Let's see if anybody is still reading this instead of discussing TEI! I also have no idea what happened to the most active poster of this thread (?), since he hasn't been around for a couple of days, but I'm going to finish this off now:
2) My Kantele (2010 version) (Magic & Mayhem - Tales From The Early Years, 2010, originally released on Elegy, 1996)My Kantele is a timeless classic, although honestly, the original probably would not have made my top 5. But then, in 2010, Amorphis released an album full of rerecorded classics from their first three albums. Most songs were simply rerecorded, but My Kantele was actually re-arranged and even re-written in parts, combining the elements from both versions (the original and the "acoustic reprise", both released on Elegy) and turning all that up to 11. I love the original, but this version is simply perfect. The acoustic intro, Tomi Joutsen's breathtaking vocals, the much improved keyboards, the amazing soloing and of course the beautiful and relaxing sitar outro reminiscent of the original's acoustic reprise are probably the biggest changes made to the song. All in all, Amorphis managed to morph (
) an (or actually two) great song(s) into one of the most impressive and addictive pieces of music I have ever heard. If you love the original, you simply need to check this verison out, if you love this one, don't pass on the Elegy version (or the whole album), and if you're not familiar with either: do yourself a favour and let My Kantele blow you away.
and my number one iiiiissss:
1) Elegy (Elegy, 1996)If there is one Amorphis song that deserves to be described as being "epic", it's without a doubt the title track of Amorphis biggest masterpiece, the 1996 album Elegy. Not only because of the fact that it's the band's longest song to date, but also for it's "progressive" structure culminating in an incredible climax and the overall emotion that just pours out of this song. It's very keyboard driven, which is not surprising, since Kim Rantala, the keyboarder on Elegy, wrote most of the song, however, the whole band shines here. Both vocalists (Pasi Koskinen and Tomi Koivussaari) compliment each other perfectly, and Tomi's delay laden growls in the middle section act as a nice contrast to the more laid back nature of most of the song. For me, there is no doubt that Elegy is the very best in a collection of amazing songs this band has written, and one more reason why Amorphis is one of my favourite bands.
Here's the whole list in its entirety again:
(29. Day Of Your Beliefs (Far From The Sun, 2003))
(28. Against Widows (Elegy, 1996))
(27. House Of Sleep (Eclipse, 2006))
(26. Song Of The Troubled One (Elegy, 1996))
25. The Wanderer (Circle, 2013)
24. Skyforger (Skyforger, 2009)
23. Nightbird's Song (Circle, 2013)
22. Empty Opening (Eclipse, 2006)
21. Divinity (Tuonela, 1999)
20. Alone (Am Universum, 2001)
19. Perkele (The God Of Fire) (Eclipse, 2006)
18. Greed (Tuonela, 1999)
17. My Enemy (The Beginning Of Times, 2011)
16. Into Hiding (Tales From The Thousand Lakes, 1994)
15. Better Unborn (Elegy, 1996)
14. Towards And Against (Silent Waters, 2007)
13. Sampo (Skyforger, 2009)
12. Black Winter Day (Tales From The Thousand Lakes, 1994)
11. The Smoke (Eclipse, 2006)
10. Enchanted By The Moon (Circle, 2013)
09. The Way (Tuonela, 1999)
08. Dead Man's Dream (Circle bonus track, 2013)
07. Magic And Mayhem (Tales From The Thousand Lakes, 1994)
06. Weaving The Incantation (Silent Waters, 2007)
05. Silent Waters (Silent Waters, 2007)
04. On Rich And Poor (Elegy, 1996)
03. The White Swan (Silent Waters, 2007)
02. My Kantele (2010 version) (Magic & Mayhem - Tales From The Early Years, 2010 / Elegy, 1996)
01. Elegy (Elegy, 1996)
Thank's to everybody who followed and commented, although there were not really that many of you, I still appreciate it