove all over again.

“Platitudes and Barren Words”: A brilliant hybrid of heavy groove and anthemic pop-sensibility. The choruses are massive, backed by a driving rhythm that makes it impossible not to move to.

“Knuckleduster”: A re-recorded version of an old track from their Trash Lost & Strungout EP era. It fits perfectly here, bridging the gap between their mid-2000s aggression and their late-career technicality.

The Review: A Brilliant, Bitter Swan Song
Looking back from 2026, it’s impossible to separate Hexed from the knowledge that it was their final bows. Yet, treating it purely as a sentimental piece does a disservice to how genuinely excellent the record is on its own merits.

The Production:
Recorded once again at Danger Danger Studios and mixed by Mikko Karmila, the production strikes a delicate balance. It maintains the heavy, dense guitar wall that the band favored in their later years, but gives the high frequencies room to breathe. You can hear every subtle accent in Janne’s keyboard lines and the natural snap of Jaska’s drums. It feels polished, yet it retains a sharp, dangerous bite.

The Verdict:
Hexed is easily the band’s strongest work since Hate Crew Deathroll. It succeeds because it stops trying to fit into contemporary metal trends. Instead, it finds Children of Bodom accepting exactly who they are: pioneers of a chaotic, brilliant, and deeply melodic style that nobody else could ever quite duplicate.

It’s an album that doesn’t wallow in nostalgia; it weaponizes it. It leaves the listener with a bittersweet realization of just how much creativity and fire Alexi Laiho still possessed until the very end.

Final Thought: It isn’t a quiet fade into the night. It’s a high-octane, neon-purple explosion that serves as the perfect punctuation mark to one of the most influential legacies in modern extreme metal.

Album Info / Review

The Album: The Crimson Transition
The first thing you notice about Hate Crew Deathroll is the weight. The icy, cavernous Abyss Studios production of the previous record was replaced by the dense, punchy, and aggressively dry acoustics of Anssi Kippo’s Astia-Studios. The band stopped looking to the heavens for melodic inspiration and looked straight ahead into a fistfight.

The Sonic Overhaul
The Thrash Infiltration: While the power metal gallop and black metal shrieks are still there, the underlying skeleton of this album is pure American thrash and groove. The riffs are choppy, rhythmic, and designed to induce maximum whiplash.

The “Keyboard-as-Sledgehammer” Tactic: Janne Wirman’s synthesizers aren’t floating in the background like cathedral organs anymore. He’s utilizing percussive, sharp, and almost industrial tones that accent the guitar chugs rather than softening them.

The Ultimate Five-Piece Chemistry: This was the final album to feature original rhythm guitarist Alexander Kuoppala. The lock-step precision between his rhythm tracks and Alexi’s leads gives the record a bulletproof cohesion that the band spent years trying to recapture after his departure.

The Hits from the Street
“Needled 24/7”: Perhaps the greatest album opener of the decade. It kicks the door down with a hyper-speed synth hook and a relentless double-bass drum battery. It perfectly balances the old neoclassical speed with a new, distinctly cynical attitude.

“Sixpounder”: A monolithic, down-tuned beast of a track. It’s built on a crushing, Pantera-esque groove that proved Bodom could flatten an audience without playing at 200 BPM.

“Bodom Beach Terror”: A brilliant piece of dark satire. It juxtaposes an incredibly catchy, bouncy guitar-and-keyboard melody with lyrics about slaughter on the shoreline, complete with a fantastic movie sample from The Rock.

“Angels Don’t Kill”: The album’s absolute centerpiece. It is a slow, agonizingly heavy, and deeply melodic track that feels like the spiritual successor to “Everytime I Die,” but with a far more bitter, bruised emotional core.

“Hate Crew Deathroll”: The title track is an absolute riot. It’s a fast-paced, chant-along metal anthem that closes the record by declaring war on anyone outside their inner circle.

The Review: The Peak of the Bodom Empire
Looking back from 2026, Hate Crew Deathroll stands as the apex of the band’s classic era. It is the perfect compromise between the hyper-technical shredding of their youth and the punchy, stadium-ready hooks of their commercial peak.

The Production:
Mikko Karmila’s mix at Finnvox is legendary for a reason. It is aggressive, incredibly loud, but entirely legible. The rhythm section of Henkka T. Blacksmith and Jaska Raatikainen has a mechanical punch that anchors the chaos above them. The guitars are raw and jagged, cutting through the mix like a buzzsaw without drowning out Wirman’s bright, video-game-esque keyboard flourishes.

The Verdict:
There is a dangerous, swaggering energy on this album that can’t be manufactured. It’s the sound of five young guys who have spent years perfecting a bizarre genre hybrid and have finally figured out how to weaponize it for mass consumption. It’s short, clocking in at an lean 36 minutes, which means there isn’t a single second of filler. Every song is an absolute weapon.

The Gist: If Follow the Reaper was the band’s artistic masterpiece, Hate Crew Deathroll was their manifesto. It is loud, obnoxious, brilliantly executed, and entirely undeniable. It didn’t just define a band; it defined an entire era of modern extreme metal.