Review: The War Cry of Ensiferum
The first show of 2019 is finally upon all of us and what better way to spend the New Year than with Folk Metal legends Ensiferum. This is their first time back in New York City in over four years and for many fans of the epic ensemble this was such a long, but extremely worthwhile wait. This tour is also in celebration of the 2017 album, Two Paths! The album may be nearly two years old, but the band doesn’t want to end their touring cycle just yet. Especially for their American fans who have been waiting for this cycle for such a long time. Joining them on this epic adventure is Symphonic Death Metal legends Septicflesh and Cult Melo Death Messiahs Arsis. If you’re a death metal fan and you’re looking to get a fix of excellent bands early in 2019, this is a tour you cannot skip out on!
Ensiferum’s music is truly epic war battle music. Much like how a band such as Sabaton sings about the themes of Modern Warfare or World War II, Ensiferum sings about the concept of Primitive Warfare. After all, their name translates to “sword bearer.” The group from Finland was really getting the crowd excited and a fierce battle was taking place within the mosh pit. Fans were happily showing their aggression to the epic melodies that the band was playing and it was all done in a very fun manner. Tons of epic and powerful melodies are all thrown into the sound that Ensiferum truly provides. With many other sounds from strings and flutes that truly add onto to the sound this band offers and truly gives them the melodic touch. Many fan favorites like “Twilight Tavern”, and “Guardians of Fate” were all part of the chaotic setlist. Plus, newer hits like “For Those About to Fight for Metal” and “Way Of the Warrior” make the live setlists truly fresher than ever. Vocalist and Guitarist Markus Toivonen has an extremely powerful voice, one that could be truly felt across the venue and one that probably wouldn’t be out of place out of a war cry. Sometimes, the mosh pit looked like a dance ritual. Fans happily danced to some wonderful metallic melodies all across the board. But for most of the time, it was an insane but very happy crowd filled with plenty of fans having a good time.
Septicflesh adds some excellent variety to this tour package. They are one of the heaviest bands to come out of Greece and their sound does not let up at all. They also add a hint of symphony to their sound to add on a sight burst of melody to their chaos. After a successful North American headliner last year with Dark Funeral and a great number of European tours, it’s amazing to see Septicflesh come back to the United States so quickly. No time at all was wasted with Septicflesh truly making sure the crowd was fired up. A ghostly fog warmed up the venue for a good few minutes right before their set truly started. Once Septicflesh came on, madness ensued throughout Irving Plaza. To start off a circle pit, vocalist and bassist Spiros Antoniou screamed “Are you ready for communion?” With that, full blown chaos committed. This was a sight that wouldn’t let up at all during their set. Wild mosh pit insanity and tons of head banging didn’t slow down at all. The symphonic metal’s chaotic act was truly something you never wanted to see end at all.
Arsis is no stranger to us on Bloodlines, it’s great to see that the band is once again back on the road so soon after doing their Bloodletting headliner in late 2018 and releasing their newest album “Visitant” on November 2nd last year, these guys have been on an extremely important trek to play some Heavy Metal. Arsis was absolutely phenomenal at warming up the audience at Irving Plaza. The chaotic sound of Melodic Death Metal that this band plays is an absolute sight to behold. The mosh pit was tight and closed in, but a very fun sight to see. As they were a fantastic warmup band. For both fans and first timers, Arsis made a great impression on many people tonight.
2019’s first huge metal show featured plenty of different bands to keep fans satisfied. Ensiferum, Septicflesh and Arsis are all truly must see live acts! Having them all on the same package is an absolute blessing. Be sure to look out for this incredible tour for the rest of January! Check out the rest of the tour dates below!
January 2019 Tour Dates:
01/05 Baltimore, MD – Baltimore Soundstage
01/06 New York, NY – Irving Plaza
01/07 Boston, MA – Brighton Music Hall
01/08 Quebec City, QC – Imperial Bell
01/09 Montreal, QC – Corona Theatre
01/10 Toronto, ON – Opera House
01/11 Detroit, MI – Harpo’s
01/12 Joliet, IL – The Forge
01/13 Minneapolis, MN – Skyway Theater
01/14 Kansas City, MO – The Riot Room
01/15 Denver, CO – Oriental Theater
01/17 Seattle, WA – El Corazon
01/18 Vancouver, BC – Rickshaw Theatre
01/19 Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theatre
01/20 Oakland, CA – Metro Opera House
01/21 Los Angeles, CA – The Regent
01/22 Mesa, AZ – Club Red
01/23 El Paso, TX – Rockhouse Bar & Grill
01/24 Dallas, TX – Gas Monkey Bar & Grill
01/25 Austin, TX – Come and Take it Live!
01/26 Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall
01/28 Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade (Hell)
01/29 Tampa, FL – The Orpheum
