ENSIFERUM - Winter storm - CD

Much of the new material emerged in the lockdown era, when Ensiferum's founding guitarist Markus Toivonen set himself the challenge of finding new ways to make music - eventually composing every song except the rousing, anthemic Fatherland, written by bassist Sami Hinkka. The addition of singer/organist Pekka Montin's crystal-clear melodic high notes provided a tremendous boost on Thalassic. But on Winter Storm - a fantasy concept narrative written by Sami ("The way I see it, this album is more like a 'musical' than a traditional album," says the bassist) - Pekka's super-strong voice finds its optimal place in Ensiferum's sound. Bringing to life such grandiose, heroic material, the singer emerges as one of the greatest vocal discoveries of the decade.