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General => General Music Discussion => Topic started by: j on May 02, 2009, 12:42:34 AM
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Just kidding, they're awesome. One of my favorite bands right now, and they continue to grow on me.
-J
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:lol I saw the thread title and came here to lay the smackdown on you, but looks like I don't need to :D
Amorphis are amazing, their latest two are my favourites and I love the direction they've taken, but Elegy and Am Universum are wonderful as well. Can't wait for the new one!
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My roommate's iPod always shuffles to an Amorphis song every third or fourth song and we don't know why. He's only got two albums out of the hundreds on his iPod.
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Yeah a big fan of them since the Elegy album.
Looking forward to the new album at the end of the month.
Or I was untill I got the new single, 'Silver Bride', great song, but its mastered way too loud and distorts at med to high volume :(
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Indeed they are awesome. Seeing them live later this year.
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Amorphis are amazing - the new direction is incredible - their best yet, and looking back to albums like Elegy it seems they have always been awesome.
On Rich and Poor anyone? That riff is rediculously catchy.
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:lol I saw the thread title and came here to lay the smackdown on you, but looks like I don't need to :D
This completely! I think Amorphis is fantastic. I remember that 6:00 turned me on to them.
My favorites are Elegy and Eclipse, but I like all of their stuff.
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Never heard any Amorphis. Recommendations?
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Never heard any Amorphis. Recommendations?
LATEST TWO ALBUMS NOW
edit: That would be Eclipse and Silent Waters
Looking forward to the new album at the end of the month.
Or I was untill I got the new single, 'Silver Bride', great song, but its mastered way too loud and distorts at med to high volume :(
When you say you got it, is it the actual thing? Because if it's just on youtube or something that could just be the bad quality mp3 they used or something perhaps?
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Never heard any Amorphis. Recommendations?
Eclipse. Their albums before that vary quite a bit in style, so they're harder to recommend straight up without knowing your taste.
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Never heard any Amorphis. Recommendations?
LATEST TWO ALBUMS NOW
edit: That would be Eclipse and Silent Waters
Looking forward to the new album at the end of the month.
Or I was untill I got the new single, 'Silver Bride', great song, but its mastered way too loud and distorts at med to high volume :(
When you say you got it, is it the actual thing? Because if it's just on youtube or something that could just be the bad quality mp3 they used or something perhaps?
I have the actual CD single right here.
I was almost gobsmacked when I realised it was distorting at such a relative low volume.
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TOX has been getting me into these guys lately. Probably going to check out Elegy at some point, because I like what I'm hearing so far.
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Never heard any Amorphis. Recommendations?
LATEST TWO ALBUMS NOW
edit: That would be Eclipse and Silent Waters
Looking forward to the new album at the end of the month.
Or I was untill I got the new single, 'Silver Bride', great song, but its mastered way too loud and distorts at med to high volume :(
When you say you got it, is it the actual thing? Because if it's just on youtube or something that could just be the bad quality mp3 they used or something perhaps?
I have the actual CD single right here.
I was almost gobsmacked when I realised it was distorting at such a relative low volume.
This better be a single-only problem otherwise someone's gonna get hurt :'(
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I really hope that sound quality isn't an issue with the new album. I will cry if any enjoyment is robbed because of distortion or stupid production-related things like that.
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My knowledge of English is not enough to express with words how amazing they are. One of my favorite bands for sure, their music sounds perfect to me, and the new singer is awesome. I love him.
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Never heard any Amorphis. Recommendations?
Eclipse is my favorite. It's awesome. Maybe I like it the most because it's the first album I listened from them that reflects their true style (I listened to Am Universum and Tuonela before, both are good but not truly representative) and I am very familiarized with every song. The melodies just stick in your mind after a couple of listens and you smile when you hear them in your head.
Then I got Silent Waters. Amazing album, but not quite as good as Eclipse IMO. Some songs at the middle of the album are a little bland, but as I said it's still very good, and the piano work is remarkable. My favorite song off that album is Her Alone, other people like Silent Waters the most so you can listen to those songs.
I just recently started with Eclipse. Man, what was I missing!! The riffs are so incredibly powerful and catchy, the whole album is very intense, its a wonderful journey.
So I would recommend those.
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Wow, I just listened to Elegy (the song). That middle section where they combine the "happy" chord progression in the background with the wicked growls is out of this world. I read a review of Amorphis that summarizes what the band is about, it went something like "they combine the heaviest music with the most melodic music".
Hope the new album will be amazing and that they continue making music of this quality for a long time.
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:lol I saw the thread title and came here to lay the smackdown on you, but looks like I don't need to :D
This completely! I think Amorphis is fantastic. I remember that 6:00 turned me on to them.
Yes, I remeber the old DT.net where 6:00 had "Amorphis: best band in the world" in his signature. I respected his opinions about music a lot, but I completely avoided growls at that time so I never tried them. Then TOX and Borlag made me discover them.
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I really hope that sound quality isn't an issue with the new album. I will cry if any enjoyment is robbed because of distortion or stupid production-related things like that.
I hope it dosen't spoil what I hope will be one of the years best releases.
It's nothing to do with the production, it's when the album is mastered, where volume can become an issue.
Mika Jussila has mastered countless albums and he usually does a pretty good job.
But I can't see how the album will be any different to the single, IF all the songs were done together :angry:
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I really hope that sound quality isn't an issue with the new album. I will cry if any enjoyment is robbed because of distortion or stupid production-related things like that.
I hope it dosen't spoil what I hope will be one of the years best releases.
It's nothing to do with the production, it's when the album is mastered, where volume can become an issue.
Mika Jussila has mastered countless albums and he usually does a pretty good job.
But I can't see how the album will be any different to the single, IF all the songs were done together :angry:
*hopes it's a bad copy of the single, no offence :P*
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:lol I saw the thread title and came here to lay the smackdown on you, but looks like I don't need to :D
Amorphis are amazing, their latest two are my favourites and I love the direction they've taken, but Elegy and Am Universum are wonderful as well. Can't wait for the new one!
:lol
Yeah Eclipse is probably my favorite, and Silent Waters is up there as well. Although I like some more than others, pretty much all of their albums are very good overall. I'm looking forward to the new album, but I haven't listened to the single yet. Cover art is sweet though.
-J
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I am gonna buy the Japanese version anyhow, not just for the bonus tracks (Seperated and Godlike Machine)
but they are know to be better sounding and sometime remastered for Japan only.
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I really hope that sound quality isn't an issue with the new album. I will cry if any enjoyment is robbed because of distortion or stupid production-related things like that.
That album preview vid you showed me sounded pretty good, and that was a video stream so was probably fairly low quality.
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Just necromancing an old thread to say Eclipse is pretty awesome and I'll have to check out some more Amorphis soon. Thanks TOX.
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If you don't have it, get Elegy.
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Listened to the new album a couple of times over the last couple of weeks, but then decided to wait until the real thing, because while I liked the music, the sound seemed quite flat, and I wasn't sure if this was because it was a low quality rip.
Anyway, got the full thing yesterday, on my first listen through in full quality now and fortunately it sounds great! :D Maybe mastered a bit loud, but not offensively so (to my ears anyway), but the general sound is definitely better than the rip I heard.
And most importantly the music is great, pretty much carrying on the direction of the last two albums. A couple of songs a little uninteresting, but I always find that with Amorphis albums. But most of these songs are just fantastic, so much energy and some really great melodies.
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I should get mine this week.
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Oh wow, I totally forgot about Amorphis's new album. Time to go order it.
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After two weeks of wading and listening through their discography, I'm pleased to say this band has exceeded my expectations tremendously. Funny enough, my favorite song from them is still the first one I heard before I knew anything about them; The Way. They definitely have a diverse and innovative sound, that's for sure. Haven't heard anything from their new album, but if their previous work is any indication, I'm sure I'll be picking it up and enjoying it soon enough. Tuonela still has, for whatever reason, a distinct and original sound to it unlike their other albums, so I'll be doubly pleased if it has any resemblance to it.
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I just got my copy of Skyforger.
Because there's less contrast between the heavy and the light, the album sounded monotonous at first. However, now that I know it well, I've realized that it's a worthy successor to Silent Waters, and an outstanding effort in its own right.
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Amazing album, a step up from both Eclipse and Silent Waters.
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I just got my copy of Skyforger.
Because there's less contrast between the heavy and the light, the album sounded monotonous at first. However, now that I know it well, I've realized that it's a worthy successor to Silent Waters, and an outstanding effort in its own right.
Pretty much all of this.
I think it might actually be the Amorphis album with the most catchy choruses, which is one of my favourite things about them.
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I'm on my fourth run-through of it as we speak. If "Highest Star" and "Skyforger" click, my opinion of the thing might rise to catastrophic levels of jizm.
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Next on my list of albums to get. Using this thread a sort of reminder :D
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What kind of stuff do they play?
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A little disappointed in this one actually. It's good. Quite solid, but nothing has stood out about it so far. It feels a bit too safe.
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What kind of stuff do they play?
Just one type of music: awesome.
To answer your question, their music is really heavy, most sources say they´re a band rooted in death metal with folk/progressive influences. They use growls around 50% of the time these days. But they combine that heaviness with incredible melodies that you cannot get out of your head, and their clean vocals are excellent (and the growling parts too). If you want to give them a chance, here´s a short list of my favorite songs:
Born from Fire
The Smoke
Brother Moon (my favorites from my favorite album Eclipse)
On Rich and Poor (from Elegy)
Silent Waters
Her Alone (absolutely beautiful ballad)
The Castaway (the melody-heaviness combo is very clear here. They have created lots of those kind of unusual riffs that I love. Check out Against Windows for another example)
In the Beginning (the groovy part at the middle and the organ-driven part at the end fit very well)
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I listened to them for the first time this week. I listened to Skyforger and I loved it. I'm a few clicks away from ordering it on vinyl.
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Good man! Now go and get Eclipse and Silent Waters immediately.
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Amorphis is a great band! I've seen them live once. I'm looking forward to the Tales from the Early Years compilation next month!
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Elegy is worth picking up too.
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These days my favorite Amorphis is Tuonela. The melodies on that thing are ridiculous.
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This has been my find of the year. I have the most recent 5 albums, and will be getting the remaining back catalog soon.
Big props to TOX and Nick for suggesting them.
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By complete coincidence, I listened to Elegy again this morning. Awesome album.
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Elegy is worth picking up too.
Definitely, and I really love Am Universum as well. But if he likes Skyforger then the other two most recent albums are a must-have because they are the same stylistically but both are even better.
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OK. So I really want get into these guys but I don't have the money to buy multiple albums, at least right now. Any suggestions on what to get first from them?
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I'd say Eclipse is a great starting point, especially for their newer sound. That or Silent Waters, both are amazing.
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The artwork for Skyforger looks amazing on vinyl :hefdaddy. Just received it and I've been staring at the pretty pictures for a while.
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Anyone get the new live DVD?
Looks awesome.
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The artwork for Skyforger looks amazing on vinyl :hefdaddy. Just received it and I've been staring at the pretty pictures for a while.
Yeah the artwork for the album is gorgeous, definitely their best.
Anyone get the new live DVD?
Looks awesome.
I have not, but someone was talking about it, possibly Ytse?
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Anyone get the new live DVD?
Looks awesome.
It's perfect! The live shows are great and the documentary is interesting. The setlists could've been more varied, though.
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Anyone get the new live DVD?
Looks awesome.
It's perfect! The live shows are great and the documentary is interesting. The setlists could've been more varied, though.
I agree. I would like to add that the singer (can't remember his name) is very awesome on this dvd. His growls are some of the best I've heard live. He even comes close to.. dare I say it.. Akerfeldt. It almost makes me wonder if they were overdubbed. Although I can't imagine a band like Amorphis overdubbing an entire show.
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Anyone get the new live DVD?
Looks awesome.
It's perfect! The live shows are great and the documentary is interesting. The setlists could've been more varied, though.
I agree. I would like to add that the singer (can't remember his name) is very awesome on this dvd. His growls are some of the best I've heard live. He even comes close to.. dare I say it.. Akerfeldt. It almost makes me wonder if they were overdubbed. Although I can't imagine a band like Amorphis overdubbing an entire show.
I'm very sure they aren't overdubbed! I saw them live last November and Tomi Joutsen sang all the songs perfectly! That's also why the forthcoming "Tales from the Early Years" compilation is a must-buy for me. It'll be great to hear all those classics re-recorded with him! He's my favorite growler after Åkerfeldt definitely!
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the singer (can't remember his name)
Tomi Joutsen
Edit: Ninja'd by a question mark.
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That's also why the forthcoming "Tales from the Early Years" compilation is a must-buy for me. It'll be great to hear all those classics re-recorded with him!
