Listen, I’m not naive. I didn’t come into Borderlands thinking that, just because the Under the Red Cloud/Queen of Time/Halo trilogy of album was wrapped up, that this new Amorphis record was suddenly gonna sound VASTLY different. The band has more or less been sticking to their distinct formula for making music for getting on about two decades now since Tomi Joutsen took over vocal duties, and though some may complain about the lack of progression or innovation from the band, I’ve always chosen to take it as an “if it ain’t broke” kind of situation, a mark of unmatched quality and consistency most bands could only dream to sustain over the course of their career.

But now… is Amorphis in on the joke? Or is this just fan service to celebrate the band’s history or something? Because the callbacks and similarities to the band’s back catalog found on Borderland are making me feel like maybe I’m the crazy one? Start just with the album art, which pulls clear inspiration from Tales from the Thousand Lakes, Silent Waters and Magic and Mayhem simultaneously. Shit, even the brick pattern on the bridge and the little symbol representing the “o” in Borderlands make me thing of bits and pieces of their last three records. AND THEN, the first goddamn track? It’s titled “The Circle.” THE FUCKING CIRCLE. Then there’s “Bones” (remember 2015’s “The Skull”?), “Light and Shadow” (2011’s “Battle for Light?!?”). I’m not insane, right???

Furthermore, once you get around to actually listening to the record, you’ll be forgiven if at times you don’t find yourself asking, “haven’t I heard this before?” Opener “Circle” comes right out of the gate sounding every bit like another Esa Holopainen-led record with very pretty, if familiar guitar work and Joutsen’s always top-notch range, clean vocal delivery, even if the vocal melody (particularly in the chorus) again feels like we’ve been all kinda been here before. The aforementioned “Bones,” while boasting a nice, relatively heavy (by Amorphis standards) main riff, also showcases some of those vaguely Egyptian/Arabic vibes strewn about the previous trifecta of albums, making one have to wonder if maybe the band hasn’t really quite closed the lid on that whole story.

And yet… I dunno, Amorphis still have a way of making the really familiar sound effervescent and alive? This album will face the same “rehash” criticism faced by every Amorphis record for decades, and somehow I still find myself getting drawn in to every new release. There’s an indelible energy attached to the band’s sound that I cannot help but be drawn to every single time I listen to them. The synth-led into the last part of “Dancing Shadow” genuinely gives me life, leading the way into the excellent “Fog to Fog,” with it’s simple but highly effective main riff and drumming that makes the song feel almost ritualistic, building up to yet another soaring chorus that brims with infectious light and energy I cannot help but get swept up in.

That lighter, more life-affirming kind of energy and vibe definitely dominates the front end of this album. There’s a brightness, particularly with the high-flying and dynamic synth work on display throughout Borderlands, that permeates the entire album and makes it feel fresh and exuberant.  The aforementioned “Dancing Shadow” is a prime example, along with another of the album’s first singles, “Light and Shadow,” both of which let Tomi’s cleans carry the day and set the tone of each track. But the back half definitely carries a bit more of a mysterious, if somewhat darker edge to it. On a record about the thin precipice between life and death, this is super clever and helps to tell a really vibrant story. While Tomi’s clean vocals take control in the first half, his amazing lows start to take charge over the latter, with tracks like The Strange” and “Despair” both offering a bit more of an edge to them. The former has a really catchy, chugging riff that balances nicely with Holopainen’s otherwise epic lead work.

“Tempest” offers a really nice change of pace, slowing things down a beat and bringing in a layer of really nice acoustic guitars that give the song some really warm depth that I really dig, especially as they lead up to one of the albums stronger choruses led by Joutsen’s bellowing harsh vocals, which still sound like some of the best in the game. The song also features a really beautiful bridge featuring more of those pretty acoustics, layered with some gorgeous strings that build up and up to a really epic synth/guitar solo tradeoff, marking one of the album’s true high points (this is, far an away, my favorite track on the album and one of the cooler songs the band has produced, in my mind). “The Lantern” also picks up some of those more progressive elements that add a really neat sense of wonder and mystery, emblematic of the album’s focus on navigating between the lands of the dead and the living.

At surface level, after the first initial listens of Borderlands, the easy conclusion is that this is just another Amorphis record, not much dissimilar to anything they’ve released in the last twenty years. But after repeat listens, you really start to hear all the little details and decisions that show a band making a concerted effort to make Borderlands it’s own unique listening experience. The other big difference with this record I’ve noticed after sitting with it for quite a bit (full disclosure, we received advanced streams of this one MONTHS ago), this is such an easy record to listen to. While Halo in some ways really challenged the listener with a heavier progressive presence, Borderlands instead relies on more simplified song structures – very much to its own benefit. It’s an album that begs repeat listens and encourages you to really sit with it from start to finish, allowing us to all really take in the full scope of what Amorphis set out to accomplish with this record without growing fatigued and overstimulated. Honestly, despite all odds, Borderlands is one of the band’s finest efforts, delivering everything we’ve all come to want and expect from Amorphis, but in a tighter and more complete package than maybe ever before. Somehow these guys keep ketting better, and I couldn’t be more grateful for it.

When I think of great live albums I think of Iron Maiden‘s Live After Death, Judas Priest with the perfect Priest… Live and of course Kiss Alive 1&2. However, I can’t think of this as a “live” album. Why? Zero crowd noise, no between-songs banter, not even a “What the fuck is up, Tavistia?!” I realize it’s a soundboard recording (I’d bet my watch and chain) so I shouldn’t be expecting those things I suppose.

Anyway, Tales From The Thousand Lakes is my favorite Amorphis album. After the Karelian Isthmus album that was heavy as elephant balls, they go and make a Melodic Death Metal album that knew how to tell a story. But…

Without getting too much into the weeds and just reviewing Tales From The Thousand Lakes all over again. With a good live album, the band will change up something or make an intro last longer, but that’s not the case here as Amorphis play them exactly as they were originally recorded, and don’t get me wrong, this album sounds amazing ; like, the mix is fantastically done.

