Finnish folk metal giants ENSIFERUM are back with a brand new album, “Winter Storm,” to be released via Metal Blade Records on October 18th, 2024. We caught up with guitarist Markus Toivonen and bass player Sami Hinkka to talk about the upcoming release. Watch the interview here or read the full transcript below…
Thanks so much for taking the time to do this interview. How are you guys doing today?
Markus: Good, good. Thanks.
Sami: It’s press day, so we have a lot of interviews. It’s always nice. I mean, when you work on an album for years, of course, you can talk about it during the raw demo phase with people, but it doesn’t really make sense until people have actually heard it and know a bit about it already. So, it feels good now that the cat is out of the bag, so to say.
How do you feel about the upcoming release in general? I suppose you’ve already had some nice feedback so far?
Markus: At least I’ve seen a lot of positive comments about it, I mean, on the two songs that have been released already, so it feels very good.
Sami: Because, to be honest, at some point when you’re composing a new album, you feel like this is going to be horrible. So it feels good when things come together, and you realize, “Oh yes, this actually sounds good.” And of course, it’s always interesting and exciting to wait to see what people actually think about it. Because when you’re so deep into composing, everything feels like, “Oh, this is so good.” It’s this everlasting roller coaster of emotion. Some days you feel like it’s the best music ever, and some days you really feel like, “Oh, this is the crappiest music ever made.” But so far, the feedback has been pretty good, so that’s very positive. And there are still many good songs on the album that you haven’t heard yet.
Apart from releasing a new album, I saw you have new management coming up in 2025 as well. Henkka Seppälä (from CHILDREN OF BODOM, MOON SHOT) is going to manage ENSIFERUM. How did that deal come to be?
Markus: Henkka actually contacted me about a year ago, and that’s how things started with us.
Sami: Yeah, it wasn’t like he contacted us asking, “Have you made any decisions?” He was like, “Okay, oh, you’re in this business. Okay, cool.” You knew him even better than I did because he worked at Spinefarm, and we did the tour with CHILDREN OF BODOM. So, it felt very natural when Markus mentioned it for the first time. It felt like, “Oh, that actually makes sense,” because he’s really a guy who has toured the world, and as I’ve understood…
Markus: Yeah, he knows the business very well. He knows everyone.
Sami: And he has a good reputation. From what I understood, he was also very involved with CHILDREN OF BODOM regarding all the official things. So yeah, we are very happy with this new face in our lives.
Do you think it matters that he’s an artist as well and knows that side of the business that most managers who don’t have band experience might not?
Markus: I guess. I think it’s only a good thing.
Sami: I think it’s a good thing if you have the competence for other matters as well. For instance, I would be a terrible manager, even though I’ve also toured, but I’m not very organized. I don’t know all the legal things and those kinds of things. I’d be terrible at this, but Henkka knows this stuff. Plus, he’s an artist, so of course, it helps when you can discuss things on a level that’s different from someone who has just been in the office their whole life. I mean, who graduated from school and went behind an office desk and then started booking shows or whatever. It’s always different if you’ve really gone through the challenges of traveling with a band and playing with a fever and not having water, you know? All these small things are what they can relate to. So, it makes sense.
Well, I noticed when you released your two new singles that a lot of people felt it’s a mix between “Thalassic” and your “From Afar” period, which I think the album does reflect. Do you know why that is, or is it a result of Markus composing the demos in a different way?
Markus: I think it’s always like, you just do what you like, and then the result is what it is. We never think, “Okay, let’s try to make this kind of album or that kind of album.” When we get the songs done, we can hear, “Okay, maybe this sounds a bit like ‘From Afar’.” Then we can recognize, “Okay, this sounds maybe a bit like ‘From Afar’.”