Ooh ooh ooh, what's this? Hadn't heard about it at all!
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That's also why the forthcoming "Tales from the Early Years" compilation is a must-buy for me. It'll be great to hear all those classics re-recorded with him!
Ooh ooh ooh, what's this? Hadn't heard about it at all!
https://amorphis.net/?page_id=4 It's in the top of the discography.
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Sounds very interesting! Not that I'm a big fan of anything pre-Elegy, but it'll be interesting to see what they do with the songs.
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Here's the official trailer for anyone who's interested:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lsyw1RXAhIE
Just purchased mine. Can't wait.
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Just got the 2 DVD 2C live album Forging the Land of a Thousand Lakes today. I only got to listen to the first 4 songs, but they were awesome.
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Here's the official trailer for anyone who's interested:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lsyw1RXAhIE
Just purchased mine. Can't wait.
He growling live sounds so brilliant :omg:
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Her Alone is such a stunning track. Just... wow.
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Just received my CD/DVD set.
Amorphis have the best cover art team in music, no doubt.
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I'm always a little upset when I see the thread title but then I realise that it's not actually true. :lol
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I'm always a little upset when I see the thread title but then I realise that it's not actually true. :lol
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Yeah I keep doing the same. :lol Memoryfail.
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Yeah sorry guys, I don't really remember making this thread. Although I still love Amorphis!
Mods, feel free to change the title to "Amorphis blows...MY MIIIIIND" or something more appropriate.
-J
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I just finished listening to the CDs.
I thought they finished "My Kantele", then BAM!!!
They went into the "Acoustic Reprise" outro and I smileed everywhere. Truly one of the best metal bands of the past three decades.
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That sounds messy. :lol
Mods, feel free to change the title to "Amorphis blows...MY MIIIIIND" or something more appropriate.
Nah it's more fun this way. :D
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I have not listened to a single Amorphis song.
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I have not listened to a single Amorphis song.
You're a bad person.
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:sadpanda:
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No love for Tales From a Thousand Lakes?
One of the best nordic metal albums of all time IMO.
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I have not listened to a single Amorphis song.
Then I know what to send you on the song roulette thingie :D.
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I have not listened to a single Amorphis song.
You're a bad person.
This!
No love for Tales From the Thousand Lakes?
One of the best metal albums of all time IMO.
Fix'd.
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I have not listened to a single Amorphis song.
You're a bad person.
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No love for Tales From a Thousand Lakes?
One of the best nordic metal albums of all time IMO.
Listening to the live versions of "The Castaway" and "Black Winter Day" helped me remember how good that album is. The better production helped as well, although many death metal aficionados probably view the original's rawer sound as being a positive rather than a negative.
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Bump. My Amorphis album ranking:
Skyforger
Silent Waters
Tuonela
Elegy
Tales from the Thousand Lakes
Eclipse
Am Universum
The Karelian Isthmus
Far from the Sun
BTW, samples of the forthcoming compilation are available: https://www.deutschrock.de/p6-i0727361257811/amorphis/magic-and-mayhem-tales-from-the-early-years/index.html
Sounds great! Finally those songs are getting better production!
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My ranking:
1. Silent Waters
2. Eclipse
3. Skyforger/
-. Elegy/
-. Am Universum
6. Tuonela
7. Far From the Sun
8. Tales From the Thousand Lakes
9. The Karelian Isthmus
Also, I was at the shops yesterday and FINALLY found the 2DVD/2CD version of Forging the Land of Thousand Lakes. :D Can't wait to watch it!
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7. Far From the Sun
8. Tales From the Thousand Lakes
:omg: I've never really liked FFTS. The band sounds so bored and uninspired and the songs themselves are quite bland.
Also, I was at the shops yesterday and FINALLY found the 2DVD/2CD version of Forging the Land of Thousand Lakes. :D Can't wait to watch it!
It's a great DVD indeed! :tup
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Indeed, those bottom 3 I find not very exciting. TFtTL I might have liked somewhat more if it had better production, but it's still largely forgettable death metal IMO.
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Maybe Tales... is a bit overrated (some people consider it their best album) and its production sucks but it's a classic full of great songs IMO. The Karelian Isthmus, on the other hand, is a bit generic death metal album but I still prefer it to FFTS.
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Yeah Tales and FFTS are pretty close in my rankings, both are ok and good for an occasional listen. Karelian Isthmus I can't see myself ever listening to again though.
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Watching the DVD now, absolutely loving it. The sound is great and it looks amazing!
Currently I'm on Alone and it's the song that so far is the most improved from the studio version. As can be seen from my album ranking, I really like Am Universum, but hearing this just makes me think what an incredible album it could have been with better production and Joutsen on vocals!
EDIT: Oh and also...
Just received my CD/DVD set.
Amorphis have the best cover art team in music, no doubt.
Absolutely this! The Eclipse-like images on the front on the individual CD and DVD cases looks absolutely gorgous!
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I bought the "Magic & Mayhem - Tales from the Early Years" compilation on Friday. All I can say: :metal
Especially the songs off the debut and TFTTL have been rearranged very well, now there are more keyboards. The Elegy songs haven't been changed very much, My Kantele is a mixture of the "electric" and acoustic version (like the one on DVD), On Rich & Poor is a bit slower than the original version and the part before solo in Against Widows is growled instead of the rough but melodic vocals Pasi sang in the original (like on the DVD, too). I think that especially the remake of Vulgar Necrolatry is excellent! Black Winter Day got more power that the original lacked. Tomi Koivusaari even does some growls on Vulgar Necrolatry and Drowned Maid. It's nice to hear his voice again!
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My ranking from the CDs I own:
1. Eclipse
2. Elegy
3. Tales from the Thousand Lakes
4. Tuonela
5. Silent Waters
6. Skyforger
7. Am Universum
The first 3 are absolutely essential (sorry, no big fan of Silent Wanters). Throw in Tuonela if you want some variety and you have a very strong introduction to the marvel Amorphis is.
I can´t wait to buy the CD/DVD but not living in the US anymore limits my ability to acquire new music.
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WOW! This new version of My Kantele is so good. The guitars capture the originals perfectly, the new keyboard tracks blend the new and old styles just right, and I love how Joutsen somehow captures the essence of the old vocals while still finding room to do what he does well. All told, pretty extraordinary.
And I ABSOLUTELY LOVE how they got the sitar outro in there from the acoustic version. Still gives me massive chills every time I hear it.
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WOW! This new version of My Kantele is so good. The guitars capture the originals perfectly, the new keyboard tracks blend the new and old styles just right, and I love how Joutsen somehow captures the essence of the old vocals while still finding room to do what he does well. All told, pretty extraordinary.
And I ABSOLUTELY LOVE how they got the sitar outro in there from the acoustic version. Still gives me massive chills every time I hear it.
I agree with all of this! The new version of My Kantele is the best one! It would be even better if the first verse was sung with clean vocals IMO.
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So should I go and see Amorphis in November? I still can't decide
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So should I go and see Amorphis in November? I still can't decide
They're probably the best band I've seen live, so I recommend it highly!
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So should I go and see Amorphis in November? I still can't decide
They're probably the best band I've seen live, so I recommend it highly!
Ok, the thing is Liars are playing on the same night but I could be able to get into Amorphis for free so I'll probably take that option!
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So should I go and see Amorphis in November? I still can't decide
They're probably the best band I've seen live, so I recommend it highly!
Ok, the thing is Liars are playing on the same night but I could be able to get into Amorphis for free so I'll probably take that option!
Then that should make the decision WAY easier!
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So should I go and see Amorphis in November? I still can't decide
They're probably the best band I've seen live, so I recommend it highly!
Ok, the thing is Liars are playing on the same night but I could be able to get into Amorphis for free so I'll probably take that option!
Then that should make the decision WAY easier!
Haha, yeah. Not as familiar with Amorphis though so wanted to check they were better than your average live band.
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Magic and Mayhem: Tales from the Early Years sounds amazing. Normally I don't support re-recording old stuff, but in this case I am willing to make an exception.
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From Amorphis' official website:
Dear Fans,
a little update on what’s happening in camp Amorphis. The album recordings are advancing straight and smoothly (whatever that means…). We are now working on the vocals and again we have Marco Hietala producing Tomi. This time everything else has been done at Sonic Pump Studios except for the vocals, which are currently in the works at Marco’s home studio in Kuopio.
We are emerging with roughly 15 new songs and on the album there’s most likely going to be 10-11 tracks. It’s again a great feeling to start realizing that the songs and ideas which have been in our heads are finally going to see the light of day.
Pekka Kainulainen has worked really hard on the lyrics. The album is going to tell the story of the most important character of Finnish mythology and folklore. He is Finnish god Väinämöinen, who was described to be an extremely powerful, wise old man who had a magical voice. Some believe that Väinämöinen was the creator of the world, an ancient hero and a very influential shaman.
Having a subject as strong as this, it was pretty obvious that making music for the album was going to be a challenge. There are lots of musical elements that have been heard on previous albums, but there is also much more. Needless to say, we are keen to hand all the material over to Mikko Karmila, who is going to start the mixing at the end of this month.
Travis Smith is currently working on the album cover and the coming artwork so far looks no less than amazing.
Stay tuned folks!!
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Awesome. Amorphis is one of the bands I have the most faith in. I know they won't disappoint me and I'm excited to hear what they have to offer.
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That concept sounds really, really cool. Time to start listening to them.
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Love that they're changing it up again. Most appropriate band name ever.
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Amorphis's one of the best metal bands out there today IMO. And a new album makes me go :metal
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I love Skyforger, and Eclipse is pretty good as well, so I'm looking forward to this. Any suggestions on where to go next?
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My ranking from the CDs I own:
1. Eclipse
2. Elegy
3. Tales from the Thousand Lakes
4. Tuonela
5. Silent Waters
6. Skyforger
7. Am Universum
The first 3 are absolutely essential (sorry, no big fan of Silent Wanters). Throw in Tuonela if you want some variety and you have a very strong introduction to the marvel Amorphis is.
I can´t wait to buy the CD/DVD but not living in the US anymore limits my ability to acquire new music.
Am Universum is my favorite. :'(
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My ranking from the CDs I own:
1. Eclipse
2. Elegy
3. Tales from the Thousand Lakes
4. Tuonela
5. Silent Waters
6. Skyforger
7. Am Universum
The first 3 are absolutely essential (sorry, no big fan of Silent Wanters). Throw in Tuonela if you want some variety and you have a very strong introduction to the marvel Amorphis is.
I can´t wait to buy the CD/DVD but not living in the US anymore limits my ability to acquire new music.
Am Universum is my favorite. :'(
Why do you do this to yourself? You're inviting yet another "MAN UP AND GET USED TO THE GROWLING" shitstorm.
Silent Waters FTMFW
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My album ranking is here:
Skyforger
Silent Waters
Tuonela
Elegy
Tales from the Thousand Lakes
Eclipse
Am Universum
The Karelian Isthmus
Far from the Sun
Can't wait to hear the new album! :metal Let's see if they can top themselves again!
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Woo! An Amorphis thread. I'm a fan. One of the best Finnish bands. When me and my friend climbed on top of the highest mountain in Finland we blasted Amorphis and it was epic. :metal
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I love Skyforger, and Eclipse is pretty good as well, so I'm looking forward to this. Any suggestions on where to go next?
SILENT WATERS.
IMO easily their best album.
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Woo! An Amorphis thread. I'm a fan. One of the best Finnish bands. When me and my friend climbed on top of the highest mountain in Finland we blasted Amorphis and it was epic. :metal
That's metal :metal
It's like listening to them in the Olympus or something like that.
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I love Skyforger, and Eclipse is pretty good as well, so I'm looking forward to this. Any suggestions on where to go next?
SILENT WATERS.
IMO easily their best album.
Maybe not EASILY their best, but I'd definately agree its their best, and it would complete Tomi Joutsen era for you.
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Their best is Elegy, methinks.
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The thread title made me think of jokes in the line of
JESUS SAVES...
and makes backup CDs.
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My ranking from the CDs I own:
1. Eclipse
2. Elegy
3. Tales from the Thousand Lakes
4. Tuonela
5. Silent Waters
6. Skyforger
7. Am Universum
The first 3 are absolutely essential (sorry, no big fan of Silent Wanters). Throw in Tuonela if you want some variety and you have a very strong introduction to the marvel Amorphis is.
I can´t wait to buy the CD/DVD but not living in the US anymore limits my ability to acquire new music.
Am Universum is my favorite. :'(
I actually made a mistake and wrote Tuonela instead of Am Universum :lol It's the first album I listened to, when I was still afraid of the growls. And man, what an excellent album it is. If it ranks 4 is just because the growls add so much to the band's sound that a mellow album from Amorphis is somewhat lacking. Anyway, I think I could put Am Universum on my top 2 any day.