I’m really want to talk about the songs, I mean there might be someone who has never heard of them before, and then there’s the people who are familiar with these super talented Finns.

OK, so real quick it starts with the instrumental “Thousand Lakes” and it sounds crystal clear, each track on Tales From The Thousand Lakes segues perfectly into the next, so that could explain the lack of banter with the crowd. But what I was really looking forward to was “Black Winter Day” and when it comes on, that keyboard intro just picks you up and lets you soar with the eagles.

Before that is “First Doom” and after it “The Drowned Maid” comes raging in. “To Father’s Cabin” is another standout and another example of what made Amorphis the powerhouse they are today. We’re also treated to their Abhorrence cover of “Vulgar Necrolaty” from their Privilege of Evil Ep and “My Kantele” from their magnificent Elegy album from 1996.

As far as for fans of go… early Opeth, early Entombed; you probably know already (I’m going to assume, anyway). So I’ll recommend this for the lovers (like me) and for the OSDM fans who are still rotting after all these years. Hail!

That same guy also just retired after a 35-year career with his company. So maybe he’s full of shit.

For their part, Amorphis has been around for 32 years now – though that 32 years could certainly be sliced up (like any band who’s been around that long) into different eras. A certain section of fans will tell you the band stopped existing after their first two records, The Karelian Isthmus and Tales from the Thousand Lakes, both featuring a more straightforward Death Metal approach than the more Progressive leanings the band would later become known for. From there, the band started integrating more clean vocals, taking more creative risks, doing the kinds of things that can tend to make lots of metal fans uncomfortable, and others giddy with joy. Depending on who you ask, the band may have either peaked with the more adventurous Elegy and Tuonela, or they marked the beginning of the band’s downward slide into weak-ass, noodling non-brutality (not my words, I’m just passing along others’ concerns).

For the sake of time, we’ll skip ahead to 2005, when long-time lead singer Pasi Koskinen was replaced by Tomi Joutsen, the man who still holds the position to this day, and one of my personal favorite metal vocalists of all-time. I guess that sorta gives away how I feel about Joutsen-era Amorphis, who since has grown into one of the world’s finest, most consistent metal acts. Their run of quality-to-incredible albums from 2006’s Eclipse, to 2018’s Queen of Time is a feat most fans could only dream of. That said, after 12 years featuring more-or-less the same lineup, it’s fair to say of late that the band has fallen into a little bit of a lane. An impeccably performed and composed lane, but let’s just say that by now you probably have a pretty clear idea of what new Amorphis material is gonna sound like – from Esa Holopainen’s gorgeous melodies to Joutsen’s signature mastery over beautiful crooning and bellowing gutturals alike, to Santeri Kallio’s whimsical keyboard interplay with the guitars, there’s a definite base recipe the band has been following for some time now.

Halo, to be frank, ain’t straying from the cookbook. Granted, that this is the final chapter in a trilogy of connected albums, maybe this shouldn’t be all that surprising – but Amorphis is hardly the first band to put together multiple interconnected albums, and many others have pulled off the feat while making each album have its own distinct character. Instead, Halo takes the same trends you found on Under the Red Cloud and Queen of Time and essentially turns them back around again with different arrangements; an expertly crafted blend of darkness and light, a continued emphasis on the progressive end of their sound while straying from the folkier elements found more prevalently on Skyforger and The Beginning of Times, and the band’s continued liberal use of Middle Eastern-inspired guitar and string elements and ethereal female vocal accents, making you feel as though you’re receiving sage guidance from a drugged-up oracle (look no further than first single “The Moon” to hear what I’m on about).

So was my colleague right after all? Is it time for a change?

There’s one major flaw to that line of thinking: Halo may not be especially unique or original in its overall presentation, but to call it “uninspired” seems terribly short-sighted. Its lack of new approaches can very easily be forgotten by the fact that this is a band still performing at an extremely high level. I apologize for making a sports reference to those of you smart, healthy individuals who find more useful ways to occupy their precious time (I am not one of those people), but at this point, Amorphis is very much like the Kansas City Chiefs: Immensely talented, let by two absolute geniuses at what they do (Tomi Joutsen is Patrick Mahomes and Esa Holopainen is Andy Reid in this comparison), but for 4 years now they’ve pretty much been doing the same shit. Does that make watching them any less exciting? Fuck no. They’re still one of the greatest shows on turf every time they hit the field, and while they may not be winning Super Bowls EVERY year, they’re always on the cusp of absolute greatness. Compare that with Amorphis and Halo; and the similarities become more clear.

The chugging verses or album opener “Northwoods” may indeed very similar to Queen… opener “The Bee,” but who cares? It still sounds frigging great. I still want the gorgeous leads and bouncy energy of “On the Dark Water”. I still want the endless stream of memorable, beautiful hooks and chorus like those of “The Wolf” and “War” that demand your attention and have you singing along in just a couple spins, the latter appropriately providing a level of seething aggression towards the end of the track that slaps with uncharacteristic venom. And is there room in my life for yet MORE of Esa Holopainen’s seemingly endless well of gorgeous guitar work?  Why yes, there is. Load up my plate with that familiar comfort and I’ll continue to go to town on it.

The band even manages to provide listeners with a track that is certainly among its best ever with “Where Seven Roads Come Together.” It’s a relentless, epic track that once again shows the seemingly symbiotic relationship this band has between its guitars and Santeri Kallio’s keys. The breakdown at the 4-minute mark that ushers in some of the band’s most cinematic vocal accents to date will put chills in your spine and raise the hairs on your arms with it’s grandiose glory. If it’s “inspiration” you’re looking for, you can’t find a finer example than this to prove the band isn’t sleepwalking through the process. Maybe I’m wrong – maybe Holopainen and fellow guitarist Tomi Koivusaari can just whip out dazzling leads and high energy riffs like these without even thinking about it – but one listen to the rousing “On the Dark Waters” or the ear worm of their first single “The Moon” makes it very hard for me to believe that this could be a mailed-in effort. They know what works, and they’re deploying every weapon at their disposal to continue their run of mastery at their craft.

