Maryland-based historical folk metal band ISENMOR has revealed a unique dual-violin video for “Drink to Glory,” the third single from their upcoming debut full-length, Shieldbrother.
The video showcases the band’s two violinists, Nicholas Schneider and Mark Williams, playing through the track on a riverbank, with the duo adding a fun touch by imbibing and bow-sword fighting between violin parts. Watch the music video now at
https://youtu.be/85m8nkY8y-c.
“On ‘Shieldbrother,’ we tend towards the darker, more brutal side of folk metal, but we still had to include the obligatory raucous drinking tune,” Schneider says. “While a bit of an outlier with how upbeat it is, ‘Drink to Glory’ is a crowd favorite at shows, with folks singing along and average bar tabs increasing dramatically.”
ISENMOR sings tales of harrowing battlescapes and historic foes in their gewyrdelic folk metal style: a blend of metal, orchestral, and folk music, combining intricate violin leads and rich vocal harmonies with a strong guitar-driven folk metal base inspired by the stalwarts of the genre including Týr, Ensiferum, and Eluveitie. “Gewyrdelic” is an Old English word that roughly translates to “historical.” The meaning of the term, as well as its etymology, describe ISENMOR’s lyrical and thematic focus on the history and legends of the Anglo-Saxon and Germanic peoples.
“Any society that has a settled enough lifestyle to stay put long enough for drink to ferment has learned to enjoy it, and to feel its ill effects,” Schneider explains. “In the heroic poetry of the Germanic peoples, mead, a brew made from fermented honey, is the drink of the halls of heroes. The praise for horns of mead may have marked its reputation as the drink favored by any who could get his hands on it, but honey has never been a common commodity, and the drink in most men’s horns would be an ale. For many, then as now, drink is an important ritual for celebration and social bonding, but overconsumption has ill effects, and for some the dangers are greater than the benefits. When you raise a cup to drink to glory, whether it has a beer, a water or whatever, we’ll drink with you all the same. Wes hal, drinc hal!”
Shieldbrother , available October 9, delivers tales of glory with the triumphant title track, sorrowful tales of woe such as the mournful “Battle Scarred” and the dirge-like “Mount Badon,” a 17-minute epic entitled “Sigurd’s Song,” the obligatory folk metal drinking song (with an ISENMOR twist), “Drink to Glory,” and more tales steeped in the myth and history of the dark ages. The album was self-recorded and mixed, then mastered by the legendary Dan Swanö of Unisound.
Together since 2014, the band has shared the stage with numerous international metal acts, has been featured as a repeat performer at the Maryland Folk Metal Festival and Pocono Folk, Pagan and Viking Metal Fest. With these performances and through the strength of the Land of the Setting Sun EP and the “Saxon Shore” single, the Maryland-based band has built a massive worldwide fanbase, as evidenced by the Shieldbrother Kickstarter campaign which more than tripled its goal in a few short weeks.
ISENMOR is:
Peter Lesko – Lead Guitar
Jon Lyon – Keys, Vocals
Tim Regan – Guitar, Vocals
Nicholas Schneider – Violin, Vocals
David Spencer – Drums
Mark Williams – Violin
Mike Wilson – Bass, Vocals
ISENMOR online:
