Released	August 27, 2012
Recorded	February, 2012 – April 2012 at Petrax Studios in Hollola, Finland and Sound Supreme Recording Studio in Hämeenlinna, Finland
Genre	Folk metal, melodic death metal
Length	61:21
Language	English, Finnish
Label	Spinefarm
Producer	Hiili Hiilesmaa

Unsung Heroes is the fifth album of the Finnish folk metal band Ensiferum. It was released on August 27, 2012 through Spinefarm Records.

In February 2012, the band entered the studio and started recordings for the then untitled album. The band also announced on their Facebook page they would keep their fans up to date on their Mobile Twilight Tavern and with a weekly studio diary on Spinefarm’s YouTube channel. The album would also include guest appearances by members of Die Apokalyptischen Reiter and the Finnish singer and actor Vesa-Matti Loiri. In late March, the band was in the final stages of the recordings for the album and completed recordings in early April.

In May, the band revealed the title for the album, Unsung Heroes and announced its release date, August 27, 2012. The album would also be released through Spinefarm Records. Then in late June the band unveiled the album cover artwork, again designed by Kristian Wahlin. On July 9, they posted on their Facebook page a YouTube video with Burning Leaves, one of their new songs on the album.^[10]

On July 17, the band posted a link with the making of their new video clip for In My Sword I Trust, also a new song to be featured on the album. The video was shot in Wrocław, Poland by Grupa 13 who were also recruited for the recent video clips of other noticeable bands like Amon Amarth and Behemoth.^[11] The actual video was uploaded on August 8 on Spinefarm’s YouTube channel, which reached over a hundred thousand views within the first week.

Track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	“Symbols”	Instrumental	Petri Lindroos, Emmi Silvennoinen	1:51
2.	“In My Sword I Trust”	Sami Hinkka, Kalevala	Markus Toivonen	5:20
3.	“Unsung Heroes”	Hinkka	Toivonen	5:55
4.	“Burning Leaves”	Hinkka	Toivonen, Sami Hinkka, Lindroos	6:04
5.	“Celestial Bond”	Hinkka	Toivonen	4:15
6.	“Retribution Shall Be Mine”	Hinkka	Toivonen	4:27
7.	“Star Queen (Celestial Bond Part II)”	Hinkka	Toivonen, Hinkka	5:55
8.	“Pohjola”	Hinkka, Markus Toivonen, Yrjö Koskinen	Toivonen, Hinkka	6:05
9.	“Last Breath”	Hinkka	Hinkka	4:30
10.	“Passion, Proof, Power”	Hinkka	Toivonen, Hinkka	16:59
Total length:				61:21

Lyrics

1. Symbols

[Instrumental]

2. In My Sword I Trust

Many men have crossed my way
Promising peace and my soul to save
But I’ve already heard it all
I’ve seen what they made with their freedom
But I, I have no need for your god
The shallow truth of your poisonous tongue
Brothers, it’s time to make a stand
To reclaim our lives
Because only steel can set us free

Rise my brothers, we are blessed by steel
In my sword I trust!
Arm yourselves, the truth shall be revealed
In my sword I trust!
Tyrants and cowards for metal you will kneel
In my sword I trust
‘Til justice and reason will wield
In my sword I trust

The sword that shimmers in my hand,
Do you have the mind to eat the guilty flesh?
To drink the blood of those who are to blame?
The time of change is here, unveil your blade!

Rise my brothers we are blessed by steel
In my sword I trust
Arm yourselves the truth shall be revealed
In my sword I trust
Tyrants and cowards for metal you will kneel
In my sword I trust
‘Til justice and reason will wield
In my sword I trust

Cling your souls to your gods
Kneel, obey, follow their laws
Deceit, subjugate, cherish their greed
Disdain Verity, glorify futile faith

O Old Man,
Bring me a fiery fur coat
Put on me a blazing shirt
Shielded by which I may make war
Lest my head should come to grief
And my locks should go to waste
In the sport of bright iron
Upon the point of harsh steel
[Kalevala]

Rise my brothers we are blessed by steel
In my sword I trust
Arm yourselves the truth shall be revealed
In my sword I trust
Tyrants and cowards for metal you will kneel
In my sword I trust
‘Til justice and reason will wield
In my sword I trust
In my sword I trust

3. Unsung Heroes

Forgotten tomb hill
Unnamed graves
No light can reach there
Memories fade away

Only frozen soil
And eternal wind
Remember the sacrifice
Of those who are now buried in time