Look, I applaud every band with longevity equal to Amorphis who are continuing to push their own boundaries and find new ways to add to their sound. It’s a noble pursuit. That said, there are some things, in their consistency, that just work. AC/DC have pretty much been playing the same beat since 1973, and most people aren’t raising a big stink about it. Similarly, the brand of progressive, melodic, high-quality metal that Amorphis have been delivering now for a truly impressive stretch of time continues to just feel right.

In 2022, they’re still pretty much the gold standard for what they do, and for a band that’s been at it for over 30 years, you can’t help but continue to admire the persistence. Amorphis are still Amorphis, and for me, that’s still plenty of reason to celebrate this latest offering.

Well, after hearing first single, “The Bee” from the band’s 13th album. The Queen of Time, I initially thought there might finally be a little bit of a let down, which would be completely excusable after such an amazing run of releases, as the song really didn’t do anything for me. However, after spinning the complete album for a while now, I can safely say The Queen of Time is yet another high quality, winning Amorphis album.

The album it seems to share more with is Circle, in that the album isn’t fully  rooted any sort of Finnish folk or mythology, and as a result is less inherently melancholic,  ‘folky’ or mystical , and more directly symphonic/orchestral, cemented with real flutes, strings, female vocals and choral/orchestral arrangements introduced to the band’s arsenal for the first time (fear not- this isn’t Dimmu Borgir levels of cheese of theatrics) . Also, when this new element is added to the return of bassist Olli-Pekka Laine, who performed on the band’s first 7 albums, the already well oiled, svelte, proggy 70s keys (“We, Accursed”), Middle Eastern sway (“The Golden Elk”, “Grain of Sand”), saxophone (“Daughter of Hate”) and atmospheres ,The Queen of Time is the band’s most commercial, rock based but soaring, triumphant and uplifting release of the band’s career.

After the aforementioned “The Bee”, second track “Message in the Amber”, delivers an initially somber ballad-ish track, before a flute laden canters and epic choral bridge signals the album’s arrival for real, and the next next 8 tracks show a band in top form, and incredible achievement after a 25 year career. ‘Wrong Direction”, the album’s second single, can only be described as ‘classic’ Amorphis, even with the mostly clean vocal delivery, but the epic climax is completely worth it.  If “Wrong Direction” is classic Amorphis, “Heart of the Giant” is the band tweaking the sound with a little more sneaky experimentation, where the orchestral arrangements are brought to the forefront of a shifty, radio ready rocker/heavy metal number delivered with Joustsen’s gruff tones.

Speaking of Joutsen, he  still has a perfect balance of silky smooth croons and well placed cavernous growls, but now when backed by the new orchestral and choral elements- it’s downright majestic as all get out. Just listen to “We, Accursed” or album standout, penultimate track  “Amongst Stars” where former The Gathering star Anna van Giersbergen duets with Joutsen to create an utterly glorious, mesmerizing chorus that stands as one of the band’s finest moments ever. How this wasn’t the lead single baffles me…

The album ends with somewhat of a let down, considering the prior track’s sheer, epic  elegance, as “Pyres on the Coast” is a somber , slower track but has a nice mid/end song movie sound track-ish orchestral bridge, that could have been developed and used more to end the album on a real high note. Still, The Queen of Time is yet another outstanding effort from an outstanding band that shows zero signs of letting up or slowing down, even with the likes of Noumena and Wolfheart nipping at their heels.  Bravo.

I expect that to change with the release of Under the Red Cloud, their 12^th studio release. This is going to get a lot of plays over the next few years as well, because it’s Amorphis at their absolute best. All of the signature elements are here: gorgeous folk melodies played with clear, singing lines atop heavier guitar; cavorting flute and pounding Hammond organs; Tomi Joutsen’s soaring, ragged-king vocals; and a progressive-rock melding of all of these elements that’s both ambitious and effortless. There’s also a much stronger focus on bigger riffs and death vocals than in years – many of the album’s songs are dominated by growls, though there’s a stirring chorus in each as well.

“Under the Red Cloud” is a rousing anthem with a clear folk melody, a melancholy vocal, simple guitar crunch backed by stately organ, and a classic Amorphis chorus. Add in a touch of growls for accent and a rapturous keyboard–driven solo, and you have the best album intro since Skyforger‘s “Sampo.” Then Amorphis switches it up in the verses for the next one, “The Four Wise Ones,” with commanding growls and no cleans. When was the last time they did a death-only song? A softer dirge-like bridge, backed by flute, soft choral voices, and a heavily distorted angelic vocal – as if bubbling up from beneath still water – keeps the mood somber, though melancholy does not mean listless.

The faster riffs and the effect of all of these textural and melodic layers working together in each track are thrilling. That layered approach really shines throughout the rest of the album – as well the band’s renewed embrace of both light and dark. I also love how the band has developed a varied palette even within this approach.

Some tracks enlist lighter instruments like flutes to help carry the main melody, but others, like “The Skull” go heavier and groovier with crashing organs. “Dark Path” kicks off with a delicate piano, but turns out to be one of the album’s darkest and most crushing tracks, with its most malevolent vocals yet.  “Death of a King,” the exotic first single, and soon to be another band-classic, pulls in Middle Eastern sitar and tribal drumming into its intro before trading them up for a whistling flute. Instant cue back to Tuonela, though that album was fairly light compared to this one so it’s the best of all worlds. “Tree of Ages” pulls both halves together – dancing folk melody and pounding, percussive riffs – for a climax that embodies the spirit of folk metal, and then somber album closer “White Night” brings in a whispery female vocal (guest Aleah Stanbridge) for a cinematic and satisfying denouement.