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Hey, at least Far From The Sun isn't in the top 7 :biggrin:
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Special road report by Mark Gromen
In Sonic Pump Studios, on the outskirts of Helsinki, AMORPHIS premiered their latest twelve track opus for an assemblage of foreign journalists, as well as homegrown fans. Even the album artwork is still in transition, as an egg hovers in the clouds above a groove of snow covered pine trees, the familiar arched Hammer Of Thor symbol is crudely depicted on the shell. Neither label reps, nor management had heard the album prior to the listening session! Bold move.
The still unmastered disc, rumored to go under the title of Beginning Of Time (the last song on the album) will be finalized within the coming week.
Tracklisting (running order still subject to change): 'Mermaid', 'My Enemy', 'You I Need', 'Battle For Light', 'Three Words', 'On A Stranded Shore', 'Escape', 'Reformation', 'Soothsayer', 'Song Of The Sage', 'Crack In A Stone' and 'Beginning Of Time'.
The songs feature plenty of death vocals from Tomi Joutsen, as well a couple of new wrinkles.
It will be released on May 27th through Nuclear Blast.
12 songs, sounds promising! :metal
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Sonic Pump huh? I happen to live 30 minutes from there.
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Hey, at least Far From The Sun isn't in the top 7 :biggrin:
I haven't listened to it.
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"Plenty of death vocals" eh?
I are excite.
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"Plenty of death vocals" eh?
I are excite.
Yeah, I like Tomi's vocal stylings. Can't wait for this.
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Guys, I come.
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EVERYONE GO LISTEN TO WEAVING THE INCANTATION RIGHT NOW!
Top 10 songs of Joutsen trilogy in chronological order:
House of Sleep
Leaves Scar
Under a Soil and Black Stone
The Smoke
Weaving the Incantation
A Servant
The White Swan
Sampo
Sky Is Mine
From Earth I Rose
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Not a bad list at all, but severely lacking in Perkele (God of Fire).
I shall have a think and come up with a top 10. Maybe even in order of preference, if I'm able to decide...
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EVERYONE GO LISTEN TO WEAVING THE INCANTATION RIGHT NOW!
Top 10 songs of Joutsen trilogy in chronological order:
House of Sleep
Leaves Scar
Under a Soil and Black Stone
The Smoke
Weaving the Incantation
A Servant
The White Swan
Sampo
Sky Is Mine
From Earth I Rose
I put on Silent Waters on my car's CD player this morning. :)
And those are great songs, I would probably replace Sky is Mine and From Earth I Rose with somoe Eclipse tunes.
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My top10 Joutsen-era songs (chronological order):
Leaves Scar
Under a Soil and Black Stone
The Smoke
Weaving the Incantation
Towards & Against
Shaman
Sampo
Sky Is Mine
Skyforger
From Earth I Rose
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Right, my top 10, in order of preference:
1. House of Sleep
2. Her Alone
3. I of Crimson Blood
4. Perkele (God of Fire)
5. Sampo
6. Enigma
7. The White Swan
8. Weaving the Incantation
9. Silver Bride
10. Two Moons
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O SHIIIIIIIIIII- (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150407582220276&set=a.489531815275.386536.20414195275&ref=nf)
I am excite
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Yea. Here's the Blabbermouth link: https://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=154640
I am so excited right now. What a band.
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I really like the artwork and that the album centers around Väinämöinen, easily the most iconic character from Finnish folklore.
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:caffeine:
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I really love the artwork!
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I love everything Amorphis-related.
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:caffeine:
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I don't know if you guys know this already but that egg is the egg of Sotka and when it broke the world was created. According to Kalevala obviously. Hence the name The Beginning of Times. ;)
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As Ariich has just accepted me as a friend on Lastfm I celebrated by giving his top played band a listen. I'd never heard anything by Amorphis so had a listen to Skyforger on Spotify and I'm liking it alot. not a fan of growls but coped with them on Static Impulse so giving this a go. I expected more Death-y stuff so pleasantly surprised.
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Great to hear you're checking them out because of me! :D They're a pretty amazing band. Yeah they have some growls, but also clean vocals and everything in between. But even the heavy stuff is melodic and has wonderful sense of harmony and melody.
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Love the artwork, can't wait to get my hands on this. Looks like it's gonna be a great year for music.
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As Ariich has just accepted me as a friend on Lastfm I celebrated by giving his top played band a listen. I'd never heard anything by Amorphis so had a listen to Skyforger on Spotify and I'm liking it alot. not a fan of growls but coped with them on Static Impulse so giving this a go. I expected more Death-y stuff so pleasantly surprised.
If you don't like growls, check out Tuonela and AM Universum. Growl free, back when they had their old singer.
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As Ariich has just accepted me as a friend on Lastfm I celebrated by giving his top played band a listen. I'd never heard anything by Amorphis so had a listen to Skyforger on Spotify and I'm liking it alot. not a fan of growls but coped with them on Static Impulse so giving this a go. I expected more Death-y stuff so pleasantly surprised.
If you don't like growls, check out Tuonela and AM Universum. Growl free, back when they had their old singer.
Will do. Thanks.
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Been on an Amorphis kick lately. These guys rule.
They can be so cheesy though. I DRANK THE WHITE MILK I SWALLOWED THE RED MILK. :rollin
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They can be so cheesy though. I DRANK THE WHITE MILK I SWALLOWED THE RED MILK. :rollin
FIND AND CATCH THE DEVIL'S MOOSE
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Well, they can sound cheesy if one doesn't know the Finnish mythology!
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Sorry for the double post, but I have to ask: would anyone be interested in an Amorphis survivor? I could run one, if there were enough participants.
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Yeah i think that would be quite interesting.
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Ok, another thing I need to know: have you guys heard all (or most) of their albums? I hope there'll be more than just 2 voters for Karelian Isthmus survivor! :lol
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I would feel comfortable voting for every album except TKI and FftS.
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I don't really do survivors anymore. They just aren't fun for me anymore.
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Well, I guess I can start the survivor! :metal
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I would feel comfortable voting for every album except TKI and FftS.
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Karelian Isthmus and Far from the Sun are my least listened albums too. KI is just a bit immature and not so original, and FFTS is simply bland and uninspired. Anyway, I'll start the survivor on Saturday!
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For those who haven't checked the survivor thread:
Ok, since no one seems to care about this album, is it alright if we skip it? Exile and Sign (the most well-known songs that have been re-recorded with Tomi Joutsen) could go to the finals, or the whole album could be ignored totally (like with Lunar Strain in the In Flames survivor), as they'd probably get voted out first.
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I'm fine with it being skipped because people will probably just vote those two songs out first anyway.
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That.
I've only heard the album a couple of times and it's pretty lame.
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This is pretty old news but I'll still post it: https://wordsasweapons.wordpress.com/2011/02/01/statement-von-amorphis-zu-pasis-shirtausfall/
So, Pasi wore a Josef Mengele shirt at one of the shows where there were former members on stage. He's a neo-Nazi, but like I posted in the Nazi-thread here, I won't burn the old Amorphis albums on which he sings! :lol
BTW, judging on the live videos I've seen, Pasi was quite bad live. I've heard that his vocals were heavily edited on Tuonela and Am Universum. No wonder why those 2 albums feature his best performances!
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An update from the Amorphis FB page:
Dear Fans. Our record label Nuclear Blast forced us to change the cover art due to similarity for other album covers that include egg. Graphic designer Holger Tiefenbach modified new one with slight difference. It's never good to do compromises but we hope you like it! Have a good weekend folks. -Esa
(https://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/197975_10150449282215276_20414195275_17818440_6376672_n.jpg)
:lol
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LOL, a good one! :rollin
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I lol'd.
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They should do a re-edition of Transatlantic covers.
:hat
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:lol Nice.
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Managed to pick up Skyforger limited edition on the weekend for $10. After not hearing any music by them but hearing many good things by a lot of you blokes about them, I decided to pick it up. I'm up to track 3 and I gotta say, the first two songs were incredible. :tup
Really good, original metal. After reading a bit on them it seems like this is a newer direction for them. Will be picking up more. What's a couple more good albums?
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SILENT WATERS.
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That's the one before Skyforger isn't it? Still listening and the is really impressive stuff. I'm loving the atmosphere of the whole sound, it just breathes and has a really open and somewhat calming atmosphere. Sky is Mine had absolutely killer melodies, a cracking tune.
I'm halfway through Majestic Beast and I had to check to make sure I wasn't listening to Opeth, very Grand Conjuration.
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I'm loving the atmosphere of the whole sound, it just breathes and has a really open and somewhat calming atmosphere.
That's exactly what I love about their latest three albums as well, it's kinda heavy but it's gorgeous harmonically which makes it surprisingly pleasant, even in the heavy songs.
I'm halfway through Majestic Beast and I had to check to make sure I wasn't listening to Opeth, very Grand Conjuration.
Yeah that one is very Opeth. :lol I think in terms of the heaviest songs, the ones from the previous two albums are better, particularly Perkele (God of Fire) from Eclipse.
And yeah Silent Waters is the one before Skyforger.
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SILENT WATERS.
THIS. Then get Eclipse.
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Exactly Ariich, that's a perfect way to describe it. Just the sound overall gives me a comfortable, calming feeling. I'm really enjoying this album. The first two tracks are just incredible as is Sky is Mine and Highest Star.
Noticed last night the major sound glitches in Skyforger and My Sun. The band must have been pissed about that, but I just loaded them into cool edit and fixed the volume of those sections myself, so it's no big deal.
Will be checking out more. From what I've checked out of the DVD on youtube looks amazing also, great band. Thanks guys, especially you DTVT, you recommended these guys to me just a few weeks or so ago, and thought of your recommendation when I saw the album in store. :tup
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Noticed last night the major sound glitches in Skyforger and My Sun. The band must have been pissed about that, but I just loaded them into cool edit and fixed the volume of those sections myself, so it's no big deal.
They had wav files of the corrected versions on their site for download, dunno if they still do but it could be worth getting them for maximum quality.
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Noticed last night the major sound glitches in Skyforger and My Sun. The band must have been pissed about that, but I just loaded them into cool edit and fixed the volume of those sections myself, so it's no big deal.
They had wav files of the corrected versions on their site for download, dunno if they still do but it could be worth getting them for maximum quality.
Yeah, had a quick look around last night, but I couldn't find them. Re-saving them in cool edit after I edited them didn't make too much of a difference to the sound quality. I'm not too overly fussed. If I come across the regular version cheap I might pick that up too. I only paid $10 for the digipak, marked down from $35, so I'm not complaining.
Course of Fate and From Earth I Rose BTW, are amazingly epic!!
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The error on the digipak was later fixed, at least I've seen some digipaks with "corrected edition" text on the sticker.
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I guess I just picked up one of the first pressings, nevermind.
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If you want to be among the first to listen to the new Amorphis single "You I Need", make sure to come back here on Monday, April 11 for the official Facebook premiere of the song! Finnish fans are also likely to come across it on the radio from next week on.
The TV premiere of "You I Need" will be on the charity gala "Idols tekee hyvää", which will be aired on Easter Sunday, April 24 at 19:15 on MTV 3 (Finland).
Amorphis on Idols? Hmm... I know metal (including Amorphis) is popular in Finland, the Amorphis albums with Tomi Joutsen (plus Far from the Sun) have been certified gold here and some songs get airplay on radio, but this is interesting!
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Just listened to the new song! :metal I have very high expectations for the new album!
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The new song is different from the other recent singles. Those were ingrained on my brain after one listen. This one isn't. Plus, this one is very keyboard- and piano-driven. Will listen more later!
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Really nice song, classic Amorphis single material really. Great chorus!
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The more I listen to it, the more I like it! :) You I Need isn't as catchy as House of Sleep or Silver Bride, but still great. I think I even heard a short female vocal part after the 3 minute mark.
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New song has me excited for the new album.
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:omg: at 2.46: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSxWN95t42M
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Amorphis added another new song, My Enemy on their Facebook page! :metal
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Sorry for the triple post, but here (https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004YXNTZ2/ref=sr_1_album_16_rd?ie=UTF8&child=B004YXNVBE&qid=1304433433&sr=1-16) are samples of the new album. I really hope they can top Skyforger!
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Just pre-ordered my copy :metal
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Very excited for this! The two songs released thus far have not been killers, but they have grown on me for sure.
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My goodness, that trailer is amazing.
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Sorry for the triple post, but here (https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004YXNTZ2/ref=sr_1_album_16_rd?ie=UTF8&child=B004YXNVBE&qid=1304433433&sr=1-16) are samples of the new album. I really hope they can top Silent Waters!
yup.
