Photo by Andy Whittle
After a near four-year absence, Finnish folk metallers ENSIFERUM will make their way to North American shores this weekend on a month-long headlining tour. The trek will commence on January 5th in Baltimore, Maryland and run through January 29th in Tampa, Florida. Support will be provided by Septicflesh and Arsis. Following the tour, ENSIFERUM will also make an appearance on the 70,000 Tons Of Metal 2019 cruise before heading to Mexico. See all confirmed dates below.
In anticipation of the upcoming live dates, the band has posted a new beer tasting video filmed at the 2018 MetalDays Festival as well as a live clip, recorded in Pratteln, Switzerland on May 12th, 2018. Both are viewable below.
ENSIFERUM w/ Septicflesh, Arsis:
1/05/2019 Baltimore Soundstage – Baltimore, MD
1/06/2019 Irving Plaza – New York, NY
1/07/2019 Brighton Music Hall – Boston, MA
1/08/2019 Imperial Bell – Quebec City, QC
1/09/2019 Corona Theatre – Montreal, QC
1/01/2019 Opera House – Toronto, ON
1/11/2019 Harpo’s – Detroit, MI
1/12/2019 The Forge – Joliet, IL
1/13/2019 Skyway Theater – Minneapolis, MN
1/14/2019 The Riot Room – Kansas City, MO
1/15/2019 Oriental Theater – Denver, CO
1/17/2019 El Corazon – Seattle, WA
1/18/2019 Rickshaw Theatre – Vancouver, BC
1/19/2019 Hawthorne Theatre – Portland, OR
1/20/2019 Metro Opera House – Oakland, CA
1/21/2019 The Regent – Los Angeles, CA
1/22/2019 Club Red – Mesa, AZ
1/23/2019 Rockhouse Bar & Grill – El Paso, TX
1/24/2019 Gas Monkey Bar & Grill – Dallas, TX
1/25/2019 Come And Take It Live! – Austin, TX
1/26/2019 White Oak Music Hall – Houston, TX
1/27/2019 Parish @ House Of Blues – New Orleans, LA
1/28/2019 The Masquerade (Hell) – Atlanta, GA
1/29/2019 The Orpheum – Tampa, FL
End Tour:
1/31–2/04/2019 70,000 Tons Of Metal – Fort Lauderdale, FL
2/06/2019 3 Stage – Guadalajara, MX
2/07/2019 Cafe Iguana – Monterrey, MX
2/08/2019 Circo Volador – Mexico City, MX
You can’t talk about the true greats of folk-inspired melodic death metal without reverent mention of ENSIFERUM, and with their latest album, Two Paths, they once more affirm their place in the pantheons of the genre. Further building upon the thrilling metallic hybrid honed across six full-lengths, Two Paths is the quintet’s most epic and far-reaching collection of songs to date as well as their most organic.
Wrote Louder Sound of the release, “In a subgenre where novelty can become tiresome all too easily, ENSIFERUM have refreshed the folk metal sound.” Svbterranean concurred, “Two Paths has energy and character to it that is unmatched in modern metal. Their charm and style really make them stand out from the crowd. If you’re a fan of melodic metal and folk metal, crunched together to make something superior, then ENSIFERUM‘s Two Paths is definitely up your alley.” Metal Wani hailed a record that makes its listeners, “want to grab that drinking horn, fill it with mead and get drunk with some kick-ass epic folk metal.” Adds Distorted Sound, “ENSIFERUM have delivered another exceptional record; the sound is on point throughout, and they have struck the right balance between folk metal and the heavier elements that feature on the record.”
“When we made One Man Army (2015), we wanted it to sound more like a live album than a traditional studio album,” notes bassist Sami Hinkka “With Two Paths, we took that to the next level with analog recording, cutting down tracks and even recording songs without a click, and because of that there is a totally different kind of groove compared to most modern metal albums. It all comes down to writing music that sounds good to us and is fun to play live, and I would say with Two Paths we’ve done everything better than we ever have before.”
To preview and purchase Two Paths, visit: metalblade.com/ensiferum.
ENSIFERUM:
Petri Lindroos – vocals, guitar
Markus Toivonen – guitar, vocals
Sami Hinkka – bass, vocals
Janne Parviainen – drums
http://www.facebook.com/Ensiferum
http://www.ensiferum.com
http://www.metalblade.com/ensiferum