Nuclear Blast
2011
1. Battle For Light
2. Mermaid
3. My Enemy
4. You I Need
5. Song Of The Sage
6. Three Words
7. Reformation
8. Soothsayer
9. On A Stranded Shore
10. Escape
11. Crack In A Stone
12. Beginning Of Time
Amorphis has been a pretty solid run for me for awhile now. Looking back, it's funny to think I was very worried about a new singer in Amorphis. While Pasia Koskinen remains my favorite vocalist of Amorphis and likely will always be so, Tomi Joutsen has done an admirable job. All of the 3 albums to this point with him on vocals have been very enjoyable, so I had no reason going into to expect this to be any less.
Well, for some reason this one just didn't hit it home on listening to it. Don't get me wrong, The Beginning Of Times, is a good album and the rating will reflect that. For some reason though this album just doesn't seem as memorable. I largely blame the fact the songs seem to be more oriented towards story telling and less at melodic, catchy tunes that build to great choruses. Simply put, this album seems to try too hard.
That being said, this is a pretty good overall experience. The music has some good, subtle melodies. Overall the guitar is good, the sound is solid, and the vocals aren't bad. The biggest strike though is the lack of big choruses and Tomi cutting loose with power. Overall, he actually seems pretty subdued here and blends into the music more than leads it.
I guess you could say I consider this a pretty listenable album, but not the sort that will end up as a highlight of 2011. It falls a bit short. I don't doubt that Amorphis fans will find some good stuff here though.
Highlights: You I Need, Song Of The Sage, Mermaid
Rating - 3.5/5
2. Mermaid
3. My Enemy
4. You I Need
5. Song Of The Sage
6. Three Words
7. Reformation
8. Soothsayer
9. On A Stranded Shore
10. Escape
11. Crack In A Stone
12. Beginning Of Time
Amorphis has been a pretty solid run for me for awhile now. Looking back, it's funny to think I was very worried about a new singer in Amorphis. While Pasia Koskinen remains my favorite vocalist of Amorphis and likely will always be so, Tomi Joutsen has done an admirable job. All of the 3 albums to this point with him on vocals have been very enjoyable, so I had no reason going into to expect this to be any less.
Well, for some reason this one just didn't hit it home on listening to it. Don't get me wrong, The Beginning Of Times, is a good album and the rating will reflect that. For some reason though this album just doesn't seem as memorable. I largely blame the fact the songs seem to be more oriented towards story telling and less at melodic, catchy tunes that build to great choruses. Simply put, this album seems to try too hard.
That being said, this is a pretty good overall experience. The music has some good, subtle melodies. Overall the guitar is good, the sound is solid, and the vocals aren't bad. The biggest strike though is the lack of big choruses and Tomi cutting loose with power. Overall, he actually seems pretty subdued here and blends into the music more than leads it.
I guess you could say I consider this a pretty listenable album, but not the sort that will end up as a highlight of 2011. It falls a bit short. I don't doubt that Amorphis fans will find some good stuff here though.
Highlights: You I Need, Song Of The Sage, Mermaid
Rating - 3.5/5
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