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I know there's still time, but once the Am Universum survivor (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=23039.0) is over, should I skip Far from the Sun and go straight to Eclipse? FFTS is their worst album IMO, and if Karelian Isthmus was skipped, that one should be skipped as well. Eclipse, along with the other new albums, seems to be among the more well-known albums, and FFTS songs would lose in the finals anyway.
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New album is out soon! :metal
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Here's more samples: https://www.nuclearblast.de/en/products/tontraeger/cd/cd/amorphis-beginning-of-times.html
Sounds like they'll top themselves once again! :metal Also, I have to remind all of you, the Eclipse survivor will start early next week!
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Here's more samples: https://www.nuclearblast.de/en/products/tontraeger/cd/cd/amorphis-beginning-of-times.html
Sounds like they'll top themselves once again! :metal Also, I have to remind all of you, the Eclipse survivor will start early next week!
Excellent, now I can start participating. :metal
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New Amorphis? Oh man more awesome music for 2011!
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New video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rs-or7As0k
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I liked the part with the lake, but the "apocalyptic" scenery didn't work IMO. Interesting video still...
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I was disappointed by that song to be honest - the chorus was very flat. Still, the previews sound far, far, better, so i'm still very excited.
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I find it quite ironic that the verses are the catchiest part in You I Need (IMO), since usually the chorus is meant to be the catchiest. Eclipse survivor just started so VOTE VOTE VOTE!
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I find it quite ironic that the verses are the catchiest part in You I Need (IMO), since usually the chorus is meant to be the catchiest. Eclipse survivor just started so VOTE VOTE VOTE!
yeah, I agree, funny how the chorus is the least catchiest part. Even the guitar solo is more melodic and catchy IMO.
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I find it quite ironic that the verses are the catchiest part in You I Need (IMO), since usually the chorus is meant to be the catchiest. Eclipse survivor just started so VOTE VOTE VOTE!
yeah, I agree, funny how the chorus is the least catchiest part. Even the guitar solo is more melodic and catchy IMO.
I don't agree, The chorus is amazing!
But by the way, Finnish people can listen the whole album tonight at a local radio station, muhahah! :metal
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More (and longer) samples: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0R93Zd02ajg&feature=player_embedded :metal
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Album is now on spotify :tup
https://open.spotify.com/album/42Yq9hqoCnZ2hWgt3smNwX
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OMGOMGOMG
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New samples made me very happy!
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Album is now on spotify :tup
https://open.spotify.com/album/42Yq9hqoCnZ2hWgt3smNwX
"This album is not available in the United Kingdom."
(https://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r243/ariich/random/j0395861.jpg)
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I'll buy the album today! Can't wait!
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TBOT is just... pure awesomeness! :metal :metal :metal Their most diverse album by far! The album has more proggy, aggressive and folky moments than the previous three. To those who didn't find You I Need interesting: don't fear, it's one of the less great songs on the album, the other songs are better. I also noticed that now it's easier to recognise the styles of each composer: Koivusaari writes the heaviest songs, Holopainen has the proggiest ideas and Kallio's songs are closest to the "basic Amorphis sound". 8 of the songs feature growls and I like the use of female vocals too.
Also, remember to vote in the survivor, there are just 2 voters now, and I'm sure there are much more people who have heard Eclipse!
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The new album is killer, far stronger than Skyforger, and perhaps the best with Tomi J so far.
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Good to hear those positive reviews, I'm really enjoying You I Need, can't wait to pick up the album.
And would some people get their asses over to the Eclipse survivor!!
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Another thing I noticed was that the drumming is more interesting than before, and Reformation has some pretty complex rhythms. My favorite songs are Song of the Sage, Three Words and Crack in a Stone. There's even some screaming on the latter! :metal I liked the more prevalent 70's and folk influences on the songs. I find it quite ironic how Esa said in the Finnish Soundi magazine that they try to avoid using Finnish titles in the lyrics, despite them being from Kalevala, as I noticed Finnish titles in three songs! :lol I think it's more than on the previous albums.
"This album is not available in the United Kingdom."
It should be now, as it was released in the whole Europe on Friday!
And would some people get their asses over to the Eclipse survivor!!
THISTHISTHIS!
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UK release is on Monday if Amazon is to be believed.
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From the official Amorphis site:
May 27, 2011
“The Beginning Of Times” out now!
From today on, The Beginning Of Times is in stores all over Europe, both on CD and on vinyl. The US release will be on June 7.
It may be a different day for UK, though.
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Yeah I'm fairly sure all new albums come out on Mondays here. Ah well.
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On song 5, this is already way stronger than Skyforger. Let's see how it holds up against Eclipse and Silent Waters.
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On song 5, this is already way stronger than Skyforger. Let's see how it holds up against Eclipse and Silent Waters.
There's an Eclipse survivor waiting for you.
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Highlights on the album (in my opinion):
Mermaid
My Enemy
Three Words
Beginning Of Time
other are pretty basic Amorphis, I don't say I don't like them but I was a little bit disappointed (just a little of course)
Mermaid has very good riffs and chorus, You I Need has been played on the radio little bit too much, Escape's nice intro riff is stucked my head, some cool proggy elements in other songs and I like those female vocals (fits great!)
Mermaid is the best song of the album in my opinion.
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other are pretty basic Amorphis, I don't say I don't like them but I was a little bit disappointed (just a little of course)
I don't think songs like Reformation or Crack in a Stone are basic Amorphis, but that's just my opinion. Actually, for some reason, the keyboard part at 0.16 in CIAS reminds me of Children of Bodom!
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other are pretty basic Amorphis, I don't say I don't like them but I was a little bit disappointed (just a little of course)
I don't think songs like Reformation or Crack in a Stone are basic Amorphis, but that's just my opinion. Actually, for some reason, the keyboard part at 0.16 in CIAS reminds me of Children of Bodom!
haha! NOOOOOO!!!! I think I'm Finlands official COB hater :lol
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I like some of their albums, but my opinion on the ones on which they tried to copy metalcore is :puke:
I don't know, the keyboard sound just reminded me of the Follow the Reaper album (not shredding, fortunately! :lol)
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Imagine COB/Amorpis united. Joutsen/Latvala/Raatikainen/Wirman/Etelävuori line-up could be a good one! :metal
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UUugggghhhhhhh
Amorphis's last four albums have all sounded the same, and this is not a good thing.
Eclipse is one of my top ten favorite albums of all time. The ideas and passion are both incredible.
Silent Waters was a very nice sequel. About half the tracks are just as good as the best of Eclipse, and the rest are at the very least interesting and/or solid.
I honestly don't remember anything off Skyforger except Sampo (which sounds too much like a lesser version of I of Crimson Blood, but is at least solid), Sky is Mine (awesome song), and Majestic Beast (also awesome).
With The Beginning of Times, like, yeah it's more interesting as a whole, but even the good songs have structures, progressions, and licks that remind me too much of moments from the past three albums. I like these guys, I really do, but they've beaten the dead horse of the Eclipse sound into ground meat. Enough is enough.
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I dunno, I think this is the first time that there's been a bit of a departure. I think Silent Waters perfected the sound of Eclipse, but Skyforger was a slight step down. But this one goes a bit further with some of the heavy stuff.
It still doesn't match up to Silent Waters, but it's a really great album IMO.
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At this point Amorphis could release the biggest lump of turd imaginable and I would not care. In my books, they have four ridiculously good records, and their 20 or 30 best songs are legendary. Everything they do from now on is just gravy.
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Esa said in an interview that years ago people criticized them for changing too much, and now there are complaints about not changing. He said that nowadays they prefer staying in the same style and evolving it to changing constantly. IMO they have made so many changes in style during their career that I don't care if they'll keep on doing albums like the last few, especially when they are very good!
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That's a good point. Tales from the Thousand Lakes -> Elegy was a paradigm shift for obvious reasons. Elegy -> Tuonela was a paradigm shift because the growls were almost completely gone. Far from the Sun -> Eclipse was a paradigm shift because the growls came back. That's three paradigm shifts over like 10 years or something, which is more than most bands ever have, I feel like.
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Far from the Sun -> Eclipse was a paradigm shift because they shit the bed on Far from the Sun
FTFY. Tomi couldn't have saved FftS. FftS has moments...but the best song on FftS probably isn't much better than the worst songs on Tuonela and AM Universum - to stick with the Pasi albums.
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I'm talking about style not quality, but either way, yes, between Far from the Sun and Eclipse there was a huge change.
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Amorphis topped the Finnish charts! :metal They're above Lady Gaga! :tup
https://www.ifpi.fi/tilastot/virallinen-lista/albumit/2011/22
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That's a damn fine effort!!
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? has started the Silent Waters survivor, everybody go there now!!
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So new era rankings time.
Silent Waters > The Beginning of Times > Eclipse >> Skyforger
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The Beginning of Times > Skyforger > Silent Waters > Eclipse
All albums ranked:
TBOT
Skyforger
SW
Tuonela
Elegy
Tales...
Eclipse
Am Universum
Karelian Isthmus
Far from the Sun
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as much as I love AU and Elegy (the other two i know), I think the new material destroys the old.
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So new era rankings time.
Silent Waters > The Beginning of Times > Eclipse >> Skyforger
This exactly.
as much as I love AU and Elegy, I think the new material destroys the old.
AND THIS EXACTLY.
What the hell, we never agree this much.
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I used to think that, but every time I listen to an old album, I love it more whereas every time I listen to a new album, it kind of stays the same. I would put Elegy and Tuonela above any of the new stuff.
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I used to think that, but every time I listen to an old album, I love it more whereas every time I listen to a new album, it kind of stays the same. I would put Elegy and Tuonela above any of the new stuff.
The rerecorded Elegy stuff with Tomi is pretty intense, admittedly.
So new era rankings time.
Silent Waters > The Beginning of Times > Eclipse >> Skyforger
This exactly.
as much as I love AU and Elegy, I think the new material destroys the old.
AND THIS EXACTLY.
What the hell, we never agree this much.
Finally some sense!
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I think some of you fellow Amorphis fans could like Kingston Wall, they were a huge influence on Amorphis. I made a thread for them here: https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=23753.0
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Can someone change the topic name? It bugs me.
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Can someone change the topic name? It bugs me.
I think only j can do that. I agree though, if I see him I'll tell him.
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Or I can just do it. :P
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Or I can just do it. :P
:tup
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But now his joke in the OP makes no sense at the expense of some butthurt fanboy.
I can't take this anymore. I'm leaving forever.
*Grabs bag but realizes it's too heavy to carry*
I'll send for my things.
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Glad to see the thread title changed finally! :tup Remember to vote here: https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=23832.0
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Damn you, ariich! *shakes fist*
Still haven't gotten hold of their new album. It is now my top musical acquisition priority.
-J
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After listening to the first nine songs, the only one that grabbed my soul and raped it into submission was "Battle for Light". Oh well. More listens required! This will be fun!
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Best Buy's music selection officially sucks now. No Amorphis this week. Next time I'm up by a mall, I need to swing by FYE because I NEED TO HEAR THIS ALBUM.
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Looking at the recent setlists, they have so far played the following new songs live:
Battle for Light
My Enemy
You I Need
Three Words
Crack in a Stone
I'm surprised at the lack of Mermaid. However, the latter 2 are among my favorites, hopefully they'll keep them in the setlist! :metal Wish they'd announce the Finnish tour dates already...
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After a few more listens, I can add "Mermaid" the Amorphis list of soul-destroyers. The rest will need more time.
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So I like the Amorphis I've heard...are Silent Waters or the new album worth it?
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Silent Waters absolutely definitely is! I would say the new album is as well. Both are great!
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Silent Waters absolutely definitely is! I would say the new album is as well. Both are great!
Indeed, Silent Waters is an amazing record, these songs were stuck in my head for a long time. I didn't dig the new album so much, but it has some amazing songs. Mermaid is my favorite.
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So I like the Amorphis I've heard...are Silent Waters or the new album worth it?
If you like the Amorphis you've heard, then isn't your question already answered? :lol
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People who don't like Silent Waters are rotting pieces of festering shit.
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All Amorphis albums are worth hearing (except Karelian Isthmus and Far from the Sun, despite having a few good songs)!
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Hoping to find Beginning of Times in store this weekend. Wasn't available last weekend, so I'm getting very anxious for it.
So I like the Amorphis I've heard...are Silent Waters or the new album worth it?
Yes, and also Skyforger and Eclipse.
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Silent Waters absolutely definitely is! I would say the new album is as well. Both are great!
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So the new Amorphis is amazing, just a little long. Drop "Reformation" and "Soothsayer" and it's perfect!
EDIT: I just spent 15 minutes throwing together some thoughts on TBoT and posted a review. Go discuss and maybe we can get some new people turned on to these guys!