Although there are no significant experiments or changes to Amorphis’ sound on Under the Red Cloud, it simply shines with a renewed vigor and energy. The return of consistent death vocals is a much better showcase for the band’s versatility than on the previous two albums, but without losing any of the soaring and stirring melodies that they’ve mastered over the years. Everything has been polished to the point where I would give this, Skyforger, and Tales from the Thousand Lakes as my top 3 picks to anyone curious about Amorphis’ sound. Instant classic for the band and one of the year’s most refined releases.

Oh yes, we really like it a lot. It has a fresh sound compared the last couple of albums. We had a little crisis after we heard the first mix of the album because we got used to the sound of the last couple of albums and we were a bit worried if this was the sound we wanted. Then we played these mixes through and played them for some of our friends and once we started listening to the mixes more and more, we started to really like the sound of the instruments. The guitars are definitely more up front and it’s a much more guitar-oriented album. We really got excited about the reaction from the fans and it’s (been) great.

The first thing I noticed was that though Circle is very clean, the guitars are much rawer than in recent years; they are much more organic. Was that something you were aiming for?

Not really. When we went to the studio and first met with our producer, Peter Tägtgren, he didn’t want to hear any of the demos because he wanted to hear the tracks for the first time in the studio when we start to record. At that point he knew right away that these needed to have the guitar sound much more up front. So we started to really focus and get to work. I really had a lot of great fun recording the guitars and all the stringed instruments. What we did was take the basic sound we were using and then used some old Marshall 800s and hooked them up to some old distortion pedals and basically made a chain of the sounds we used on our other Amorphis albums throughout our career. The results came out really aggressive and really organic, as you said.

In the humble opinion of someone who has listened to Amorphis since The Karelian Isthmus, I think this is the best album you’ve done with Tomi (Joutsen, vocals) and the best album since Tuonela.

Well, the easy thing to say would be that it’s a collection of everything we’ve done in the past. It definitely has a strong touch of the earlier albums and I think that was the (goal) of Peter from the beginning, to get some of that old feeling into these songs. It’s very different from the last couple of albums we’ve done. I definitely love every album we’ve done with Tomi but this one, along with Eclipse which was his first album with us, is the best one. With Circle, for him, it’s a huge step further. It has a lot of elements of his voice that he hasn’t used before. With Tomi, this is the first album with him being more aggressive or more darker than before.

After listening to Circle so many times already, I think it’s actually more reminiscent of Elegy than anything else. While it won’t be mistaken for a clone of Elegy, the tempo changes, the folk-infused elements, the organic feel to it, the clean-yet-raw sound, etc. remind me quite a bit of it. Would you agree with that?

Yeah I would definitely agree with that because I feel that it shares a lot of musical ideas from that album. Sound-wise it’s not that far from what we did on Elegy. There’s definitely a lot of similar elements in the air and the contrast between the vocals are really there. So I do think it’s closer to Elegy and perhaps Eclipse than any other previous album we’ve done. And I don’t know; it’s a positive thing, I guess, because a lot of fans have wanted for us to do a similar album to what Elegy was. I’m sure some people will be disappointed with the songs because it’s not exactly what we did on the last album, but for us it’s what we really wanted to do.

And that’s the most important thing: doing what you want to do.

Yeah. Sure, exactly.

So many musicians, when looking back on their past albums, will always gripe about certain things. They wish they can change the sound to this, the arrangement of that. It seems that they’re never fully satisfied. Circle is obviously still very new to you guys but is there anything that drives you nuts about the album? Is there something or things that you wish you could go back right now and fix?

[Laughs] I think it’s pretty much what we wanted. I guess it’s impossible to do a perfect album. I don’t know what a perfect album is anyway, but it is exactly what we had in mind. We had about 20 tracks when we started to do demos – we had a lot of songs – so out of these 20 songs we started to actually rehearse 14 for the album sessions. During the album sessions, we realized it was the nine tracks that we want. We didn’t want to take any add-on tracks for the album. Every time you release an album, you kind of realize that you’ve gone overboard with some of the tracks and we wanted to avoid that this time around. Once we started to go over the tracks, it was the easy choice to take these tracks because it was (then) our album. This was the first time that all six guys in the band shared the same opinion. Usually there are some guys who have their favorite tracks and then there’s a crisis inside the band when you have to drop some songs [chuckles].

So far from everything I’ve read, Circle has gotten very positive reviews. When Amorphis releases a new album do you expect to get mostly positive reviews? And when a new album of yours isn’t liked by some people, what goes through your head?

We’ve gotten used to receiving positive feedback and especially with Circle, it seems like everybody enjoys it and for Amorphis’ work, it’s a great work. Of course it feels great because the effort you put into the album and the songs… It takes altogether, when you start to compose the songs, the rehearsals, the recording, and the mix, it can take a year and a half. It’s pretty intense work and you’re surrounded by the songs all the time. You’ve gone through different mixes and different versions and all the tracks become so close to you. The album itself becomes really, really important. But it’s music and in music, you can’t please all the people and you can get some negative critics as well. You should take it (in stride) but still it’s the same as if somebody says you have ugly kids [laughs]. It’s the feeling you get sometimes but you have to tell yourself that it’s just part of the (music industry). That’s the way this thing works.

Speaking of the industry, these interview “tours” everybody does have to get tedious and boring after a while. You’ll do several interviews a day for several days and you’re getting asked mostly the same questions over and over.

[groans with a chuckle]

What questions just make you cringe when they’re asked?