A Dauntless heart
A Righteous mind
No sign of fear
Cast aside
Left to die
Just one frozen tear

Unsung heroes
Forgotten valour
Unknown soldiers
Entombed in time

Only shadows grow
Where the forsaken lie
Hope buried in snow

A thousand scars
Regret none
But only the dead ones
Have seen the end of war

4. Burning Leaves

Passing aeons
Everlasting fight against the Evil
Their army grows on and on
With the darkening horizon

I’m not afraid, let them come
I will never retreat
I will stand and hold my ground
Protect the ancient tree
The defense is doomed to fall
With the world I used to know

Burning leaves
Turn to ash before my eyes,
Crushed my dreams long gone.

Burning leaves
Dead branches reach to the sky,
The flame within me is gone.

On the light of the last dying star
Serpents crawl closer
All five branches, cursed from the start
And roots are torn to pieces
Right before my dying breath
I lay my eyes to the sky
As an eagle spreads its wings for the last time
Leaving me, the oak, the grove, to die

Burning leaves
Turn to ash before my eyes,
Crushed my dreams long gone.

Burning leaves
Dead branches reach to the sky,
The flame within me is gone.

Liekö enää päällä maan
Ainuttakaan joka muistaa
Lehdon tuon kauniin kaukaisen
Jonne tie vie jokainen
Kun kuolemaan vartija viimeinen
Keskellä liekkien ikuinen
Puu ja maailma ihmisten
Niin loppuu aikamme
[English translation:]
I wonder if any longer someone walks the Earth who recalls
That fair Grove afar, where all paths meet
As the last of the guardians falls, ablaze the
Eternal Tree and Domain of Man
Thus ends Our Time

5. Celestial Bond

A long time ago I went to the shore
I whispered my wish to a breeze from the North
The wind took the wish high to the stars
Told them what I’ve missed with all my heart

I was mesmerized by the rolling tide
I lay on that shore and gazed into the skies
Like a shooting star, my dream was gone
I made up my mind
I don’t want to wake up

When will time heal and fulfil the dream of my heart?
When will we unite as one and light our own star?

All these memories I will treasure in my heart
Words are so vain
A bond beyond quintessence

For a thousand lifetimes
I will wait to feel
A passing moment of bliss
To be embraced by silence

6. Retribution Shall Be Mine

No sun rises today
No moon shares it’s light
Eclipse of soul
Growing breach of faith

Pierced by bitter deception
Chained to the darkness
Left to rot
Growing breach of faith
Left to rot with hate

I can’t escape from this living hell
But in my dreams the justice dwells
Betrayers are torn apart
And my hate will fade away with their blood

My hate runs deep
In the waters of grudge and unforgiveness

Leniency is for the weak
I’d rather die than show you mercy
Slaughter is yet to come

Retribution shall be mine!
Oh Gods of vengeance, fill my heart!

This is mine
The one and final fight
I choose not to die
With these demons by my side

7. Star Queen (Celestial Bond Part II)

The traveller’s heart is meant to be free
No obligations and soul redeemed
I knew that part wasn’t for me
When I met my star queen

Born in the stars, like all of us
But can two paths start from one?
Unite again somewhere in time
And light the brightest star in the endless sky

Oh Queen of Stars
How long until
Oh Queen of Stars
Dreams are fulfilled?

Years go by I thought I could forget
I lived in a lie, that’s all I regret
It’s better for a man to die by the sword
Than wither away with undying love

I wish that the wind will play with her hair
Touch her lips, tell I’ll be there
Longing for the moment for eternity
Light of a thousand stars will always come for me

8. Pohjola

Luonto ponteva Pohjannaan!
Milloin taas hänen nänhdä saan?
Milloin saanenkaan kesä-yöllä
Nähdä kirkkaalla sädevyöllä
Ympäröityä taivoaan?
Milloin laineilta Pohjan vetten
Nähdä hohtehen, nähdä ett’en
Lansna unta ma nähnyt vaan? –
Milloin Pohjolan nähdä saan?

Onhan nytkin sen tunturit
Jylhät, korkeat, kaunihit;
Vielä kaiketi kosket kuohuu;
Totta vieläkin virrat vuoltuu
Syvin uurtehin halki maan?
Eikö merikin yhä vielä
Huhdo rannikkoamme siellä?
Myrskyn virtt’ eikö kuulukkaan? –

Milloin, milloin sen nähdä saan?
Talvismaailman mahti uus’,
Lumitannerten ihannus,
Mustat metsät ja synkät salot,
Revontulien tummat palot,
Nekin luontoa Phojanmaan.
Eikö kaikk’ ole kannallansa?
Tokko mainio Pohjan kansa
Viel’ on vanhassa viomassaan? –
Milloin Pohjolan nähdä saan?