Top 10 of Joutsen era in chronological order:
House of Sleep
The Smoke
Weaving the Incantation
Silent Waters
The White Swan
Sampo
Sky Is Mine
From Earth I Rose
Battle for Light
Mermaid
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So the new Amorphis is amazing, just a little long. Drop "Reformation" and "Soothsayer" and it's perfect!
IMO Reformation is the best song without growls on the new album and Soothsayer is pretty awesome too. On a Stranded Shore is my least favorite.
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Got TBOT today, just starting to listen to it now. Very happy. :metal
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So.....Mermaid is fucking amazing!
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After about 3 or 4 listens to the new album, I am quite happy with it. Not as memorable as Skyforger IMO but it's very good, and it's a real grower. Perhaps could have been cut down 2 or 3 tracks and it would have been perfect. The first six songs are amazing and there are a couple of good ones later on in the album too.
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I don't get what people see in Skyforger that makes them like it more than Eclipse or Silent Waters. Not saying that's your case, wolfking - I just thought about it after reading your post.
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I don't get what people see in Skyforger that makes them like it more than Eclipse or Silent Waters. Not saying that's your case, wolfking - I just thought about it after reading your post.
I see what you're saying. It was my first Amorphis album, so I guess it's a little special. And saying that, after the hype of Eclipse and Silent Waters, perhaps I expected too much and for me, they both don't live up to Skyforger. I think seeing as I purchased Skyforger on a whim I had no expectations from it, and it really opened itself up to me. I still think it's better than Silent Waters and Eclipse.
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I don't get what people see in Skyforger that makes them like it more than Eclipse or Silent Waters. Not saying that's your case, wolfking - I just thought about it after reading your post.
Well, it's a similar style, but executed better. Or at least that's how I see it.
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I don't get what people see in Skyforger that makes them like it more than Eclipse or Silent Waters. Not saying that's your case, wolfking - I just thought about it after reading your post.
Well, it's a similar style, but executed better. Or at least that's how I see it.
Nick, I love you, but all this says to me is, "Well, it's a similar style, but without growls."
Sorry my brain is such a douchebag. :-*
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I think Skyforger is the first Joutsen-era album not to feature a single filler song. (This continues on The Beginning of Times) On Eclipse there were a few fillers and on Silent Waters the less interesting song is Black River. Skyforger was also the first Amorphis album I bought right when it was released. It's also more diverse than Eclipse and Silent Waters; there are more growls (not as notably as on TBOT, though), but also more super-catchy songs with hit potential. Speaking of hits: Silver Bride was voted as the radio hit of the year 2009 in Finland! :metal
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Yeah, I think that's it, Skyforger simply has no filler, while the other two do. Silver Bride should have been a big hit, tremendous song.
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You guys are killing me right now. Skyforger has so much filler! Eclipse and Silent Waters have none!
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You guys are killing me right now. Skyforger has so much filler! Eclipse and Silent Waters have none!
Really? What do you consider to be filler on Skyforger?
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Looking back on it, I'm not sure the number of filler songs is my problem with Skyforger. My problem* with it is that it only has three killers, compared to Eclipse and Silent Waters which each have at least six.
* Take "problem" for what you will. I think Skyforger is a really good album.
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Fair enough, but I disagree, most songs are absolutely killer IMO.
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I don't get what people see in Skyforger that makes them like it more than Eclipse or Silent Waters. Not saying that's your case, wolfking - I just thought about it after reading your post.
Well, it's a similar style, but executed better. Or at least that's how I see it.
Nick, I love you, but all this says to me is, "Well, it's a similar style, but without growls."
Sorry my brain is such a douchebag. :-*
Don't get me wrong, the fact that Skyforger has fewer growls is very much appreciated by me, and I think they had a perfect amount of growls on that album, but in general I just think the album is also better than the previous two, which I also love.
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"Towards and Against" is my new favorite Amorphis song :metal :metal :metal
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Skyforger has less growls? wat
Let's see which songs contain growls...
Eclipse
Leaves Scar
Perkele
The Smoke
Brother Moon
Silent Waters
Weaving the Incantation
A Servant
Towards & Against
The White Swan
(Sign)
Skyforger
Sampo
Silver Bride
Majestic Beast
Skyforger
From Earth I Rose
(Godlike Machine)
(Separated)
The Beginning of Times
Battle for Light
My Enemy
Song of the Sage
Three Words
Soothsayer
Escape
Crack in a Stone
Beginning of Time
Skyforger has 5 songs with growls (plus the bonus tracks), whereas Eclipse and Silent Waters have 4. Actually Highest Star has some growls too, but they are covered by the clean backing vocals. I think the growls are featured in less obvious parts: when I first heard Silver Bride, I was surprised to hear the growling in the end. The strong melodic elements also make Skyforger feel like a softer album than the previous 2, although it isn't.
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While your investigation work is truly impressive, I'd say it fails to take in account how much growling there actually is per song.
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While your investigation work is truly impressive, I'd say it fails to take in account how much growling there actually is per song.
Hmm... I'd better let someone else do that! :lol
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Just in passing, if memory serves, aside from Majestic Beast is there really any other song dominated by growling on Skyforger? On the other albums it just seemed that more songs were heavily laced with growls.
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Yeah, you're actually right. But I must add: half of the vocals on From Earth I Rose are growled. Also, both Eclipse and Silent Waters had only one song with more growls than cleans too (Perkele and A Servant), so I would say that Skyforger has more growling or at least the same amount.
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I'm guessing Seperated another bonus track? I have the digi with Godlike Machine, but haven't heard Seperated. Any good?
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So glad I bought Skyforger on iTunes because Godlike Machine is great.
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I'm guessing Seperated another bonus track? I have the digi with Godlike Machine, but haven't heard Seperated. Any good?
Separated is the B-side of Silver Bride single and the Japanese bonus track of Skyforger. It can probably be heard on Youtube. Great song, wish it was on the album instead of Highest Star! The only thing I would change is the guitar noise at the end, I have never liked those (that's why I prefer the edited version of Misunderstood to the full version).
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My physical copy had Godlike Machine, and like SDN said, its great.
BTW, I know who you are ? You're Guy Incognito!
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BTW, I know who you are ? You're Guy Incognito!
Sig'd! :lol
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I agree with TOX, I find Eclipse and SW to easily be their strongest albums, but the others are still fantastic as well.
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My album rankings:
1. Elegy - 10
---
2. Tuonela - 9
3. Eclipse - 9
3. Silent Waters - 9
---
5. Am Universum - 8
6. Tales from the Thousand Lakes - 8
---
7. Skyforger - 7.5
8. The Beginning of Times - 7
---
9. Far from the Sun - 6
10. The Karelian Isthmus - 4
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1. Silent Waters
2. Eclipse
---------
3. The Beginning of Times
4. Skyforger
5. Am Universum
6. Elegy
---------
7. Tuonela
8. Tales From the Thousand Lakes
---------
9. Far From the Sun
10. The Karelian Isthmus
Those last two are the only ones that I really just don't care for at all. The rest all range from really solid to outright incredible.
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You guys should check out Barren Earth, has two former Amorphis members and is one of the best albums I have in the last few years.
https://www.myspace.com/officialbarrenearth
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You guys should check out Barren Earth, has two former Amorphis members and is one of the best albums I have in the last few years.
https://www.myspace.com/officialbarrenearth
I recommend them too! :tup Looking forward to their second album...
I also recommend Kingston Wall (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=23753.0), a great prog/psychedelic rock band which has highly influenced Amorphis.
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If anyone is interested, Santeri Kallio and Tomi Koivusaari have a side project called Verenpisara. It's like Amorphis but less metal; Santeri composes all the songs and the lyrics are written by their vocalist, poet Rami Raski. I REALLY doubt you'll understand the lyrics since they are in Finnish (hell, even I have a hard time understanding some metaphors, despite being a Finn!), but the music itself is very kick-ass! :metal They have released 4 albums but I don't think those have been released outside of Finland.
Suunta (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9gyquOCvLM)
Eilinen on kuollut (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_oXBP5ntQ4)
Aamuisin kun sataa (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XP69dGHgqKc)
Sinun tyyneytesi vie voiton kaikesta (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h53MJXYdC1Q)
Don't forget to vote in the Amorphis survivor: https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=24392.0
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Just to remind everyone who doesn't visit the Polls/Survivors regularly: the first round of the finals in Amorphis survivor has been posted! The link is in my signature.
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The first live video of Mermaid! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4uccPU-gow) (sorry for triple-post, but there hasn't been a short gap between these posts)
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Just kidding, they're awesome. One of my favorite bands right now, and they continue to grow on me.
-J
Dude....you seriously have no idea the rant I was about to unleash upon you lol :lol
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Great band.
As a novice fan I'm actually slightly more affected by their older stuff.
However, I loved their re-recorded versions of old songs and I can't understand why some fans dislike them.
Tomi is a great singer and his growl vaporizes brains.
I hope to hear them live some time.
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Great band.
As a novice fan I'm actually slightly more affected by their older stuff.
However, I loved their re-recorded versions of old songs and I can't understand why some fans dislike them.
Tomi is a great singer and his growl vaporizes brains.
I hope to hear them live some time.
It's the death metal purists and people that consider the first albums untouchable classics who dislike those re-recordings. However, I think their early stuff rules but I still prefer the remakes. I've seen Amorphis live once and they are an excellent live band (can't say the same about Pasi-era Amorphis, having seen some live videos), despite the predictable setlists! :metal
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I've seen Amorphis live once and they are an excellent live band (can't say the same about Pasi-era Amorphis, having seen some live videos), despite the predictable setlists! :metal
I just have to take my word back...
https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/amorphis/2011/tavastia-helsinki-finland-6bd0d2e2.html
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That's an amazing set!
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Yeah, lots of surprises! :tup Relief hasn't been played since '97 and Tuonela songs aren't that usual in their setlists nowadays so it's great to see Greed there. That set is quite heavy - lots of headbanging should be expected at the upcoming gigs! :metal
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I know this is quite late, but I saw Amorphis live on the Finnish tour in early October. The setlist was this:
My Enemy
Mermaid
The Smoke
Crack in a Stone
Greed
Song of the Sage
You I Need
Vulgar Necrolatry
Magic & Mayhem
Sky is Mine
Sampo
-----
Silver Bride
My Kantele
House of Sleep
It was a great show, despite the short playing time and lack of very rare songs like Brother Moon and Relief. I find the complete lack of Silent Waters songs weird, though. My Kantele was nice with Esa playing a real electric sitar on the outro! :tup
Looks like some setlist changes have happened on the European tour too: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/amorphis/2011/alcatraz-milan-italy-6bd1f22e.html I understand dropping Song of the Sage, they would need some backing vocalist on the verses to make it sound like album version, but I thought Greed was a kick-ass live song and can't see why it wouldn't be played.
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The Beginning of Times has been nominated as the best metal album in the Finnish equivalent of Grammys: https://www.emmagaala.fi/fi/ehdokaslista/19
However, I predict COB will win that, they have bigger sales numbers, despite the radio play Amorphis gets.
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The new concert hall tour set looks pretty neat, too bad I'm unable to go and see any of the shows:
-Acoustic
Enigma
I Of Crimson Blood
Brother Moon
Karelia/Sign From The North Side
-Electric
Sampo
Leaves Scar
Mermaid
My Enemy
Into Hiding
Majestic Beast
Silver Bride
You I Need
Her Alone
-Acoustic
Empty Opening
Rusty Moon
-Electric
Alone
House Of Sleep
My Kantele
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AMORPHIS To Enter Studio Next Month (https://www.blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=178378)
Peter Tägtgren is an interesting choice for producer, I'm intrigued to see what they can do with him.
BTW, I saw Amorphis at a festival in my home town this summer and while the setlist was pretty safe, they put on a great show. I'll see them again this December.
And for those who haven't seen, this is a broadcast from an acoustic performance Amorphis did in a radio show last April: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjTVo7UWquY
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I guess I should check out some more of this band's material. I have "Skyforger" and thought it was decent. I could do without the growling, though.
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I guess I should check out some more of this band's material. I have "Skyforger" and thought it was decent. I could do without the growling, though.
Their worst recent album. Get Silent Waters.
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I guess I should check out some more of this band's material. I have "Skyforger" and thought it was decent. I could do without the growling, though.
Their worst recent album. Get Silent Waters.
He doesn't like growling though, and I'd say SW has even more than Skyforger.
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Yeah, if it's got more growling on it, I'm probably going to have to pass.
What about the other one you guys were talking about? I can probably deal with 50/50
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If you don't like growling, then Amorphis are not the band for you, please move along ;D
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If you don't like growling, then Amorphis are not the band for you, please move along ;D
Disagree, and rebuttle:
Barry, you might like their middle albums, Tuonela and AM Universum. Those have their previous singer and don't have growling like their first three albums or their last four. Far From the Sun has the non-growly singer, but you want to get that one last. Of those two, I'd go AM Universum first.
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I'll dig up some tracks on YouTube and see what I think. Thanks, bro.
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AMORPHIS To Enter Studio Next Month (https://www.blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=178378)
Peter Tägtgren is an interesting choice for producer, I'm intrigued to see what they can do with him.
Love Amorphis, but I thought their last album was quite average. I'm hoping this next one is back on par with their usual great work!
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AMORPHIS To Enter Studio Next Month (https://www.blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=178378)
Peter Tägtgren is an interesting choice for producer, I'm intrigued to see what they can do with him.
Love Amorphis, but I thought their last album was quite average. I'm hoping this next one is back on par with their usual great work!
I hear ya. I loved TBOT to death when it came out but nowadays I think they could've dropped Escape and On a Stranded Shore to make it tighter, now it feels like they put too many songs on the album. They have pretty much perfected the "new" style on these last 4 albums so I hope they can bring in some new flavours.
I guess I should check out some more of this band's material. I have "Skyforger" and thought it was decent. I could do without the growling, though.
Amorphis was one of the bands that got me into growls because the melodies underneath them were so excellent and catchy. The other Joutsen-era albums have about the same amount of growling as Skyforger, except for the latest which includes more grunts. If you don't even like growls in melodic songs like From Earth I Rose, then you aren't going to be a growling fan at all. But like DTVT, I'd recommend Tuonela and Am Universum - they're more experimental and spacey and there's only one song with growls (Greed) on Tuonela and none on Am Universum. Far from the Sun doesn't have growls either but I find the songwriting pretty uninspired on that one.
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Studio report 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLdUj7wm2PM)
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Yes the Pasi era stuff does have a few non-growling albums, how could I forget?!
I did get to see them a couple of times with Pasi, and they were pretty ordinary to say the least.
Tomi is so much better, the live DVD is pretty good indication.
Check out this cool live acoustic performance, it adds a new dimension to the band.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=YjTVo7UWquY
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Studio reports 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTHcE6Z4lPM) and 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLbHuMS_IkQ)
These little clips sound pretty promising, sounds like they're going for a heavier approach this time! :metal The talk about progressive songs and using different stories from Kalevala also sounded interesting - I think we will hear some kind of change on the new album.
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Studio reports 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTHcE6Z4lPM) and 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLbHuMS_IkQ)
These little clips sound pretty promising, sounds like they're going for a heavier approach this time! :metal The talk about progressive songs and using different stories from Kalevala also sounded interesting - I think we will hear some kind of change on the new album.
Only a week or less in the studio and we already heard more music from their studio reports than all of Wintersun's "reports".
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Studio reports 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTHcE6Z4lPM) and 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLbHuMS_IkQ)
These little clips sound pretty promising, sounds like they're going for a heavier approach this time! :metal The talk about progressive songs and using different stories from Kalevala also sounded interesting - I think we will hear some kind of change on the new album.
Only a week or less in the studio and we already heard more music from their studio reports than all of Wintersun's "reports".
Actually they've been in the studio for weeks already:
"The recording process is going well. We're done with most of the instruments and now Peter Tägtgren and Tomi Joutsen are working their asses off with vocals."
But yeah, that Wintersun album has to be the Chinese Democracy of metal! :lol
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Studio reports 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTHcE6Z4lPM) and 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLbHuMS_IkQ)
These little clips sound pretty promising, sounds like they're going for a heavier approach this time! :metal The talk about progressive songs and using different stories from Kalevala also sounded interesting - I think we will hear some kind of change on the new album.
Only a week or less in the studio and we already heard more music from their studio reports than all of Wintersun's "reports".
Actually they've been in the studio for weeks already:
"The recording process is going well. We're done with most of the instruments and now Peter Tägtgren and Tomi Joutsen are working their asses off with vocals."
But yeah, that Wintersun album has to be the Chinese Democracy of metal! :lol
Necrophagist would like to have word with you, lol.
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Today I got the BR version of the live DVD, which I already had.
I can't see a great difference, but 2 great live show and lots of great bonus stuff.
Yes the Wintersun album, I'm a massive fan of the debut, I certainly hope it lives up to Nuclear Blast hype, I am sure it will.
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I'm going to see Amorphis live tonight! :metal I'll post some kind of report tomorrow :)
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I'm going to see Amorphis live tonight! :metal I'll post some kind of report tomorrow :)
One of my Finnish friends saw them in Oulu, and said the set kicked ass; the new song is also splendid! Have fun!
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I'm going to see Amorphis live tonight! :metal I'll post some kind of report tomorrow :)
I hate you, and my Finnish student who saw them and even has a picture of him with both Tomi's. Screw both of you. At least I can fail him :biggrin: j/k
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It was a great gig, as expected! :metal This was my fourth time seeing Amorphis and quite possibly the best, thanks in no small part to the setlist:
1. I of Crimson Blood
2. Born from Fire
3. Better Unborn
4. Crack in a Stone
5. Mermaid
6. Silver Bride
7. Mehtä (working title, new song)
8. The Smoke
Karelia
9. Sign from the North Side
10. From Earth I Rose
11. Silent Waters
12. Her Alone
----------------
Thousand Lakes
13. Into Hiding
14. You I Need
15. House of Sleep
16. Black Winter Day
About half the songs were stuff I hadn't heard live before - it was great to finally hear some of my favorite songs like Crimson Blood, Better Unborn and Into Hiding live. And while I love My Kantele, Sampo and Sky is Mine, it's good that those songs get out of the setlist for a while. Now if only they could drop The Smoke, I'm a bit tired of hearing that song every time and it's not even a hit like HOS and Silver Bride.
From Earth I Rose was excellent, I'm glad they finally corrected the mistake of never playing that song live! Mehtä ("forest" in an Eastern dialect of Finnish) is pretty heavy, probably even more aggressive than My Enemy. The main riff of that song is at least in the first studio report and you can hear a live version from Oulu here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kk84MtoRKb4). April can't come soon enough! :metal
All in all, I'd say this was the best Amorphis gig I've seen due to the amazing setlist (they could've thrown in something from Tuonela or Am Universum, but oh well) and atmosphere. I was in the second row, the best place I've had in any gig thus far, so compared to Provinssirock last summer, where the setlist was pretty safe and I was far from the stage, this was a whole different experience. On the top of all that, after the gig I bought a shirt and also got a free tourbook!
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Amorphis received gold discs for The Beginning of Times at the Tampere gig (https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.432401536830673.99873.148140928590070&type=1)
Congrats to the guys, they truly deserve it! :metal TBOT is now their fifth album to reach gold status in Finland.
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Tomi Joutsen shows you how to enter the stage with style (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2CXgPMorwg#t=9s)
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Tomi Joutsen shows you how to enter the stage with style (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2CXgPMorwg#t=9s)
He's on the list of people that need to marry me at once ::)
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His headbanging always looks epic live and he has the coolest microphone and mic stand I've ever seen! :hefdaddy And although I'm completely straight, I can see why ladies love him so much.
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His headbanging always looks epic live and he has the coolest microphone and mic stand I've ever seen! :hefdaddy And although I'm completely straight, I can see why ladies love him so much.
He's not my type at all, but he is universally irresistible. He's an angel that was cast out of heaven because the other heavenly creatures were jealous of his FABULOUS growling.
HOW COOL are the lyrics of My Enemy? And the little keyboard flourishes, yes, perfect. This band can do no wrong.
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I don't mean to nitpick, but could we change the title of the thread, it just annoys me, anyone else agree.
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I remember Esa and Tomi K said that the amount of female fans going to Amorphis gigs was multiplied when Joutsen joined! :lol
HOW COOL are the lyrics of My Enemy?
Amorphis lyrics are great overall, especially considering that they're first written in Finnish, then translated to English and then arranged to fit the vocal lines (probably in the same way that JP edits JM's lyrics in DT?). I think it's great they get people interested in Kalevala, both in Finland and abroad, and of course it has helped them get some publicity here. Pekka Kainulainen makes the stories easily approachable and more down-to-earth.
The downside is that there's not much room for interpretation (at least for a guy like me who knows the stories of Kalevala better than an average Finnish teenager): when the tracklisting for The Beginning of Times was announced, I already knew what Battle for Light, Mermaid and My Enemy would be about - and that was three months before I had even heard the album! :lol The same thing happened with Sampo and Silver Bride when the Skyforger tracklist was announced.
I don't mean to nitpick, but could we change the title of the thread, it just annoys me, anyone else agree.
Then the first post would have to be edited as well...
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Fair enough.
I should probably add something worthwhile here.
Skyforger is one of the greatest things ever!!
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Skyforger is my favorite album - as I said in the B-side thread, it was the first Amorphis album I bought on the release date and I saw them for the first time on the Forging the Land of Thousand Lakes tour. Even Silver Bride still manages to sound pretty great, although I bought the single (which also includes an awesome song called Separated!) before the release of the album and listened to it quite a lot, and it has also been played at every Amorphis gig I've seen. It's also probably their most famous song in Finland, having gotten quite a lot of radioplay and being chosen the radio hit of the year - Amorphis even played it at the Emma (Finnish Grammy) awards, where they won the "best metal album" category.
But despite not being bored of SB, I think it's not even close to being the best song on Skyforger - Sampo, From Earth I Rose and the title-track are my favorites.
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I can see why it's their most successful song, it's awesome, top 3 on the album IMO.
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Skyforger is my favorite album - as I said in the B-side thread, it was the first Amorphis album I bought on the release date and I saw them for the first time on the Forging the Land of Thousand Lakes tour. Even Silver Bride still manages to sound pretty great, although I bought the single (which also includes an awesome song called Separated!) before the release of the album and listened to it quite a lot, and it has also been played at every Amorphis gig I've seen. It's also probably their most famous song in Finland, having gotten quite a lot of radioplay and being chosen the radio hit of the year - Amorphis even played it at the Emma (Finnish Grammy) awards, where they won the "best metal album" category.
But despite not being bored of SB, I think it's not even close to being the best song on Skyforger - Sampo, From Earth I Rose and the title-track are my favorites.
Sampo, Sky Is Mine, and From Earth I Rose get my vote.
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Silver Bride is catchy for sure...
Actually Radio Rock plays a lot of Amorphis, some people have even complained about that! However, 99% of the time they play just the Joutsen-era singles, that's probably the reason. The poppier channels play their stuff minimally, although I once heard Silver Bride when I was in a fast food place and the radio was on (incidentally, I had just bought the Forging... DVD before I went there!).
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New album details released. Can't wait! :metal
https://www.blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=184948&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter (https://www.blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=184948&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter)
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I don't mean to nitpick, but could we change the title of the thread, it just annoys me, anyone else agree.
I do. People don't read the OP anymore anyways. Just call it "The Amorphis Thread".
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Nothing on their website or FB yet :huh: The summary of the story sounds interesting - it seems that it's not based on any Kalevala character this time (or if it is, I can't recognize which one). Can't wait to see the tracklisting... :metal ...or hear the album! :caffeine: "Mehtä" sounded really good live and if the rest of the album is as good, it will be yet another solid record.
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I am flipping over this. I love them. Mehtä sounded great in the recordings and the bits of riffs in their studio diaries really show promise.
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Alright, so I'm getting an album and the store here has The Beginning of Times, Magic and Mayhem, The Karelian Isthmus, Eclipse and Tales from the Thousand Lakes. ariich sent me Sampo in my roulette and I really loved it, which of these would you recommend?
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Eek, pretty piss poor selection for Amorphis, definitely get The Beginning of Times.
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Will do tomorrow.
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Eek, pretty piss poor selection for Amorphis, definitely get The Beginning of Times.
Piss poor selection? I see some good albums in that list
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No...get Eclipse. It's more "Sampo" like. It's their 3rd best album. Magic and Mayhem is a compilation of their first 3 albums, and Elegy is something you will want in full (pass on any compilation if you plan on getting them all eventually, but definately this one). Beginning of Times would be my second choice, but even that might be their 6th best album.
But definitely Eclipse. ariich will back me on this one.
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Yeah, Eclipse would be great too, just stay away from the rest.
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Will do tomorrow.
Dude... What are you doing? Why are you listening to Nick? :lol
I would recommend Eclipse over The Beginning of Times. After Eclipse, you're probably going to want to pick up Magic and Mayhem, unless death vocals annoy you that much. In case you don't know, Magic and Mayhem is a collection of re-recorded songs off their first three albums with their current line-up.
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IMO Eclipse >>>> Skyforger
Eclipse is an absolutely grand album. Get it nao.
