Amorphis - Circle

Gothic/Melodic/Folk Metal
Nuclear Blast

2013

1. Shades Of Gray
2. Mission
3. The Wanderer
4. Narrow Path
5. Hopeless Days
6. Nightbird's Song
7. Into The Abyss
8. Enchanted By The Moon
9. A New Day

Going into this new Amorphis album I was fully expecting good things, but wondered if I'd be getting great ones. To this point, since the vocalist change to Tomi Joutsen, everything has been at least good and that is not a small accomplishment. Losing a vocalist and recovering is always a challenge and the band has done a good job in moving forward. Credit where credit is due. That being said, I did not like The Beginning Of Times as much as Skyforger and it hasn't really stuck with me. I guess it just didn't have those big highlights like Skyforger or Eclipse that made me want to go back again and again. That being said, Silent Waters was similar so the band has alternated between good and great albums since the change.

Well, after listening to Circle I'd say this falls just a little short of what the band is capable of again. Maybe things have just gotten a bit static and predictable for a band who basically based their identity on being shapeshifting. What Circle brings to the table is a somewhat familiar formula at this point of melodic, gothic music and deep vocals mixed with earlier death metal vocals and influences. The songs are competent, flowing, and enjoyable, but don't really break the established molds to stand out strongly on their own. I don't want this review to come across as all negative because the band sounds good and there's never a time I don't like this album. I just feel like the songs could be a bit more adventurous and like this is lacking those songs that Really grab your attention with something unique.

The best tracks of this album comes when the folk influence the band has incorporated at times takes center stage. Narrow Path and Mission are good examples of this and they do have nice energy and melodies. Even these are relatively predictable though and blend together just a little too much. Certainly, the folk melodies they bring in are nothing new to metal. Basically, this album just lacks a Two Moons, House of Sleep, Silver Bride, Sky Is Mine, or even a Silent Waters to get me really excited.

Overall, I like this and the band does well with their sound. I'm looking for the next level though and Circle doesn't quite give it to me. This is just a little too safe to get me really excited and put this in the running among the top albums of the year.

Highlights: Narrow Path, Mission, The Wanderer

Rating - 3.5/5

Amorphis - The Beginning Of Times

Gothic/Melodic Metal
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

Amorphis - Skyforger

Gothic/Melodic Metal
Nuclear Blast

2009

1. Sampo
2. Silver Bride
3. From the Heaven of My Heart
4. Sky is Mine
5. Majestic Beast
6. My Sun
7. Highest Star
8. Skyforger
9. Course of Fate
10. From Earth I Rose

Skyforger marks the third album from Amorphis since the vocalist swap to Tomi Joutsen and the stylistic shift the band has taken. Of course, stylistic changes are not a new thing to Amorphis and their name has suited them. The band has seemed to have settled into something of a more gothic vein since the vocalist change however.

Skyforger picks up in very much this vein, but reminds me more of Eclipse than Silent Waters. The death vocals have very much taken a backseat again where as they seemed more dominant on Silent Waters. There are moments and some songs have more growls than others, but really the band seems to be leaning far more on smooth gothic atmospheres and powerful emotive vocal deliveries than aggression. This is ok with me as the album has a lot of great melodies and the finnish folk touch they have become known for. Really I don't have too much to complain about regarding this album. Maybe this isn't as creative as Amorphis at their experimental peak of Tounela and Am Universum, but there is some pretty memorable songwriting, especially early on in the album. I do notice this album seems to have packed it's most memorable, single worthy songs at the front of the album as labels tend to push for. Hook them early is the idea. I don't sense any weak tracks, but if all the songs were as incredibly powerful as tunes like Silver Bride and Sky Is Mine then you'd see a higher rating. Silver Bride in particular is a song of the year candidate as it's heavy, energetic, and has some awesome vocal deliveries.

Overall, this is another strong effort from Amorphis. I think some people were ready to count them out when Pasi left the band, but they really have been able to find a rhythm with Tomi. As usual, I look forward to more from this band in the future. I would recommend this album to fans of smooth, flowing gothic metal. Finland as a country does seem to excel in this area.

Highlights: Silver Bride, Sky Is Mine, Sampo, From The Heaven Of My Heart

Rating - 4.0/5

Amorphis - Silent Waters

Gothic Metal
Nuclear Blast

2007

1. Weaving the Incantation
2. A Servant
3. Silent Waters
4. Towards and Against
5. I of Crimson Blood
6. Her Alone
7. Enigma
8. Shaman
9. The White Swan
10. Black River

Amorphis are back once again with this latest effort, Silent Waters, and as usual I was looking forward to hearing it. Amorphis, if nothing else, are always an interesting band who isn't afraid to incorporate new sounds and ideas into their continually changing music (as the name might imply).

With this release though I don't think too much has changed from the last. The album starts off a bit more death-centric with quite a bit of gruff vocals, but the music more or less follows a similarly upbeat but dark/gothic approach. The death vocals work pretty well with the music and give it a little extra punch and I wound up liking them despite my usual lack of love for extreme sort of singing. Weaving The Incantation, A Servant, and Towards And Against in particular focus on the death aspect and may appeal to fans of their crossover sort of work on Elegy. Nothing here gets anywhere near the style of their death/doom sort of days but there are some reminders of older styles. Throughout the second half of the album things are considerably more mellow and somber and admittedly appeal to me a bit more as I find their melodies hauntingly memorable. This album seems to shift from one extreme to the other in a sense and most of the heavier material is on the first half, but it all more or less evens out in the end though I'd say.

All in all this is another Amorphis release much like the last in it's focus towards gothic and dark soundscapes. I'd say it succeeds pretty well and has enough variation between upbeat songs driven by harsh to smooth vocals and somber atmospheric tunes. If you liked the way Amorphis has been heading with the new vocalist on the last album than you'll more likely than not enjoy this one too.

Highlights: Silent Waters, Shaman, Enigma

Rating - 3.5/5

Amorphis - Eclipse

Gothic Metal
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