ENSIFERUM: First Two Albums To Be Released In U.K. With Bonus Tracks

Finnish folk-influenced melodic death metal act ENSIFERUM will have its first two albums made officially available in the U.K. for the very first time. The records in question — "Ensiferum" (2001) and "Iron" (2004) — will be released on March 30 via Spinefarm Records. Both albums will come with bonus material.

After entering the studio for the first time in the latter part of the '90s, ENSIFERUM has been constantly sharpening its sound, dispensing epic music heavy in both atmosphere and attack, with its most recent "Victory Songs" opus (reissued in the U.K. last year as a two-CD set with the "Dragonheads" EP) taking "folk/viking melodic metal" to a whole new level of grandeur.

The band will shortly be starting work on studio album No. 4, with September 9, 2009 already cast in steel as the day of release.

ENSIFERUM vocalist/guitarist Petri Lindroos was forced to miss the group's shows in Russia last November "due to serious illness," according to a posting on the band's web site. Former ENSIFERUM member Jukka-Pekka Miettinen played guitar on the Russian dates and vocals were "growled" by Sami Hinkka.

A clip of the band's November 15, 2008 performance in Moscow can be viewed below.