Ensiferum - From Afar (2009)

Ensiferum means "Sword Bearer". 'Ensis' is a third declension noun meaning Sword, and 'Ferum' is from an irregular verb meaning "to carry" (like "ferry"). Markus Toivonen found the word in a Latin dictionary when the band were starting out and decided it was an ideal name.

Ensiferum were founded as a three-piece by Markus Toivonen, Sauli Savolainen and Kimmo Miettinen. They began mostly as a cover band before persuading Jari Mäenpää to join as vocalist and second guitarist a year later.

Frontman Jari Mäenpää quit in 2004 after creating his own project, Wintersun. Studio time for Wintersun recordings clashed with an Ensiferum tour, so Mäenpää quit Ensiferum. Petri Lindroos of Norther was brought in, inititally to cover for live dates, and eventually agreed to join permanently. At this point the band's vocal duties were split as Lindroos performed only the harsh singing while Markus Toivonen and Sami Hinkka took over the clean vocals. Toivonen is now the only founding member left in the band.

Markus Toivonen never played in Scent of Flesh - there are two different persons with the same name.

Petri Lindroos was forced to miss a few tour dates in November 2008 due to illness. Former bassist Jukka-Pekka Miettinen filled in as guitarist while Sami Hinkka took up harsh vocal duties.


Type:Full-length
Release date:September 9th, 2009
Label:Spinefarm Records

Country of origin:Finland
Location:Helsinki
Status:Active
Formed in:1995
Genre:Viking/Folk Metal
Lyrical themes:Legends, Fantasy, Battles, Sorrow, Heathen Themes
Years active:1995-present
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Homepage

Line-up:
Petri Lindroos - Vocals (harsh), Guitars
Markus Toivonen - Guitars, Vocals (clean, backing)
Sami Hinkka - Bass, Vocals (clean, backing)
Emmi Silvennoinen - Keyboards, Vocals (backing)
Janne Parviainen - Drums

Tracks:
01. By The Dividing Stream
02. From Afar
03. Twilight Tavern
04. Heathen Throne
05. Elusive Reaches
06. Stone Cold Metal
07. Smoking Ruins
08. Tumman Virran Taa
09. The Longest Journey (Heathen Throne Part II)
10. Vandraren (Nordman cover)


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Beherit - Drawing Down the Moon (1993)

Beherit is Syriac for Satan.

They also released the demo "Down There..." under the name The Lord Diabolus, because of the previous problem with Turbo Music.

Both H418ov21.C and Electric Doom Synthesis are not metal albums, but rather synthetic ambient "dark ritual music", which NHV released by himself while attempting to put together a full band again in 1994 thru 1996.

Around the same time Beherit started to release ambient albums, NHV had semi-lost his interest in playing metal and started working again as a techno DJ under the name Gamma-G and he even released one compilation CD entitled "(G)raveyard 2001 - The Ultimate Hardrave Massacre".

Despite their relative popularity now, Beherit were generally hated by the black metal community in the early nineties, in fact there was a Scandinavian band made in response to them called "Fuck Beherit" (who released 2 rehearsal tapes in 1992) A bootleg CD-R of these recordings is floating around the web entitled Fuck Beherit: "Total Beherit".

Drawing Down the Moon is a clasic! Beherit is a Beherit!

"The dream descends to the region of moon
To the land, the sphere of eternal sin
A half light, dark the realm of Nanna
The realm of spirits and the father of the gods
Oh, shine of moon, of the astral gods
It ravishes, it calls us to sin...

Lord Nanna, of the race of Anu
Lord Nanna, called sin
Lord Nanna, o hero of the gods
Lord Nanna, the gate of sin...

Ave Satan, Ave Lucifer, Ave Satan, Alla Xul
Ave Satan, Ave Lucifer, Ave Satan, Gigim Xul

...Sleep"


Type:Full-length
Release date:November 13th, 1993
Label:Spinefarm Records

Country of origin:Finland
Location:Rovaniemi (early), Helsinki (now)
Status:Active
Formed in:1990
Genre:Black Metal (1990-1993, 2007-), Dark Ambient (1994-1996)
Lyrical themes:Satanism, Blasphemy, Occult, Darkness, Mysticism
Years active:1988-1989 (as Horny Malformity), 1989-1990 (as Pseudochrist), 1990-1991, 1991 (as The Lord Diabolus), 1991-1996, 2007-present 
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Line-up:
Nuclear Holocausto Vengeance - Guitars, Vocals, Music, Lyrics
Black Jesus - Bass
Necroperversor    - Drums

Tracks-up:
 1. Intro (Tireheb)
2. Salomon's Gate
3. Nocturnal Evil
4. Sadomatic Rites
5. Black Arts
6. The Gate of Nanna
7. Nuclear Girl
8. Unholy Pagan Fire
9. Down There...
10. Summerlands
11. Werewolf Semen and Blood
12. Thou Angel of the Gods
13. Lord of Shadows and Goldenwood
Total time: 39:28


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