ENSIFERUM – Thalassic Digi-CD

Track 10 "Merille Lähtevä" and track 11 "I’ll Stay By Your Side" are bonus tracks.

The band celebrates its 25th anniversary and they publish their eighth album Thalassic. It's a word that derives from Greek and means everything that has to do with the sea, so the album is all focused on the maritime concept and legends of their land, although on this album there are other novelties such as the new line-up change: Pekka Montin joins as the keyboardist recovering the instrument, because since Emmi Silvennoinen's departure in 2016 they dispensed with the keys, replacing it with Netta Skog's accordion. Pekka also does the work of the second voice, sounding cleaner and sharper, which adds a more power metal touch in some moments, where he also gains prominence singing some songs as such.

Another notable change is the sound. Leaving aside the accordion and female voice has made Ensiferum abandon the folk metal sound a bit in order to enter towards typical fields of melodeath and power, giving vocals importance and returning to the earlier sound, something that may please their more veteran fans. “Seafarer’s Dream” starts off with the sea sound in the background, an instrumental track where orchestrations and epic atmosphere immerse us in the song that will be repeated throughout the album. It's a very elaborate intro that gives way to “Rum, Women, Victory”, a totally recognizable piece that presents their typical elements: accelerated guitars that present melodies alongside the unmistakable Lindroos's lines. It's surely has a frenetic rhythmic base and catchy chorus, as long as Pekka demonstrates his most typical clean power metal tones.