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Alright, so I'm getting an album and the store here has The Beginning of Times, Magic and Mayhem, The Karelian Isthmus, Eclipse and Tales from the Thousand Lakes. ariich sent me Sampo in my roulette and I really loved it, which of these would you recommend?
Skyforger is my favorite and would be a perfect starting point, especially since it includes Sampo. But out of those, I'd say pick Eclipse or TBOT - I prefer the latter, but the former is held in higher regard among the fans and includes some of their most popular songs like House of Sleep. Thousand Lakes is a great album as well and it was my first Amorphis album, but it's much more death metal-oriented than their new stuff. DON'T get Magic & Mayhem or The Karelian Isthmus: the former is a compilation of re-recorded versions of their early stuff, and the latter is their debut, which isn't particularly outstanding or original death metal.
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For some reason that I cannot explain, Skyforger is my least favourite Amorphis album.
It has just never clicked for me, even yesterday I forced myself to listen to it in the car, I got to song 7 or 8 and turned it off.
Silverbride and Sampo are killer openers, but the rest just goes right over my heard.
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The general consensus is of the "trilogy", the ranking is:
Silent Water
Eclipse
Skyforger
And most people seem to place the latest album (Beginning of Times) above skyforger but below eclipse.
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Is that the general consensus? I would agree with it, but I don't know there is any sort of consensus.
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For me it's
Skyforger
Silent Waters
TBOT
Eclipse
I don't know what the consensus is (if there is any), but on some websites where you can rate albums the rankings by average score look like this:
Rate Your Music (https://rateyourmusic.com/artist/amorphis):
1. Silent Waters
2. Skyforger
3. Eclipse
4. TBOT
Sputnikmusic (https://www.sputnikmusic.com/bands/Amorphis/988/):
1. Silent Waters
2. Eclipse/Skyforger
4. TBOT
Encyclopaedia Metallum (https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Amorphis/1):
1. Eclipse
2. Skyforger
3. Silent Waters
4. TBOT
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I haven't read anywhere about people rating TBOT over Skyforger. Skyforger is clearly better, Eclipse is golden too.
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TBOT became my favorite when it came out, but it hasn't aged too well. It could've been stronger if they had made it 10 songs long like the previous ones and dropped a couple of weaker songs. Eclipse is my least favorite because I'm not crazy about songs like Two Moons and Same Flesh, and it also includes the most overplayed Amorphis live song, The Smoke. Joutsen also hadn't completely found his feet yet as a vocalist - he was great already, but his vocals got more expressive and powerful on the later albums.
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Joutsen also hadn't completely found his feet yet as a vocalist - he was great already, but his vocals got more expressive and powerful on the later albums.
I agree. I'm not sure why Skyforger is so underappreciated - everyone says it's the weakest out of the "new" albums, but it might be my favorite album overall.
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For the most part Amorphis has been pretty consistent over the past 4 albums, tough to rank them.
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Cover art and tracklisting revealed:
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/148320_10152424565215276_78467073_n.jpg)
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
Bonus track:
10. Dead Man’s Dream
The cover and the song titles aren't overtly typical for Amorphis, and I think that's a good thing. There are also only 9 songs, plus one bonus track - maybe there'll be some longer pieces? Someone on the Imperiumi board guessed that Shades of Gray would be Mehtä, judging by the lyrics.
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I LOVE that cover
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I LOVE that cover
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The general consensus is of the "trilogy", the ranking is:
Silent Water
Eclipse
Skyforger
And most people seem to place the latest album (Beginning of Times) above skyforger but below eclipse.
That would be my ranking, and yeah I'd back Doc on saying that from that list Eclipse is the one you should be getting. But frankly, TBOT is also a very solid album. For those of us who have been fans for a while, the biggest problem was that everything on it we'd heard before. The songs are still good though.
The rest of the albums available I would hold out on for now, Scorp. Elegy is a classic but it's very different to how they sound now. Magic & Mayhem is re-recorded versions of their old songs with the current lineup/singer, so it's good sonically but the music isn't as interesting on the whole.
So yeah, either of Eclipse or TBOT would be good, but the former is the one I'd recommend most.
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I LOVE that cover
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I LOVE that cover
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Seeing only nine songs on the album gets me excited. The Beginning of Times was a little long for my tastes (although that wasn't it's biggest problem).
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Problem solved. I found Silent Waters as well. :)
I don't need to tell you that, but it rawks.
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Freakin' amazing album.
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Silent Waters has to be my 3rd favorite album, behind Skyforger and Tuonela. Shaman is a criminally underrated song; it's pretty much based on just one melody, but that melody is one of catchiest I've ever heard! :hefdaddy
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Any suggestions for a first album? I heard Silver Bride a while back and loved it, but I never got into them much after that.
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I'd suggest Silent Waters or Eclipse, but you can't really go wrong with any of the Joutsen-era albums (Eclipse, Silent Waters, Skyforger and Beginning of Times). They're all good. :)
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Of course if you can get Am Universum, as that is the best Amorphis album.
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Any suggestions for a first album? I heard Silver Bride a while back and loved it, but I never got into them much after that.
I would start with Eclipse, Silent Waters, or Skyforger. The first two, in particular, are great albums, and each has a very modern production. Their albums before that are awesome as well, but the production quality drops a bit and their old singer wasn't particularly special.
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I would try and get hold of the recent live DVD/BR/CD 'Forging The Land Of Thousand Lakes'. It has a very good variety of recent material and a couple of old classics.
I'm a big fan of the previous singer Pasi, yes live he was a statue, looked miserable, as did the rest of the band, but the 4 albums he sung with Amorphis are pretty good, all having some great songs.
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I'd suggest Silent Waters or Eclipse, but you can't really go wrong with any of the Joutsen-era albums (Eclipse, Silent Waters, Skyforger and Beginning of Times). They're all good. :)
Yup. If you don't mind 90's production values and would like to hear how a Finnish band helped break the molds of metal (clearing the way for folk metal, helping define melodic death metal all the while casually adding prog rock touches and writing some of the best riffs I've ever heard), Tales From The Thousand Lakes and Elegy are pretty much classics. And then when you've fallen in love with Amorphis wrap up with their middle era I guess :)
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Yep, Milena is right - after hearing the Joutsen-era albums you should continue with Elegy and Thousand Lakes, as those 2 are among the biggest classics of Finnish metal and the whole folk metal genre owes a lot to them. Tales... was also released before no-one had even heard of Opeth! ;)
I'm a big fan of the previous singer Pasi, yes live he was a statue, looked miserable, as did the rest of the band, but the 4 albums he sung with Amorphis are pretty good, all having some great songs.
Agreed; Tuonela is easily in my top 3 and I love Elegy as well. Am Universum took a lot of time to grow, but it was worth it - it's pretty different from the rest of the Amorphis discography with those jazzy and psychedelic elements, but still good. Alone kicks ass live every time, one of their best songs ever! :metal
I only disagree regarding Far from the Sun, as that album is very mediocre in my eyes. The lack of emotion in Pasi's vocals makes it perfectly clear that he was getting tired of being in the band, and the songwriting is also pretty uninspired. When it comes to the vocalist debate, I prefer Tomi by miles. Pasi sounded great on Tuonela and Am Universum, but judging by the live videos he wasn't too good live. However, Tomi always sounds great, both in studio and live.
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Yeah I saw Amorphis with Pasi a couple of times in Finland and to be honest he didn't look that interested, didn't sound too good, this seemed to effect the rest of the band.
But during this time Pasi was also doing vocals for funeral doomsters Shape Of Despair and started a side project, Ajattara. Maybe he was more interested in those than Amorphis?
Tomi J has definitely given Amorphis a massive injection of everything to make them better than ever and seem to be improving with age.
Tuonela and Elegy are brilliant, though I am usually against such things, but I would love to hear Elegy re done with Tomi J doing all the vox.
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Yeah I saw Amorphis with Pasi a couple of times in Finland and to be honest he didn't look that interested, didn't sound too good, this seemed to effect the rest of the band.
But during this time Pasi was also doing vocals for funeral doomsters Shape Of Despair and started a side project, Ajattara. Maybe he was more interested in those than Amorphis?
Tomi J has definitely given Amorphis a massive injection of everything to make them better than ever and seem to be improving with age.
Tuonela and Elegy are brilliant, though I am usually against such things, but I would love to hear Elegy re done with Tomi J doing all the vox.
They did re-do parts of the first three albums with Tomi on vocs for the Magic And Mayhem release in 2010 (apologies if you already knew). I am kind of hoping they could give the next three albums the same treatment. I mean, Pasi's clean singing is okay, but Tomi is just divine.
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Back in 2010 when they released Magic & Mayhem Esa said they will re-record songs from the mid-era at some point, but I think that project probably got the same treatment as the EP including the leftovers from Skyforger :sadpanda: Too bad, because Greed was awesome when I heard it live in 2011 and I've also enjoyed Tomi's versions of these songs:
The Way (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8fUTfPQsTQ) (the chorus is a bit challenging, but he still manages to make this a more than worthy rendition of one of Amorphis' best songs)
Rusty Moon (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXc4hxAPmkM)
Summer's End (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0wRTs4vbO0) (maybe a bit too growly, but he nails the clean parts)
Day of Your Beliefs (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cW4JrEJujow) (the only song on FFTS I could call great)
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My Australian version of Tuonela has a bonus track called, 'Northern Lights', which is a great song with growls from Pasi.
I really love Elegy, but I hated it when I first heard it, because of Tomi K growls, now rerecorded with Tomi J would be amazing. The actual songs are killer, must listen to it soon.
Magic & Mayhem is great, but a little too safe, as far as the more well know/popular songs from that era.
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I like Tomi K's growls actually, maybe because it's so easy to grunt along to songs because of his technique that's so easy to replicate :lol But yeah, Northern Lights is a cool song, although the ending is recycled from In the Beginning.
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Early Amorphis is an interesting example of a band having an average to below average singer, and still being amazing despite said singer. Elegy is perhaps their best album, and Tuonela and Am Universum are great too.
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Since I'm bored, everyone tell me your Mount Rushmore of Amorphis albums!
Elegy
Tuonela
Eclipse
Silent Waters
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Same four as you TOX!
o/
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*\o
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Listening to Elegy right now and damned it does sound so good, not really dated at all.
Looking at the booklet, only Esa and Tomi K have survived from the line up that made this classic album.
I also noticed that Olli-Pekka Laine has a big input into the songwriting on Elegy.
He has made a sort of comeback with Barren Earth, along with old Amorphis keyboard player, Kasper Martenson.
Barren Earth are well worth checking out.
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Listening to Elegy right now and damned it does sound so good, not really dated at all.
Looking at the booklet, only Esa and Tomi K have survived from the line up that made this classic album.
I also noticed that Olli-Pekka Laine has a big input into the songwriting on Elegy.
He has made a sort of comeback with Barren Earth, along with old Amorphis keyboard player, Kasper Martenson.
Barren Earth are well worth checking out.
Yes, they are!
Mount Rushmore:
Skyforger
Elegy
Tales
Eclipse
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I also noticed that Olli-Pekka Laine has a big input into the songwriting on Elegy.
He has made a sort of comeback with Barren Earth, along with old Amorphis keyboard player, Kasper Martenson.
Barren Earth are well worth checking out.
Well, at least a comeback into this kind of music - Oppu played stoner stuff in Mannhai (Kasper was with them as well, at least for a while) before forming Barren Earth. And yes, BE are great! :metal
My Rushmore:
Skyforger
Tuonela
Silent Waters
Thousand Lakes or Elegy (can't decide, Am Universum is close too)
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Am Universum
Silent Water
Skyforger
Tuonela
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Now... Top ten songs of the Joutsen era! I'm going to do mine in chronological order.
Leaves Scar
The Smoke
Weaving the Incantation
Silent Waters
The White Swan
Sampo
Sky Is Mine
From Earth I Rose
Battle for Light
Mermaid
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Leaves Scar - yes I love this, the live version on the DVD/BR, when Tomi J lets out the big rooooooooooooooooar at the start of the song, kills me every time.
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Chronologically:
Leaves Scar
Under a Soil & Black Stone
Empty Opening (this one has grown on me A LOT, as it used to be my least favorite on Eclipse)
A Servant
Shaman
Sampo (my #1 Amorphis song overall - I'm lucky to have heard it live 3 times :heart)
Sky is Mine
From Earth I Rose
Song of the Sage
Crack in a Stone
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I checked and it appears that I actually own all the Mannhai releases on CD, but never checked them out, which I will.
I also discovered that I have a promo disc of, To Separate the Flesh from the Bones, which Pasi and Niclas Etelävuori was involved in.
