Last Updated on 09:40 AM by Giorgos Tsekas
Genre: Progressive Rock
Country: Finland
Label: Nuclear Blast
Year: 2018
Amorphis are back three years after ‘Under the Red Cloud’, an album marked by its melodic approaching and the made for sing-along choruses without abandoning the growls here and there and some soaring strings and pummeling drums. The new album follows a similar motive as its predecessor while it blends a variety of sounds, but in a way it is at the same time more complicated if not even richer. It mixtures beautifully the progressive elements in the veins of genre’s British elite of the seventies with the black metal screams and the atmospheric melodies. The song structures are complicated and well crafted with choir and orchestra additions making the final result even richer and substantial. I really enjoyed the hearing of another full of quality release from these Finnish that created an extreme rock album that balances between genres and combines brutality with melody so fine. Icing on the cake the collaboration with Anneke Van Giersbergen of The Gathering, The Gentle Storm and Devin Townsend Project on ‘Amongst Stars’ that is without doubt as cheesy as a fan pleaser at the same time (in the making of the album has also participated several guests: saxophonist Jørgen Munkeby (Shining) and singers Chrigel Glanzmann (Eluveitie), Albert Kuvezin (Yat-Kha)). To sum up it seems like Jethro Tull travelled through time and record a hard rock album this spring with the help of an orchestra and synths demonstrating some oriental main riffs while jammimg with Amorphis. Yes I know what I’ve just said…but I wanted to make clear that no one sounds like Amorphis! It may sound a little pop in a few moments but whoever likes some saxophone between the sharp death growls and his music adventurous and progressive has added it in his collection. Not bad for the album number 13 for a line-up featuring its members for so long time together as Jan Rechberger (drums), Tomi Koivusaari (guitars), Olli-Pekka Laine (bass), and Esa Holopainen (guitars) create a strong nucleus with Santeri Kallio (keyboards) and Tomi Jousten (clean vocals) that completed the line-up a dozen of years ago…Highlights: ‘The Bee’, ‘Message in the Amber’ and ‘Wrong Direction’, while I have to mention that ‘The Golden Elk’ is a nice composition but has a part that is too Orphaned Land-like to my ears…sounding like bouzoukia and yes I say it in a bad way this time!!!