New Ensiferum

If you read my review of Ensiferum's last release (2012's Unsung Heroes), you'll know that I found the record . . . let's just say "underwhelming" shall we? It wasn't bad, per se, but it felt substantially weaker than the band's prior output. In spite of that hiccup, I do like them and I do look forward to new material from them. That's why I was excited to see that they had released a single in advance of their upcoming (Feb. 20th) album. I've only listened through it once, and the jury is still out, as it were. From what I hear, though, this sounds like a moderate step on the way to recovery. There's nothing too stunning about this track, and it's far from their best, but at least it doesn't feel as lifeless as  the material on their preceding album. In any case, here it is so you can decide its merits for yourselves.