• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

I have always kind of dismissed Ensiferum, considering them a second-rate band trying to simultaneously ride the Children of Boredom pop/melodeath trend and the Folk Metal wave. They were shiny, facile, and without depth. That was until From Afar proved that this band could be genuine, serious, and epic without relying on gimmicks or trends. The problem with writing a massive work like "Heathen Throne" or "The Longest Journey" is that it raises the bar, and everything you do afterward will be measured against that one time when you were awesome.

Unsung Heroes is solidly enjoyable, but it lacks that extra edge of the last album, and it's noticeable. It is never fun for a band to have to follow up a lauded album, and there is clearly an attempt to make a similar album without just copying it. The sound is clean, the riffs are good, but the songwriting is just not as awesome. The production is also a bit flat, without the rich layers of From Afar. It may seem small to continually compare this album to the one that came before it, but it's pretty much inescapable. So: this is not as amazing as their last album, but on the other hand it is pretty handily better than anything else they ever did, so while Ensiferum may have slipped a bit, they didn't lose ground and go back to making crap like Victory Songs.