Yeah it gets a little… I try to do it the easy way now because I used to give the record labels a lot of time every day. I’d tell them I could do five hours a day that would turn into like ten interviews a day. At that time it starts to get very boring. What I do now is I try to do about four or five interviews a day. I like to do shorter hours a day but with more days for the interviews rather than one or two huge five or eight-hour interview days. That kills me after a while. But, yeah, there are some questions… Like when I used to get asked all the time about Kalevala, the book where a lot of themes for Tales from the Thousand Lakes came from and we’ve been asked that question hundreds and hundreds of times. Of course, we still explain it all, but it’s extremely boring. Everything related to the new album and related to the band is nice to talk about, that stuff is usually not boring (laughs).

Back to Circle. In my opinion, the best, most powerful song on the album is “Narrow Path.” It’s a near-flawless song. What do you feel is the strongest of the album?

I have several songs. I like “Narrow Path” as well. I like “Shades of Gray”, the opener of the album; that has become my favorite track. I always like the songs that end our albums, too, so “A New Day” is another. It leaves a good feeling when you listen to it, and it hopefully it will make you want to listen to the album again.

Music fans – especially in metal – tend to usually stick to a band’s earliest records and then deem anything newer as not as good or that the band “sold out.” With Amorphis, it seems that most long-time fans prefer Tales from the Thousand Lakes to everything else. When fans or the metal media ask about that album or gripe that you’re “not the same” anymore, what goes through your head? That has to irritate you.

I was reading an article in a metal/hard rock magazine from Finland and the theme was about Amorphis and how there are a certain amount of people waiting for us to do another album like Tales from the Thousand Lakes. Something like that would be impossible. Even if we were to write the same songs now, it doesn’t serve the purpose anymore. It was a different time. Those songs are much more related to the listener; it’s not so much the band. It’s about the listener and how they felt at the time when they first heard the record, like if they were a teenager and it made an impact on them. The same thing goes for Metallica with Ride the Lightning or Master of Puppets and why don’t they do another one just like those? Those albums are so much more related to the listener and what they were going through at the time. If you listen to Tales…, it gives you a nostalgic feeling. It gives you this feeling of how you were when you heard it and that you miss your old days. It’s really hard to do something that would top what touched these people. The same might not happen to them today because it’s a different time.

It’d be virtually impossible to recreate that exact feeling, sound and atmosphere today. There are different members in the band and it was almost 20 years ago. You’ve all changed as people and musicians.

Yes, exactly. A lot of times what these people don’t understand is that it’s really not a problem making another album like Tales… but that we really can’t touch them with our music anymore because that was that time a long time ago and this is today. The listener has changed so we could never touch them the same way. So they just keep listening to the album because it gives them good feelings and brings back good memories of the old days.

Was the writing process of Circle challenging this time around? Was anything different with the creation of Circle compared to all the others?

The writing and composing of the songs for this one was actually a very, very nice process. We had a lot of ideas beforehand that we knew would sound great once we got into the studio to record the tracks. So we already had a good feeling in the rehearsals. I think we were really prepared when we went into the studio so there wasn’t many challenges. I think the biggest challenge was with Tomi and working with his vocals. I think most of us and Peter beforehand – and we know how he works; he’s an old friend – but I think the challenge was with Tomi and his vocals. Peter is not a clean singer, he’s a growler on his Hypocrisy albums; he doesn’t have a lot of harmonies in his voice. So I think that was the most challenging. But they got some time together and they started to work well and from there it really went smoothly. This is probably the first album we’ve done where Tomi has made a huge, huge impact. His range with his vocals and with his lyrics and the songs are great and (though) it was a challenge, I think he proved to everyone (of that) with his work.

Looking back at the very beginning when you first started the band in 1990, did you ever envision that you’d still be here today having accomplished what you have and how far you’ve all come as artists?

No, no, no. Not with this kind of music. When you first start up a band, it’s just with your friends. You all go to a place and rehearse and then eventually you start to create something. From there you start to prepare and go into a studio to record a demo. When we finally got interest from Relapse Records and they wanted to release our album, it was like a dream come true. I would have been happy back then if we would have split up and said, ‘Okay, we have this band and we released an album [chuckles]. But it’s been pretty amazing, everything that has happened. We just take things step by step. We released Tales… and that became a successful album. We got opportunities to tour abroad and we finally started to operate like a “real” band. We got agents behind us and other people working for us and it’s been amazing. If you compare it to today, as a band we work in the same way but on the other hand there are more and more outsiders working with the band as well. It has become a real company or organization these days.

Amorphis is scheduled to tour all over Europe for the next several months. Are there any plans on coming back to the States?

Yes, definitely. We are still trying to work that out. It’s been too long since we’ve been able to do a proper tour of the United States. I think we really would like to do it with two or three other bands so it would make more sense to do it as a proper (full-length) tour. That’s something that is always in the air and with this new album I really hope we can do a proper North American tour.

Now I’m going to ask you ten quick questions and it’s your job to answer them as quickly as you can.

[Laughs] Okay.

The best band to ever come from Finland is…?

It has to be Nightwish.

The one city in the world that has the best-looking women is…?

Stockholm.

The one thing you always need on tour but you can never get is…?

A woman

A woman?! I figured that would be easy considering you’re a rock star!

[Laughs loudly]

Who has the better dreadlocks; Tomi or Jeff Walker from Carcass when he had them?

Oh, Tomi!

True or false – The best Amorphis song ever written is “Weeper on the Shore”.

False

Bonus question – What is the best Amorphis song ever written?

I have strong feelings for “My Kantele” because it’s a pretty important song for me.

The best city in the world to play live is…?

Esa Holopainen: Whoa… No comment [laughs].

Norway has its trademark black metal. Sweden has its trademark death metal. Denmark has Mercyful Fate. Finland has…?

Folk metal.

What is one city you’d love to play live but so far have never been able to?

Auckland, New Zealand.

Roger Waters or David Gilmour?

Oh that’s a difficult one. As a composer, Roger Waters.

While on tour, what is the hardest to come by – a good shower, good food, or good sleep?