Sami: I think the “From Afar” aspect comes from the fact that “From Afar” was a bit darker. Okay, there was “Twilight Tavern,” the beer-drinking song, but maybe that’s the connection to “From Afar.” But before any of the cream and cherries on top, like orchestration and so on, when we did the very first raw ideas for this song that would end up being on “Winter Storm,” I had a very strong first-album feeling. Even when Markus shared some of the early demo ideas, we got a really strong first-album vibe, which is really cool because it’s nice to still have a connection to your roots. Although, of course, you move forward, there’s this eternal thing, you know, as a band—like I said, when you’re too deep in the process, everything feels so grand, but for some random listener, it’s definitely going to sound like the same stuff we have always done… just longer songs. [laughter]
Can you talk to me about the orchestrations on this album and the other elements that make it sound like a folk metal album?
Sami: This time, there’s only Lassi.
Markus: Who plays the nyckelharpa.
Sami: Yeah, the nyckelharpa. This time, we didn’t have kantele or flutes because it’s not a principle. I mean, it’s not like we write metal songs and then need to just glue on top some elements so we can call it a folk metal album. It’s really like each instrument needs to serve a bigger purpose, whatever fits the song. Maybe the melodies were also more folkish this time than heavy metal, although “Thalassic” also had some folkish moments.
Markus: I think it had a lot more, in my opinion.
Yeah, maybe that’s why it sounds a little different. “Thalassic” felt a bit punchier and more in-your-face than this record.
Sami: Yeah, and that was also not something we decided, like, “Hey, let’s make an album that is more straightforward.” Those songs just happened when “Thalassic” was being made, and some of the stuff that ended up on “Winter Storm” was already there, like the raw ideas. They were just unfinished, and maybe there was just one melody. “Okay, this needs some other parts. Let’s continue later on.” But I guess, production-wise, it makes sense to say it sounds like “Thalassic” because we had the same team. And of course, it affects things that Janne Joutsenniemi was there to kick our asses in the studio, and Jens Bogren mixed and mastered it. So naturally, the sound resembles that. Why not, because it sounds really good.
Why did you decide that you only wanted the nyckelharpa and no other folk instruments?
Sami: I don’t think it was a conscious decision. We didn’t have a big meeting. I just think there was never a need for the kantele, which would be fantastic. It’s such a beautiful instrument, but there was no need. So let’s see on the next album, maybe.
Markus: It’s different, yeah.
Sami: Well, we have some raw ideas for the next album, and it’s going to be a bit different.
I guess we also cannot really talk about this new album without discussing your fantasy novel. When did you first start working on that, and will it ever see the light of day?
Sami: I started thinking about it like 10 years ago. I never talked about it to anyone because, in my head, it was never meant to collide with the ENSIFERUM universe. It was really something I thought about and built the story for. I’ve written some short passages, and yeah, I really thought I’d write it—not like when I retire, but when things are a bit calmer. Maybe there’s a chance for it, like if we ever had an off year. Well, that would mean we would need to make a shit-ton of money first, which will probably never happen. But, you know, I always thought eventually I would start writing it. I think it took me almost two years before I got any lyrics in the rehearsal room. The guys were really pushing that we needed some kind of lyrics to go forward in the arrangements. I wrote some things, and everything just felt like shit. Exactly like what we were talking about with the folk instruments—it felt like the songs were there, and then I would come up with some weird stuff and try to glue them together. It just never matched. I was a bit desperate. Well, those were desperate times anyway, during COVID. So, in a way, maybe that was important to go through for the lyrics to match the emotion of the album. Eventually, I’m going to write it down.
Now you kind of have to. [laughs]
Sami: Yeah, not now… I still have a day job and all this stuff. So yeah, let’s see.
You are the main lyricist of the band, but how did you fall into that position? Do you guys not like writing lyrics at all?
Markus: I would like to write, but I just can’t, so that’s one reason I don’t do any lyrics. Maybe someday.
Sami: I actually did some lyric writing in Finnish, and it was so much nicer because Finnish is such a vivid language. English, not being my native language, is always a bit tricky. I’m always checking different phrases and synonyms, asking my English friends if I can use a particular phrase. I just want to make it more interesting, you know? I don’t write like high literature. I know that, and it fucking sucks, especially since I don’t have time to read as much these days. If I read more in English, that would definitely help, but life isn’t as simple as it was when we were 18. Life gets complicated.
