Nuclear Blast
2006
1. Two Moons
2. House of Sleep
3. Leaves Scar
4. Born from Fire
5. Under a Soil and Black Stone
6. Perkele (The God of Fire)
7. The Smoke
8. Same Flesh
9. Brother Moon
10. Empty Opening
After the very bland and disappointing Far From The Sun album and the loss of Pasi on vocals I have to say that my expectations for this release were pretty low. It seemed that this band was on a definite downward spiral and I really didn't see them getting out of it, but this album just gos to show you never can tell...
It seems Amorphis has new passion for what they're doing on this one. While Far From The Sun was decidedly their most direct effort and just plodded along this one's sound seems much more intense and just has more going on. Really this is the heaviest thing they've done in quite some time though it's by no means along the lines of their early material.
What this sounds like is Amorphis bringing some of their finish countrymen's trademark goth sound into the mix. You can definetely here an influence along the lines of Charon or Sentenced as the music is melodic but heavy and somber yet upbeat. Also you have the new vocalist Tomi Joutsen who, you guessed it, comes from a finnish goth metal act. My one gripe about this album would be is that it's maybe a little too similar to other bands in the country where as Amorphis in the past has always paved their own way. Hard to complain too much though as this is lightyears ahead of their last release and you can still hear Amorphis' trademark in the riffs and synth. Some piano also works it's way in and adds nicely to the feel.
People woried about the vocal change really shouldn't too much. While the new vocals are a little deeper and sort of goth he definetely does resemble Pasi in some ways and really doesn't change the sound of the band too greatly on his own. Also he admirably handles the death vocals which Amorphis has continued to use on occasion. On this one these sorts of vocals make an appearance in a few songs and come off quite well. In fact the death vocals over melodic music remind me very much of the song Greed off Tounela... a rare occasion in which I have liked that sort of singing.
While I don't think this album matches Am Universum or Tounela in terms of complexity and original thinking I find myself enjoying the sound of this one none the less. The new vocalist does an admirable job and the songs are pretty intense. I'd recommend this one to fans of later Amorphis and finnish goth metal acts.
Highlights: Two Moons, House Of Sleep, Under A Soil And Black Stone, The Smoke
Rating - 4.0/5
2. House of Sleep
3. Leaves Scar
4. Born from Fire
5. Under a Soil and Black Stone
6. Perkele (The God of Fire)
7. The Smoke
8. Same Flesh
9. Brother Moon
10. Empty Opening
After the very bland and disappointing Far From The Sun album and the loss of Pasi on vocals I have to say that my expectations for this release were pretty low. It seemed that this band was on a definite downward spiral and I really didn't see them getting out of it, but this album just gos to show you never can tell...
It seems Amorphis has new passion for what they're doing on this one. While Far From The Sun was decidedly their most direct effort and just plodded along this one's sound seems much more intense and just has more going on. Really this is the heaviest thing they've done in quite some time though it's by no means along the lines of their early material.
What this sounds like is Amorphis bringing some of their finish countrymen's trademark goth sound into the mix. You can definetely here an influence along the lines of Charon or Sentenced as the music is melodic but heavy and somber yet upbeat. Also you have the new vocalist Tomi Joutsen who, you guessed it, comes from a finnish goth metal act. My one gripe about this album would be is that it's maybe a little too similar to other bands in the country where as Amorphis in the past has always paved their own way. Hard to complain too much though as this is lightyears ahead of their last release and you can still hear Amorphis' trademark in the riffs and synth. Some piano also works it's way in and adds nicely to the feel.
People woried about the vocal change really shouldn't too much. While the new vocals are a little deeper and sort of goth he definetely does resemble Pasi in some ways and really doesn't change the sound of the band too greatly on his own. Also he admirably handles the death vocals which Amorphis has continued to use on occasion. On this one these sorts of vocals make an appearance in a few songs and come off quite well. In fact the death vocals over melodic music remind me very much of the song Greed off Tounela... a rare occasion in which I have liked that sort of singing.
While I don't think this album matches Am Universum or Tounela in terms of complexity and original thinking I find myself enjoying the sound of this one none the less. The new vocalist does an admirable job and the songs are pretty intense. I'd recommend this one to fans of later Amorphis and finnish goth metal acts.
Highlights: Two Moons, House Of Sleep, Under A Soil And Black Stone, The Smoke
Rating - 4.0/5
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