Esa Holopainen: A good night’s sleep.

www.amorphis.net

10th studio album The Beginning of Times also brings some old and familiar sounds back as well – notably, the Finnish folk melodies that made Tales from the Thousand Lakes and Elegy such haunting, foreign and fascinating listens. Not too surprising either, considering that the album is another mythological saga based on the Kalevala, this time focusing on the travails of iconic demigod Väinämöinen.

Tracks like “Battle for Light,” “Song of the Sages,” the jangly, martial “Crack in a Stone” and the epic title track bring in overtly folk elements like traditional flutes or the progressive folk-synths the band used earlier in their career. These make these songs sound like modern updates of Elegy, which should make long-time fans very happy. Other tracks like “Three Words,” “Escape” and first single “You I Need” sound more like the rousing material off Silent Waters and Eclipse; muscular and solid, even as their melodies take them soaring into the clouds, leaving the earth far below. I also never get tired of how easily Tomi is able to switch between his bloody growls and honey-thick cleans, and the band’s effortless songwriting gives him the perfect platform for those transitions.

And then there’s a new touch as well – female vocals. No, don’t cringe – Amorphis hasn’t gone all Napalm Records on us. An ethereal soprano is used elegantly and sparingly on the gorgeous, cascading “Mermaid” and then later as a duet with Tomi on the reverential, vaguely Semitic-sounding “Soothsayer.” (They also appear on the saccharine Broadway-ballad “On a Stranded Shore,” the album’s only yawner.) Given the stronger folk leanings of The Beginning of Time, the female vocals add a lovely sense of warmth and history, yet without really softening Amorphis’ sound – because let’s face it, the band has had a sumptuous, silky quality for a long time now.

However, I can’t help but feel that as enjoyable and appealing as this all is, there’s nothing here that takes me to the rapturous heights of Skyforger’s best moments. That’s not only my second favorite Amorphis album behind Lakes, it’s also one of my favorite albums of the 2000’s, and that’s largely due to epic, progressive stunners like “Sampo,” “Silver Bride,” ”Sky is Mine” or the title track. Each of those tracks started with a spare, organic looseness, then built up in strength and tone before exploding with emotion and catharsis. The only two tracks here that come close to Skyforger’s triumphs are “Mermaid,” which I’ve already covered, and the majestic  “Reformation,” which manages to be both melancholy and uplifting at the same time.

Most of The Beginning of Times, though beautiful and stirring, stays on a more even keel, with fewer surprises in pacing or mood. It’s also worth mentioning that when I plugged the album into iTunes, it was labeled as “Melancholic Rock,” but most of what’s here still sounds fairly upbeat, so I’d call it “wistful” at best.

I’ve been listening to The Beginning of Times every day for more than a week now, and it’s a solidly constructed, consistent and appealing album. That may sound like damning it with faint praise, but that’s not true – it’s just no Skyforger. And anyway, a very good Amorphis album is still a terrific album by any other standards. You can still expect to find this on my top 10 come year’s end.

You only need to listen to these songs to appreciate just how good the band were early on, and though this CD basically glosses the already definitive tracks with some of the band’s more recent proggy textures and of course the new line up, specifically vocalist Tomi Joutsen, the new lick of paint is still a nice touch.

From 1992’s debut album, The Karelian Isthmus, you get the cover of Abhorrence’s brutal “Vulgar Necrolatry”, “Exile of the Sons of Uisliu” and the earthy “The Sign from the North Side” and these three tracks are the ones that benefit the most from the new sheen and synths, seeing as the band were basically a Stockholm styled death metal band for the debut. In particular, hearing “Exile of the Sons of Uisliu” (my first introduction to the band from 1992s Death… Is just the Beginning II compilation) is pretty nostalgic and the new version is pretty darn impressive also. “The Sign From the North” and “Vulgar Necrolatry” are just nice to hear because is shows Amorphis at their most brutal and down-tuned, even with the cleaner hues.

1994’s classic Tales From the 1000 Lakes is heavily represented by “Magic and Mayhem”, “Into Hiding”, Black Winter Day”, “The Castaway”, “Drowned Maid”. All of which sound as brilliant as they did 15 years ago. Though Joutsen’s clean vocals aren’t quite as impressive (notably on the otherwise still breathtaking “Black Winter Day”), they aid with adding a little more modern character to the already classic tracks. Still, one can’t help shudder with nostalgic glee, (how can you forget the first time you heard the start of “Into Hiding”?) as even with the slightly more proggy window dressing, the tracks all stay true to their original versions. My only personal gripe is that my very favorite track from the album, “In the Beginning” wasn’t included in the re-recording treatment.

The tracks from 1996’s more progressive masterpiece, Elegy (“My Kantele”, “On Rich and Poor”, “Song of the Troubled One” and “Against Widows”) initially seem a bit redundant, because that album saw the bands turn into more 70’s/prog pastures anyway, so the new polish doesn’t seem as immediately noticeable. But I can’t deny just hearing the brilliance of “My Kantele” (where Joutsen’s voice works much better) with just a couple of new nuances. Where is “Elegy” though? As a bonus, you get Amorphis’s redo of the bands cover of The Doors‘ “Light My Fire” — one of the better, most fitting covers ever done by a death metal band in the mid 90s.

In all, Magic & Mayhem – Tales From the Early Years isn’t really a must have purchase if you already own the band’s early discography, but even die hards might be curious to hear some of the classic tracks with a spiffy new delivery. New fans should grab this as it essentially serves as a ‘Best of…” of one of metal’s most influential acts and contains some of the best metal ever laid down in the 90s.

Well I’m happy to report my expectations were met and even exceeded. First off, and the main sticking point with bands of this nature and stature, fans of Elegy as well as the last two albums will be pleased to hear that the mix of clean vocals and gruff growls is about the same with the growls being well placed and timed amid the Joutsen’s improved silky croon.