I don’t really know why the guys trusted me when I joined the band. Maybe at that point, I was reading a lot, so it felt easier to write fantasy and heroic stuff. But I often find myself asking Markus about his feelings on the melodies. Like, I’ll say, “What melody?” and they’re like, “What do you have in mind?” Sometimes, it might just be one or two words that come from them, and then I realize, “Okay, actually, this works.” I remember when we were composing for the “One Man Army” album. There was a song called “Heathen Horde.” I had a completely different idea for it—much more mellow—but Markus had a different vision. He wanted it to be more of an anthem. His angle made so much more sense for the song, and that’s why it’s important to remember that it’s always a band effort.
There are two songs that I would like to talk about this time. “Fatherland” is one of my favorites. Is there anything you could say about that song particularly?
Sami: I came up with the main melody and some raw ideas for it, but the arrangement is always a band effort. You know, I’m a bass player, not a guitar player, so I love bringing my ideas to the band and seeing how they develop. It tells the story of one of the tribes in the story who fight the Winter Storm Vigilantes, who are a bit of cunts throughout the book. It’s this time we’re living in… In quite a few interviews, they’ve been asking, “Why would you name a song like that?” It’s a fantasy. We have no deeper political or religious agenda here—it’s a fucking fantasy book that is coming out. So don’t try to put any words in our mouth.
Oh, that didn’t even cross my mind at all!
Sami: You can interpret it any way you want, but do not put words in an artist’s mouth. Do not do that. No.
The other one that I also really liked is “Scars in My Heart,” which features Madeleine of ELEINE. You obviously toured with ELEINE; is that where the idea of collaborating with her came from?
Markus: Yeah, that was the idea. Because her voice was perfect, she’s a very good singer. It was kind of easy.
Sami: When we did demos, Pekka tried a couple of different styles. It sounded like Finnish Schlager because he is a good singer; he can do different styles. We even did a version with Petri‘s harsh vocals, with some raw lyrics. That was a bit too brutal. It was always there, kind of circling the band. I think everybody knew in their hearts that it had to be a female singer. I don’t know who actually said it out loud. Then, there was a discussion on who. The world is full of good singers, and you don’t necessarily need a metal singer—you don’t need a Nitte Valo or a Noora Louhimo. Anyway, we were pondering a few obvious ideas but decided to just go on the tour and get back to this. I think it was the second show where I really went out to see the other bands and asked the others, “Did you listen to their singer?” But of course, as Finns, we don’t talk to anyone, so it took a couple of weeks until we were encouraged to really talk to Madeleine. We asked her to come to the bus, and we said we had an idea. We played quite a few demos to her, including a version without any vocals. She liked it, and even the key was good for her. We didn’t need to change the key. Then she sent a few seconds of a clip from home, where she was listening to the demo and recording from her phone at the same time, and you could already hear it was so good. The rest is history.
Cool detail, production-wise, is that the whole album has a lot of layered vocals—Pekka doing harmonies and big choirs we did with the whole band, and even Petri has harsh vocals that he might have dubbed really low. But “Scars in My Heart” just has one vocal line throughout the whole song. Because it’s all about solitude. In the book, it’s about a widow who’s mourning. It creates a completely different feeling in the song if there were beautiful angelic choirs doing the harmonies.
It’s quite funny that you mentioned when Pekka tried to do vocals, it ended up sounding like Finnish Schlager because it does have a poppy element to it. In fact, it reminded me a little of “Sealed with a Kiss” for some reason.
Sami: Fantastic! It’s a good song. Jason Donovan!
In comparison to “Thalassic,” I feel like Pekka has grown quite a bit in his role as the new singer. You can hear more variety in his voice. What was it like for you to explore his potential?
Sami: Pekka joined the band when “Thalassic” was almost composed. We had already talked about the next album, checking the key and trying different styles. Pekka doesn’t identify as a power metal singer, even though he plays in a MANOWAR cover band. He can do that, but he also has ambitions to do other things. When we started working on “Winter Storm,” we made a conscious effort not to box him into one role. Especially with the latest single, “Long Cold Winter of Sorrow and Strife,” I don’t think I was in the studio when you recorded the vocals.