Kansa vankka, mi muinaisin
Seisoi miehuuden mittehin,
Vaarat hiihteli, kynti merta,
Tokko nytkin on vanhallaan?
Tooko voinee se sodan tiellä
Altiiks henkensä antaa vielä
Estä armahan isänmaan? –
Milloin, milloin sen nähdä saan?
[Yrjö Koskinen 1830 – 1903]

Pohjola, minun maa
Pohjaton, kaipuuni
Pohjannaula, mua johdata

9. Last Breath

Lying on the ground
As battle rages on
Warm blood covers
The cold land of our fathers

Don’t cry for me my son
Because I’m not the only one
Where I go you can’t follow
This journey I will make all alone

I’ve bled so many times for this land
But this wound will claim my life
Death commands me to give my hand

Let not my people
Live under oppression
And remember the darker the night
The more beautiful is the morning’s light

Fear no more
Just let go
Adore this world
Once more
The truth unfolds
In the Ancient Halls
Fear no more
Just let go

There is no shimmer of the light
In this pouring rain
I close my eyes
Has it all been in vain?

10. Passion, Proof, Power

Where to find the truth?
Questions linger through time
Unbreakable will and inquiring mind
Have always been the seeker’s guide

The Reason as my sword
The Knowledge as my shield
I’ll face my foes again and again
On the ancient battlefield

I can’t deny what I’ve seen
So towards the great unknown
I must keep going on

Stop your quest
Or with fire you’ll be cleansed
Confess…
Death…

Woe to the faith
Through dark centuries
The wait for the time
When all is revealed

Unbreakable
Stands through time
Dwells the proof of life
Eternal Earth of mine

Cleanse our souls
No good thoughts shall burn
Engulf the passion of life
Eternal Fire of mine

Carry it on
The ancient wisdom of mankind
Eternal Air of mine

Renew us within
Wash away
The remains of lies
Eternal Water of mine

Indivisible
Beyond death and life
The answer divine
Eternal Elements of mine

The gatekeeper of the knowledge
The One who was trusted the secrets of time and space once said:
To know is your destination
To find is your possibility
And to search is your quest.

Your path has merged with the truth.
But yet you refuse to see it
It’s easier to be afraid, to be deceived, to be a sheep
Be aware, question them, question yourself
Because once you see it, you can never look away

Every man’s
Horizon can change
But eternal skies
Will always stay the same

Like a new sun arises from winter’s cold and dark grave, it’s unstoppable.

Keep your twisted beliefs
Sons and Daughters of Dawn are calling me

The fire that burns my flesh
Shall light up the words I’ve said
The curse on my innocent name
Shall put all of you in shame

Woe to the man
Who disheartens the few
Who reach for the light
Who searches for the truth

I only have just one more wish
That this torch will be passed onto someone sentient like you
When your time comes, don’t lose your heart
Have faith and patience and trust in the flame before passing it onto someone new

The greatest power of all
Will force their gods to fall
The greatest power of all
Embrace, illuminate all!

I am, you are, no one’s slave
No man or god they have made

11. Bamboleo

[Limited Edition Bonus Track]
[originally by Gipsy King]

Este amor llega asi esta manera
No tiene la culpa
Caballo le ven sabana
Porque muy depreciado,
Por eso no te perdon de llorar
Este amor llega asi esta manera
No tiene la culpa,
Amor de comprementa
Amor del mes pasado
Bebele, bembele, bembele

Bamboleo, bambolea
Porque mi vida, yo la prefiero vivir asi
Bamboleo, bambolea
Porque mi vida, yo la prefiero vivir asi
No tiene pardon de dios
Tu eres mi vida, la fortuna del destino
Pero el destino tendressa para dos
Lo mismo yo que ayer
Lo mismo soy yo
No te encuentro a l’abandon
Es imposible no te encuentro de verdad
Por eso un dia no cuentro si de nada
Lo mismo you que ayer
Yo pienso en ti

Bamboleo, bambolea
Porque mi vida, yo la prefiero vivir asi
Bamboleo, bambolea
Porque mi vida, yo la prefiero vivir asi