Musically, I’ve felt that the last two albums have been progressively the best albums Amorphis have released since Elegy, and that applies again for Skyforger as it ‘feels’ like Elegy in both mood and scope. The mix of despondent harmonies, delicate 70’s/folk synths and hefty, growl backed moments of poetic, melodic metal clicks and melds perfectly on Skyforger as tracks like opener “Sampo”, and especially the duo of  “Silver Bride”  and “From the Heaven of My Heart” as well as “Highest Star”, “Course of Fate” and the title track all epitomize the Amorphis sound that they perfected on Elegy. Soaring, epic melodies and downright catchy yet melancholic crunchy riffs and structures plied with the sense of songwriting confidence as only Amorphis can deliver. As with “Perkele (The God of Fire)” from Eclipse and “A Servant” from Silent Waters and things even get surprisingly heavy for the likes of “Majestic Beast” and personal favorite “From the Earth I Rose”. Of course the whole thing is delivered with the top notch production values and somber, folky hues you’d expect from an Amorphis album.

The US jewel case version of Skyforger comes with a bonus track, “Godlike Machine” a bit of a let down after the mournfully majestic “From the Earth I Rose”, but it has a nice keyboard section towards the end. However, one should not really complain about extra Amorphis especially when it adds a cherry to an otherwise excellent slab of Finnish cake.

Silent Waters is significantly better than Eclipse. Seriously. It’s a lot better. Eclipse left me feeling unsatisfied for some odd reason. It was a solid album and a huge step forward, but it sure didn’t last long in my rotation. I popped this puppy in and I was suddenly surprised by how much more aggressive the band has gotten. If for any reason you felt something was missing with Eclipse, you will be fully satisfied by this album.

With that said, Amorphis have stepped up the song writing. That’s impressive considering how this band has played in the past. This act takes you on a journey. They tell stories and the music is something to experience with full attention. Silent Waters showcases a more aggressive sound for the band. “Weaving The Incantation” leads us off with powerful riffing and slamming drums. Keeping a steady pace Amorphis still holds a strong doom-laden sound at times. Track five, “I Of Crimson Blood”, is a prized piece of music nonetheless. The song starts with a melancholic piano passage and soon enough drums lead into soaring epic whole notes that make this a triumphant tune to raise your fist to. It’s songs like this that bring back the old Amorphis we love.

New lead man Toni Joutsen is a seriously underrated vocalist. This guy has a massive set of lungs on him. His clean vocals are perfect and lean towards a more mainstream sound, but that will never take away from his colossal death roars. Toni has proven that he can hang with the best when it comes to death metal vocals. I’d put this guy in the top ten at the very least. Quite a feet for a band to find someone this talented after having a man like Pasi for close to 15 years. With Toni Joutsen at the front of the stage Amorphis are leaders yet again.

The happier upbeat aspect of this band is still there. That’s just Amorphis. They can be heavy as hell, super melodic, psychedelic, and Maiden like victorious all at once. The Maiden appearance is quite relevant in Silent Waters. At times you can really hear it.

If you visited Eclipse I’m positive you will love Silent Waters. For fans of Tales of a Thousand Lakes and Elegy, don’t even hesitate to check this out. Amorphis are on top of their game yet again in an almost 20 year career. Much respect.

So I didn’t have very high expectations for Eclipse despite some of the return to glory hype that I was hearing it. I don’t quite know if it’s a return to glory (and of course there are some fans who would argue they never fell from grace), but the record is surprisingly enjoyable. New vocalist Tomi Joutsen seems to have injected a little new energy into Amorphis, not to mention bringing back the death vocals, albeit in a minor role. One of the things I loved about Elegy was the interplay of clean and death vocals, and it’s nice to hear it again at least a couple of times here. Joutsen’s voice is a good fit with the style of the album, with the clean vocals having a bit more of a modern rock sound than his predecessor Pasi Koskinen.

As they have frequently before, Amorphis turns their attention to Finnish mythology for inspiration, taking the story of Kullervo from the epic “Kalevala” as the concept for the album. Kullervo is a tragic figure, somewhat akin to Oedipus in Greek mythology. His father is killed by his brother Untamo, who then sells Kullervo as a slave. When he escapes slavery, he finds his family alive, but his sister missing. He later, unkowingly, meets and seduces his sister, who kills herself out of shame. Out of revenge, Kullervo kills Untamo and his family and later kills himself.

OK, this is about music, not Finnish mythology, but I explain the story so that I could say that the music on this album is very fitting for such a dark and twisted tale. It’s overall somber and melancholy, but with occasional roars of anger and rage. At times, I am reminded of Elegy, but at others, it’s a much more ethereal and moody, occasionally reminding me a little of fellow Fins Sentenced or some of Opeth’s mellower work.

The album opens solid with “Two Moons,” showing the band locked into a groove and announcing to the world there’s a new vocalist in the mix. The goth influence starts to come in on “House of Sleep,” which mixes a commercial-sounding opening with a verse and chorus that evokes Sentenced. We welcome the death vocals back into the fold with the third track “Leaves Scar,” which opens with a folky, acoustic intro leading into a nice heavy riff and the first Amorphis growls in a long time. “Perkele (The God of Fire)” provides the heaviest track on the album, showcasing the death vocals more than any other. It’s certainly not as heavy as anything from Tales from the Thousand Lakes, but it does approach Elegy. On the other end of the spectrum, but equally impressive, is “The Smoke,” which opens with a surprisingly upbeat drum and bass groove and a guitar lick that reminds me of one of the few electric licks on Opeth’s Damnation. The brief death vocal bits on the song are used to perfection and provide a great punctuation on the clean vocals.

Fans looking for the more complex structures of the band will appreciate “Born From Fire,” a mid-tempo number with some cool layered guitar themes and nice slower interludes. There are also plenty of folk and traditional influences throughout the album to appreciate. You won’t really find any big epic numbers on this album like you might expect for the style of music. Most check in around 3 1/2-4 minutes, with only the final track, “Empty Opening,” reaching the 7 1/2-minute mark.

