Ensiferum is a true locomotive for melodic death metal, inspired by folk, which they hammer out more than ever with their eighth album "Thalassic." The title, which means in ancient Greek "of the seas or related to the seas," is a vast and varied repertoire that includes orchestrations and traditional folk instruments as well as roaring guitars, basses, and drums. "I think we have managed to take a step further musically and we have also used the best elements of our old songs," says bassist/vocalist Sami Hinkka. "There are a lot of trademarks of Ensiferum: beautiful folk melodies, ass-kicking riffs, a great mix of different vocals, and superb choruses." The arrival of new keyboardist/lead vocalist Pekka Montin has also "taken the new songs to another level," while Mikko P. Mustonen has once again overseen the orchestrations and violin virtuoso Lassi Logren has recorded folk instruments on a few tracks.