Markus: No, no, it was just me and Janne.
Sami: I think I came by that evening. That was also one of those songs where we tried harsh vocals, and Pekka tried power metal vocals again. I remember coming to the studio and hearing him with this James Hetfield-like energy, so I’m really happy that he could bring out that side of himself as well. That’s the beauty of being in a band. I’m a bass player; I don’t play guitar. Same with the vocal stuff—when I lay down a rough idea in a demo, it’s just a guideline. It’s there to be mangled and completely transformed, and that’s the beauty of composing as a band. You know your instrument, and Pekka‘s instrument is his voice. He can really step up and suggest, “That’s okay, but should we try something like this?” That’s the beauty of having guys in the band who are much more talented than you.
I wouldn’t say that—the others can’t write lyrics, for instance.
Sami: That’s the beauty of it. Everyone can bring their strengths into the composing process. I think it’s important that everyone feels comfortable and can stand behind every song so that it doesn’t feel like you’re confined to just one role. That would get boring as a musician, especially with ENSIFERUM, because the variety in the songs is so wide. Pekka‘s not just a one-trick pony. I’m really happy with how he’s been able to utilize his voice, and I think there’s still a lot he can do. It doesn’t mean that everything you can do should be done. I can play funk, but that doesn’t mean we should have slap bass on an ENSIFERUM album. At least it opens up more possibilities. Let’s see—maybe there will be a bass solo on the next album.
You also have two big tour announcements so far. The first one is a co-headlining tour with SWALLOW THE SUN. How are you looking forward to that?
Sami: They also release an album the same day, which sucks, but it’s also interesting—two bands releasing albums on the same day. It makes sense. Our fan bases overlap, and we’re both at a level where we can introduce each other’s music live to new audiences. I love SWALLOW THE SUN, but it’s quite an unexpected combination. Let’s hope it’s not too far apart, so people will still be interested in checking out both bands because that’s the beauty of live music. There are bands I love from their albums, and there are bands I love live. ENSIFERUM has always been a live band for me. Let’s see—I think it’s going to be really cool.
I think it’s going to be interesting because you’re the kind of band that can even make a Finnish audience go nuts, and SWALLOW THE SUN has a bit more of an introspective experience. It will be interesting to see how the audience will react to your music and vice versa.
Sami: For them, it’s also about beautiful melodies. For someone who isn’t a metalhead, they probably just hear harsh vocals, clean vocals, and melodies—so what’s the big difference?
Aside from that tour, you also have Paganfest coming up, which was huge back in the day. Do you have any memories of the earlier editions?
Sami: Oye, oye, oye. Crazy times. Those were really party times, back in 2008. They were always super fun, with really nice bands, and the people who come to those shows are there to party. They were always great tours. We’ve all got a bit of gray in our hair and beards… and probably the crowd does too. [laughter] I’m sure it’s going to be one hell of a party for a month around Europe.
It’s a shame that there is no Finnish date, though. You mentioned in the press release that Winter Storm should actually be interpreted more like a musical, which I think is quite interesting. I was wondering whether you guys enjoy musicals in general.
Sami: I have nothing against them.
Markus: I have to say it’s pretty much the same for me.
Sami: I think it’s good to broaden your horizons if you can. During COVID, a friend of mine called me and asked, “Hey, do you want to go see Phantom of the Opera tonight?” I had never been into opera, so I said, “Fuck yeah.” It was one of the best musical experiences of my life. Of course, as a band member, it’s really cool to see all the stage props and what’s happening. Imagine something like that as a band, with such outrageously beautiful stage props. That also helped me when I was writing the lyrics—thinking of the songs as fractions of this huge story and introducing characters. It helped me to think, “This person is entering now,” and to divide the roles of the singers, Petri and Pekka, and the backing choirs. It helped with the mental work. I don’t know if “musical” is the right word to describe it, but I couldn’t find a better one.
It’s not like a Broadway musical.
Sami: No, no, no. Exactly, it’s not like different people singing different roles, but it helped.
