Off the Record with Sami Hinkka of Ensiferum

I’ve got a pretty long and storied history with Ensiferum, having gotten into them back when I moved to Finland in 2009 through Norther. I really enjoyed “Victory Songs,” but it was “From Afar” that blew my mind and made me into a fan back then. Since then, I’ve been following along with them throughout their career, with highs and lows per my taste, but what’s always been interesting is that no two people seem to agree on which are their best releases. “From Afar” remains my favorite of their releases, though I also found myself very pleasantly surprised with the sound in “Thalassic.” Considering I’ve been following the band for so long, and also just because Sami Hinkka is a lot of fun to chat with, we met online on September 19th to talk about the band’s past and present, as well as how many cats is too many. 

You can check out my previous album release interviews as well here: Pete Lindroos on “Two Paths” (2017) and Sami Hinkka on “Thalassic” (2020). Also, stay tuned for my album review!

Thanks for checking it out, and please do the usual subs and shares if you want to see more of these in the future!

Marko Hietala @ Suistoklubi, Hämeenlinna; 19.4.2023