Review by Adam M on March 8, 2016.

This music here features a heavy power metal vibe, but adds folk influences as well. The sound is very positive and chirpy sounding. Take the fifth track, Burden of the Fallen, which is acoustic. This is a great example of the folk aspects that are largely found on One Man Army. The cheesiness of power metal is somewhat associated with these tracks, but the folk side brings things into a more interesting territory. The result is an uplifting marriage of different types of sounds.

This positivity is infectious and one of the standout qualities to be found here. The album resonates with a gleaming and beautiful approach that is welcome to behold throughout. The vocals alternate between harsh and operatic types. This leads to a bombastic approach that is slightly different than either the one typically used for power metal or folk. The track “Cry for Earth Bounds” displays this dichotomy of vocal aspects quite effectively and adds female vocals to the overall mix. It seems to me that the number of elements on display always prevents the album from being completely cheesy. The variety certainly helps here for the band to achieve a differentiation from similar bands. There is also the folk aspect that leads Ensiferum to be closer to Alestorm, but thankfully doesn’t approach the cheesiness of that outfit either.

Still, there is nothing overly different on this work as it sounds very similar to a number of other albums. This is perhaps the biggest flaw to be found in the work overall. It isn’t distinctive enough or stellar enough in any area to make too much of an impact. Still, those looking for great power and folk metal should find solace within the tracks on One Man Army. It’s a work of very good quality.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10