Considering that you have this big story and this book, would you ever like to see a movie with the music?
Sami: A really cool detail is that—well, this isn’t really a cool detail—but I never enjoyed making music videos that much. I think metal bands lack ideas. It’s usually just, “Yeah, go into the fucking forest and headbang.” Usually, the budgets don’t allow for much more. This was the first time I got really excited about making a music video. For this one, the whole band felt that it needed to be cinematic because the album is like that, and all the songs are entwined. So we decided to do animation. We don’t have a RAMMSTEIN budget, with actors, stage props, and movie sets. But I think it was Janne who found this guy, Marcin Halerz, who used to do black metal videos. We contacted a few companies, and many were good, but there was something about Marcin’s work and how he responded to our inquiry. We thought, “Okay, this is our guy.” Then we made the script with him. What’s cool is that even though his videos are great-looking, he sometimes wrote back to me saying his goal is always to top his last one. He was like, “You understand we don’t have the Lord of the Rings budget here, right?” And I was like, “I know, I know. But could you… is there any chance you could do this or that? Flying horses?” He said, “Well, fuck, I’ll make horses fly.” Then I asked, “Could you make this stone monster appear from there?” I could imagine him pulling his hair out. But yeah, if you watch the four videos—they’re going to be four—you can watch them in a row, and it’s going to be like a short movie. This is the first time I’m really excited about music videos.
I was going to ask about the flying horses because I thought that was pretty cool.
Sami: I think that came from Markus. Originally, in the story, that wasn’t there in my head. The storm vigilantes had something else that made them overpowered. It was fucking “Winter Storm Vigilantes,” the song. One of these conversations we had, “What’s in your mind?” and Markus was like, “Fucking armored flying horses! No Pegasus, no wings!” And I thought, “That’s so fucking awesome.” I think this was even before I started writing the book. So I modified the story—nothing has been written or published yet, so I can still edit it as much as I want. That’s the beauty of doing things together. One small word can make the whole thing take off, and I don’t just mean the horse—I mean the story, the lyrics, and the songwriting. Something small can kick you in the butt and get everything working.
Yeah, that’s pretty cool.
Sami: Sorry, I don’t remember the question.
There are no questions here. [laughs] In that sense, do you feel like you guys have somehow shaped his book?
Sami: Well, they did, actually. It’s not written yet, but yeah, they did.
We talked a little about your tours and obviously, you have an album coming out. Do you have anything else coming up?
Sami: Yes, actually, quite a lot of stuff. But we can’t…
You cannot talk about it!
Sami: Sorry… Check the official sites and all the social media channels and blah, blah, blah—you know the drill.
Markus: I guess there will be a lot of touring next year! At least, I hope so.
Sami: Yeah, me too. “Thalassic” was our most successful album, and it came out in the middle of COVID—just as it was starting. So, no touring. That was a big bummer. I mean, how could that not make you sad and pissed off? Of course, there were bigger things happening in the world, and people were losing their lives, but for us, you work on something for years, get good reviews and charts, and then it’s like, “Stay home, you motherfucker.” To go back to the rehearsal room and start writing a new album—it’s not the same, because you usually draw from years of touring experience for ideas and emotions. Suddenly, you’re thinking, “What the fuck are we going to do? What’s going to happen? Will we ever tour again?”
I think you did pretty well, considering the situation. In that sense, are you disappointed with how “Thalassic” did? You were still able to tour. Are you happy with the results despite the pandemic?
Sami: I think it was a really good album, and it’s cool. If you think about it, there’s “Cold Northland.” I think that song could have been on “Winter Storm.” It already had a bit of that mood.
Markus: Yeah, that’s true.
Sami: So it’s not like a complete disaster.
Alright! Thank you so much. The new songs sound absolutely great! That’s pretty much it for my questions. Do you have any last thoughts you’d like to share with your fans before we wrap up?
Sami: Enjoy the album!
Markus: Buy the new album!
Sami: Hope to see you at the shows. That’s it… all the usual. Spread the word so I can quit my day job and finish writing the book!
