Send "Amorphis " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Popmatters |
 Nearly 17 years after delivering Tales From the Thousand Lakes, arguably the most influential metal album the great metal nation of Finland has ever put out, Amorphis finds itself enjoying a significant career upswing as of late. As recent as 2004, you couldn’t have predicted that would ever happen, as the band was starting to stagnate creatively. Despite the subtle strengths of 2004’s vastly underrated Far From the Sun (a record both the band and its fanbase have since disowned), it was clear Amorphis badly needed a good shot in the arm, which came a year later when longtime singer Pasi Koskinen was replaced by the relatively unknown Tomi Joutsen. With his long dreadlocks and outgoing stage presence, Joutsen was a big change from the more enigmatic Koskinen, but the real improvement was heard when he sang. Not only is Joutsen capable of a massive death metal roar, but he continually displays surprising clean vocal range, and the band’s songwriters - guitarists Esa Holopainen and Tomi Koivusaari, and keyboardist Santeri Kallio - took full advantage of that latter talent on 2006’s revelatory Eclipse. The singles were crossover successes in their home country, the album was a critical success, and most importantly, Amorphis suddenly found its fanbase expanding significantly.Since then it’s been full speed ahead for the veteran musicians, as Amorphis has been very busy churning out the product, seeming like a band reborn. 2007’s Silent Waters and 2009’s Skyforger were even better records as Joutsen grew into his role. Last year’s Magic & Mayhem was a surprisingly effective collection of re-recorded classics with Joutsen at the helm, while the CD/DVD Forging the Land of Thousand Lakes was a superb, detailed combination of live performances and a career retrospective. 2011, meanwhile, sees the band hopping right back on the horse again, and Amorphis’s tenth album continues that remarkable positive momentum the sextet has been riding these last five years. One of the best things about this current incarnation of Amorphis is how the band can put together a rather loftily-themed concept album about its Finnish heritage, yet remain accessible throughout. If you’re into folklore and Finland’s national epic “Kalevala”, Amorphis never disappoints, but if you couldn’t care less about the messages and just want to experience the music on a more visceral level, that’s just fine as well, the music is plenty catchy and engaging enough. Consequently, although the focus of The Beginning of Times, this time around, is on the character Väinämöinen, the protagonist from the Kalevala, the overly arch lyrics never detract from the music, and for the fourth album in a row, the music is where the real strengths of this band lie....full text |
| Angrymetalguy |
| I have to say that Amorphis‘ The Beginning of Times is one of the most anticipated records of the year and it marks a little bit of an Angry Metal Milestone™ as it was my review of Skyforger that really was the first review I posted that blew up and attracted a lot of new visitors. It’s been a busy couple years since the band released Skyforger, having released a live DVD and a disc with re-recordings of the band’s older material, they’ve really been everywhere (except here in Sweden playing shows that I could attend). But I think it’s fair to say that my expectations for The Beginning of Times were through the roof and when I finally received the promo I was practically shaking with anticipation to get tracks into iTunes and to slap on the monitors. Honestly, I think I’ve had reason to have huge expectations of Amorphis as well, as the last three albums have been utterly perfect, high quality records with almost a straight rock approach, but that have just been fantastically engaging and listenable. But Amorphis is, of course, Amorphis and they are known for their experimentation, changes and progression. This has isolated them from their old school fanbase to a large extent because the material from Tuonela onwards (and some people even stopped with Elegy) has not been what gave the guys over at Relapse Moomin fever back in The Day™. But for more open minded types, Amorphis has been an exemplary case of how a band can get reinvigorated and make amazing records post-”glory days.”...full text |
| Metal-temple |
| AMORPHIS; try and find a meaning to this name. One can say that might had been taken from the Greek “morphi” and the privative affix a, which means something without shape. Given this rather ambitious 'translation' to the mighty Finns, it only seems fitting if you look back to their history more than 20 years from now. Counting 9 albums, ranging from death growls to power-like anthems and dark melodies, AMORPHIS never stay put into one musical direction. Now with “The Beginning Of Times”, their 10th album, they are tending to follow more progressive paths; the title, however, gives a slight hint of a certain return to roots. It seems that AMORPHIS' second era, with Tomi Joutsen on vocals, gave to the band a good momentum and a steady progress with successful releases such as “Eclipse”, “Silent Waters” and “Skyforger”. In my humble opinion, though, AMORPHIS seems to lose their sense of “adventure” that was present in the days of “Tales…”, “Elegy” and “Tuonela”. Still the quality of their music is undeniable and this album isn’t an exception. “TBOT” is another concept record which tells the tale of a hero of the Finnish mythology, Väinämöinen and the creation of the world (hence the “egg” on the cover from the great Travis Smith) and, musically, it follows on the steps of its “ancestors” with a few twists. Through all the listens some songs gave me a rather interesting “Elegy” feeling, like the opening song “Battle For Light”, “Song Of The Sage” and “Soothsayer”; fast rhythm, catchy chorus and memorable melodies. The (only?) single from the album is the “radio friendly” “You I Need” which is pretty similar, in “vibe”, with the previous album’s single “Silver Bride”, a “soft” and romantic yet powerful song, with piano keys and female backing vocals that stands out. “Mermaid”, another song with female backing vocals, together with the single mentioned above and “Reformation” consist the “soft” core of “TBOT”. On the “opposite” side “My Enemy”, “Escape”, “A Crack In Stone” and –personal favorite and most powerful song in the album- “Three Words” combine the lyricism and the brutality of old times with the melody and melancholy....full text |
Amorphis lyrics
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