David Higgins got the chance to have a chat with bassist/vocalist Sami Hinkka from melodic folk metal band Ensiferum when they played Glasgow recently.

A short, but an enjoyable night with only two bands playing. Ensiferum, Metsatölland and the crowd were full of energy throughout and made it a worthwhile experience.

Overall ‘I’ is a dark brooding album that is very atmospheric and is perfect for those walks in the cold weather of winter. While repetitive at times it is never boring and will keep you listening to the very end. – By David Higgins

‘The Prowress of Dormition’ is a beautiful album, which is breathtaking to listen to. It is heavy frenetic, but at the same time very melodic and uplifting. – By David Higgins

This album could have been varied a bit more in structure and could have cut down the length of some of the tracks. Despite these issues it is a good album that is worth listening to due to the strong folk elements that feature in the music. – By David Higgins

Desolation Road is an excellent debut for Infesting Swarm and shows the potential the band has going forward. – By David Higgins

‘Lamentia’ is a great album that uses death metal as its base, but mixes in elements of black metal and grindcore that gives the album its own brand of extreme metal mayhem, that fans of all three genres should enjoy. – By David Higgins

David Higgins saw Paradise Lost, Tribulation and Lucifer at The Garage in Glasgow. “Despite these minor issues Paradise Lost were excellent and I thoroughly enjoyed the night as a whole.”

‘Trollspeil’ is an excellent album that combines melodic black style instrumentation and growling vocals with more epic symphonic vocals and melodies to great effect. – By David Higgins

With more focus and scaled back production on some of the songs this could have been excellent. – By David Higgins

This is a rousing and uplifting slice of folk metal that is great fun. It is an album that I nod my head to and would be singing along with if I knew Dutch and if you do not know any then give it a chance as it is an easy album to listen to and enjoy. – By David Higgins

Ensiferum’s sixth release ‘One Man Army’ is an excellent return to form and is brilliant. – By David Higgins

‘Eye Of Providence’ is a very good album that get things off to a great start for the new singer and the rest of the band. – By David Higgins

A good heavy melodic album where at times they bring in different elements to keep it sounding fresh even if at times they are unexpected. – By David Higgins

An excellent EP that combines the elements of jazz and metal very well to create something different. – By David Higgins

Each track has its own story to tell with its own sound and occasionally you’ll get a guitar solo or drum rolls to remind you that you are listening to a metal album and not just a theatre production releasing their soundtrack. – By David Higgins

On ‘Ascension Lost’ Thulcandra stick with with the sound that has brought them success so far. – By David Higgins

The idea of Elemental Nightmares is a good one in that it gives the listener a brief introduction to many bands that they may not have heard of. Number five is a good EP which has a slow start, but finishes well with 3 very good bands that show great potential. – By David Higgins

Enjoy your music big and epic, you owe it to yourself to have a listen to what is an excellent album. – By David Higgins