Eclipse marks a return to a heavier form of music for Amorphis while maintaining the atmospheric, ethereal sounds they’ve experimented with on the past few albums. Fans of those records may be a little disappointed with what is, in some ways, a step back toward an older style, but there’s enough experimentation here to keep it fresh. I personally like the record better each time I listen to it, as I discover some new small touch that I missed the last time through. For the first time in a long time, this album has made me look forward to what Amorphis will do in the future.

After one year of its release, their latest effort Far From The Sun is finally seeing the light of day outside of the Scandinavian region, where it had previously failed to make any lasting impression on the commercial and critical world at large. Judging by the strength of the opening numbers you would be hard pressed to understand why it was overlooked. The single ‘Day Of Your Beliefs’ is probably the band’s strongest showing since the mid ‘90s, displaying a powerfully catchy folk melodic refrain that gives way to a truly massive sounding chorus that’s bound to please any fan yearning for something resembling their classic Elegy material. Similarly, ‘Planetary Misfortune’ kicks off with an immense eastern influenced guitar riff that is strong enough to leave even Ritchie Blackmore with green eyes, while boasting Pasi’s most varied performance ever, utilizing dual vocal melodies to maximize the emotional impact.

 Unfortunately, things go a little pear-shaped after this, with tracks like ‘Evil Inside’ and ‘Mourning Soil’ failing to register, giving the impression of phoned-in performances and general lack of attention to detail, qualities never associated with this band in the past. Even the title track doesn’t fully get out of third gear, with only Esa’s fluid lead work being the sole point of interest. ‘Ethereal Solitude’, with its vaguely melancholic undercurrent, picks up things temporarily before plunging to its lowest with ‘Killing Goodness’, an embarrassing amalgam of Cathedral-style riffing and the worst of ‘70s progressive rock keyboards.

The remaining tracks spend most of their time attempting to lock into some kind of meditative pastoral retro-rock vibe that drifts everywhere and nowhere. It’s not that Amorphis have necessarily released a bad album here; it’s just a thoroughly unenthused one, lacking the powerful emotional drive and memorability that characterizes their best work. Pasi’s recent departure may offer some kind of explanation for this disengaging offering, perhaps suggesting internal conflicts that might have impacted negatively on the birth of this recording.

 In any event, let’s just consider Far From The Sun an anomaly in a previously unsullied career of one of the finest European metal bands of the last decade and hope for the best next time.
NOTE: The U.S. version features five (5) bonus tracks

Am Universum, their latest effort, shows the band leveling off a bit into the melodic, spacey landscapes of Tuonela, while still bringing in a few surprises and embellishments. The album blends hypnotic guitar effects, rich organ and sax layers, pulsating rhythms and passionate melodies in what is already a major contender for ‘album of the year’ honors. Producer Simon Efemey helped the band’s individual members bring forth their most complete performances ever. Vocalist Pasi Koskinen shows the most overall improvement, giving what is easily his smoothest and most comfortable recorded performance. The death growls, that barely showed themselves on Tuonela, are almost non-existent here. They’re mainly confined to exclamations more so than actual lyrical delivery. New bassist Niclas Etelavouri falls in perfectly with drummer Pekka Kasari. Their dark, throbbing grooves will make almost anyone start swaying and tapping their feet instantly. Keyboardist Santeri Kallio weaves ambience and texture into every fiber of the record, with a balanced mixture of digital effects and Hammond organ. Guitarists Esa Holopainen and Tomi Koivussari thicken the brew with deep distortion tones and atmospheric effects, knowing when not to play as well as when to. Session saxophonist Sakari Kukko could almost be added as a full time member, as his jazzy lines take on more of a lead role here than on Tuonela.  

Am Universum, without a doubt, contains the most mature, ambitious song writing in Amorphis’ history. Highlights include ‘The Night is Over’, with it’s nasty organ parts and driving tempo. The melodies on this one stay in your head for days! This song has some of the album’s most dynamic transitions as well. Lead off track ‘Alone’ begins with sparse piano chords over an ambient soundscape, peppered with nicely effected guitars, before picking up into a mid-tempo verse. Pasi’s vocals here are graceful and seasoned. The dramatic chorus grabs hold of your ears and won’t let go! Kukko’s sax on the bridge takes on a Middle Eastern, snake charmer vibe woven into the tempo.

‘Crimson Wave’, my personal favorite, delivers one of the album’s heaviest riffs on the opening before pulling back into jazz-inspired, ‘smoky club’ feel on the verses. Then when the guitars come back on the bridge and chorus, the drama factor goes through the roof! I almost picture the guys in black and white, grainy film footage performing this song in suits and shades (video idea!), especially during Kukko’s emotional sax lead! ‘Drifting Memories’ contains some of the most dramatic melodies on the album. Pasi’s vocals and Esa’s underlying theme leads work together on the chorus to stunning results. Once again, Kukko adds his touch in little fills and ad-lib’s.

Closing track ‘Grieve Stricken Heart’ starts off with some digital keyboard effects, easing in a slow tempo drum rhythm and haunting vocal melody. The clean strumming guitars here are fantastic! Pasi really shines vocally on this one. Kallio’s organ works with the guitars in creating a melancholic air. The pounding feel of the chorus segues into a tasteful keyboard solo, with a 70’s ‘strumming yet distorted’ guitar groove underneath. Very cool! The closing sax solo here just screams Pink Floyd (in a good way!) and takes the album out on a perfect note.

All in all, this album is an amazing collection of songs with stellar performances and vivid sonic brilliance! Sadly, they lost a lot of their ‘metal’ fans some time ago. And while Am Universum isn’t likely to win any of them back, for lover’s of good music it is a must have!