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Inferno posted a report from the listening session of Circle: https://www.inferno.fi/uutiset/inferno-kuunteli-uuden-amorphis-levyn-lue-raportti/
I'm too busy to translate the song descriptions right now, but basically it's said that the new album is more aggressive and guitar-driven than TBOT. The journalist says he was impressed with Eclipse back when it was released, but the later albums have all been disappointments, until now. He says he was pleasantly surprised, as he thought Amorphis were slowly getting stuck in the same formula (something even Esa admits), but Circle marks a change. They were also shown the "making of" doc and reportedly it's more entertaining than the average band documentary - even lyricist Pekka Kainulainen (appearing as a horn-headed creature!) is interviewed.
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Someone from the UM Amorphis forum already did the translation;
Inferno just posted their impression from the listening session. Since this time I wasn't there in person, I gotta trust their words.
The review is very positive, according to the author "the guitars grab you by the throat right from the first song. Although there is still keyboards in abundance and calmer moments as well, the whole is less ethereal than the last four albums, more in your face."
Here's the song-for-song description:
1. Shades Of Gray
Starting with a familiar arabic scale, the song continues from death growls to a cleanly sung chorus. Sets the stakes right away, with snot and attitude.
2. Mission
Starts with a beautiful keyboard part. Catchy verse and chorus. The second verse is followed by a massive middle part based on a strong beat, almost a 1980s feeling here. I feel like applauding after this awesome track.
3. The Wanderer
The absolute crown jewel of the album. The song contains a stunningly exquisite chorus, the highlight of which is a single, unexpected pop note. It proves that small things can do miracles. The transposition at the end is not done the standard eurovision way, but with discretion and style. Sublime!
4. Narrow Path
Starting with a woodwinds intro, the folky song doesn't feel equally great than the stunning opening trio. Despite sounding somewhat lame at first listening, it might yet grow slowly into a positive surprise, since for example the sawing guitars of the verse do offer potential. The guitar solo could have been brought more to the forefront.
5. Hopeless Days
Contains a simple, but efficient metallic riff. The story of the social outcast drawing power from tradition is perhaps best expressed by this song, or at least the tranquil chorus makes me listen to the lyrics more closely compared to the other tracks.
6. Nightbird’s Song
The calm beginning is followed by a strong death metal riff. Stormy action, particularly upon reaching the second verse. At some point during this song I realize that the delay-based guitar riffs familar from the earlier albums have so far been missing on this one. Guitarist Tomi Koivusaari later corrects my notion: they do exist in Hopeless Days. However, Koivusaari admits that guitar patterns of this type indeed play a smaller role this time.
7. Into the Abyss
A piano-based riff which is then doubled by the electric guitars. Layered vocals during the verse. The chorus seems monotonous at first but gets infectious during the last round if not before. The exquisite, open-spaced keyboard solo could have continued for even longer.
8. Enchanted by the Moon
A delicate arpeggiated intro that, if I remember correctly, is reprised towards the end. A better than average song, although I cannot come up with a clear analysis at first listening.
9. A New Day
An ending worthy of the album. The atmospheric vocals of the verses are built on heavy guitars. Another sublime chorus. After the second chorus follows an airy, folk-style break. Befitting the dramatic arc, the end calms down with wind instruments and piano.
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I was listening to a bit of TBOT this morning, and it was a great listen. Coming back to albums really lets you see the maturity of an album and how time ages it. Great album.
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I was listening to a bit of TBOT this morning, and it was a great listen. Coming back to albums really lets you see the maturity of an album and how time ages it. Great album.
:tup
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Thanks for posting those, gazinwales! The translations are pretty accurate.
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I only copied and pasted, but your welcome mate.
Yes TBoT has really grown on me and could well be my fave Amorphis album, right next to Elegy and Tuonela.
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A lol-worthy video from the early days: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgIgaE6SQDg
It's no surprise they didn't release this on the DVD! :lol
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This melody (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUovGjQ-KEE) should sound familiar :biggrin:
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I want some samples or a new song already dammit!!
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The new single will be released on Friday, hopefully we'll get to hear it by then.
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Sweet as.
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Happy Kalevala day! You suck if you don't listen to Amorphis today! :biggrin: Hopeless Days will also be premiered on the radio in the evening so it'll probably end up on YT then.
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It's Friday afternoon here in Sydney and I just d/l the new single from iTunes and well it's almost Gothic like in the keyboards, but ends strongly.
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Well, shit - I missed the premiere, Amorphis' FB page only has the iTunes link and I have no iTunes. I hope they'll make it available for listening or someone will upload it on YT soon.
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New song is awesome. Really heavy and epic.
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It felt a teensy bit standard (not in style, but in quality), but standard Amorphis blows a lot of stuff out of the water. Loved the feel in that final chorus and the solo. Also, holy shit Tomi, it's not fair to be that good.
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I'm glad it's not a typical Amorphis single - the heaviness and the lack of catchiness make it more interesting than You I Need or Silver Bride. I loved the previous 4 albums but it's good that they're moving on to slightly different areas as I don't think they would've been able to top themselves in that style anymore.
BTW, I've read some comments by Finnish journalists about Circle and they've said that there'll be some new elements in the harsh vocal department - the different kind of growls Tomi did in some parts of Shades of Gray sounded awesome so I can't wait to see what else he has done! :caffeine:
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Different kind of song for an Amorphis single, but I like it, it's dark and heavy.
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Final studio report (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66DHBCnYpjY)
I wish there'd been more footage of Esa's "music quiz"! :lol But seriously, the chorus of Shades of Gray sounds awesome with those backing vocals and the snippet at the end is great too! :hefdaddy
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I got the latest issue of Finnish magazine Soundi today and there was an Amorphis intie. Some details:
-Although the lyrics of Circle aren't based on Kalevala, there are some little lyrical references to the previous few albums
-The story of the album has a positive ending (omg datz so unmetal!!!!111!1)
-No preproduction was done with Tägtgren. He also wanted to make the album sound organic and paid a lot of attention to keyboards
-Lots of guitar tracks were recorded and Niclas played a lot of songs on a 5-string, so there's more low end than before
-The Wanderer, Enchanted by the Moon and Nightbird's Song are some of the heaviest Amorphis songs ever, the latter even having some black metal elements according to Esa - he also thought it was Tägtgren growling in the chorus at first
-Santeri was against the idea of naming Mehtä as Shades of Gray due to the similarity to Fifty Shades of Grey :lol
-Esa praises Santeri's solo in Into the Abyss, and Tomi J. gives Esa props for the Floydish leads in the same song
-Narrow Path is a Thin Lizzy-influenced folky tune
-Some guest musicians appear on the album, like singer Mari Multanen, cellist Tuukka Helminen and Sakari Kukko plays saxophone and flute once again
-Esa says they're interested in touring the US again, but they would probably focus on the bigger cities
-Amorphis will get their own brand of chili sauce! It's called Hopeless Bourbon Sauce and there's the cover art of Hopeless Days single in the bottle
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lyric video for Shades of Gray: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zt9_xAiYQJ8 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zt9_xAiYQJ8)
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lyric video for Shades of Gray: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zt9_xAiYQJ8 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zt9_xAiYQJ8)
Quite lovely, Tomi J sounds excellent.
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That song is ridiculously catchy
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Just had another listen to that song. It's just awesome. :metal Can't wait for this album!
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Sounds just as awesome as the live version, if not better! :metal Hopefully the video for Nightbird's Song will be released soon...
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Just found out there'll be a pre-listening party next week for Circle (and the new Arsis album) a few blocks from my place :omg: :biggrin: Will be there.
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lyric video for Shades of Gray: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zt9_xAiYQJ8 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zt9_xAiYQJ8)
Pretty damn good on first listen.
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A full-length bootleg from '94! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dn_esuqgabc)
I like the little jam they do around the 20-minute mark :D
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A full-length bootleg from '94! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dn_esuqgabc)
I like the little jam they do around the 20-minute mark :D
Holy shit, babies :o
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A full-length bootleg from '94! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dn_esuqgabc)
I like the little jam they do around the 20-minute mark :D
Holy shit, babies :o
Also, Esa and Oppu introducing songs! :omg: BTW, after the first song Tomi asks the sound guy to turn the keyboards louder. They're still pretty quiet throughout the show though :P
Have you seen the Houston bootleg from the same year (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ikv851a9eE&list=PLEB1229AAE5FD8F13) or this early version of Against Widows (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uRU1drw2qg)?
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Also, Pasi's moves in this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ae4zYtLlR6M) :rollin He calmed down quite a bit since then: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z90OMEsRgic Although I love Tuonela and Am Universum, Pasi wasn't a great frontman on stage and Tomi J surpasses him both live and in the studio.
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Finally, there are some samples available to listen to: https://itunes.apple.com/ru/album/circle/id630275687
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Finally, there are some samples available to listen to: https://itunes.apple.com/ru/album/circle/id630275687
Sounds great, can't wait for this :metal
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Also, The Wanderer will be released on iTunes on April 12th in German-speaking countries.
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Another new song, Enchanted By The Moon. This is pretty killer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3Tdeg_IHGU
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Holy shit, that's the best song that has been released so far! :hefdaddy Mr. Swan's growls keep getting more and more diverse! :2metal:
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Yeah, I think it's easily the best song of the three too.
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Another new song, Enchanted By The Moon. This is pretty killer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3Tdeg_IHGU
My favorite.
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Haven't listened to the new song yet, but more samples here: https://www.amazon.co.jp/Circle/dp/B00BYJ0DJY
EDIT: Alright, that song is awesome. Tomi's vocals are simply incredible :tup
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Those samples :metal :heart :omg: :hefdaddy
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The samples sound excellent. I had some doubts before but holy shit Batman.
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I wonder how the opening track is finally called.
Amazon & iTunes say "Shades of Grey", the lyric videos say "Shades of Gray". :justjen
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On the official Amorphis website it's Shades of Gray, so I bet it's the right title. Either way, Santeri wasn't happy with it, as I mentioned above :lol
-Santeri was against the idea of naming Mehtä as Shades of Gray due to the similarity to Fifty Shades of Grey :lol
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On the official Amorphis website it's Shades of Gray, so I bet it's the right title. Either way, Santeri wasn't happy with it, as I mentioned above :lol
-Santeri was against the idea of naming Mehtä as Shades of Gray due to the similarity to Fifty Shades of Grey :lol
Santeri's reaction is definitely understandable :rollin
Mehtä would have been a :metal title as well..
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They didn't even consider using Mehtä, because it was just a working title, but maybe another name would've made Sande happy :D
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I know, but I like the sound of it (although I have no idea how to pronounce it ;D), better than something cheesy like Shades Of Grey (or Gray, whatever) anyway.
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The working title for the album itself was Black-Dick Swan (yes, it's true (https://www.soundi.fi/uutiset/amorphis-studioon-uusia-tuulia-luvassa)) :biggrin:
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Badass title for a badass album :metal
(yes, it's true (https://www.soundi.fi/uutiset/amorphis-studioon-uusia-tuulia-luvassa)) :biggrin:
too bad I totally suck at finnish :laugh:
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The song working titles mentioned in the link are Tikkis, Meideni, Polkkis, Mehtalainen, Kissanpolkka, Funcadelic, Sakura and 7jako. Mostly some slang words ("meideni"=Maiden), but 7jako refers to 7/4 or 7/8 time signature and Kissanpolkka is "cat's polka".
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7jako refers to 7/4 or 7/8 time signature
wooo, Amorphis going progressive :D
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For those who want to hear some tr00 kvlt death metal, here's (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrXa7IbgS1w) a live version of Pilgrimage from Darkness from 1991 :D
A crappy clip of Privilege of Evil from the same year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ir3OODS5G9Q
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I re-watched the docu on the DVD a few days ago and I kept swooning over baby Amorphis being unaware of their future influence on the metal world :lol
And now that I think of it, they always had a good looking bassist in the lineup, Oppu and Niclas are total babes.
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I like how even in the Tales... days Tomi K had a Pink Floyd shirt on :biggrin:
People have also pointed out that one of Oppu's trademark stage moves is stretching his knees - maybe that looks sexy? :lol
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Yeah I loved that Floyd shirt, I want one just like that :laugh:
I wouldn't know about sexy, but he's really handsome :blush
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Funnily enough, I just found this:
(https://amorphislatinamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/TomikOI.jpg)
MIND = BLOWN :omg:
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I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE :laugh:
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I always thought they looked a bit alike, but not THAT alike :eek Well, Dave has been a huge influence to both Esa and Tomi. After hearing Run Like Hell for the first time I was like "I see what you did there, Amorphis!" when I listened to Alone.
Too bad Tomi hasn't been able to play awesome Gilmour-influenced solos in Amorphis, or any solos for that matter. The lead at the end of Castaway and the solos he has played for Verenpisara have been really good, so hopefully we'll hear more of his leads in the future, although Esa is an excellent soloist.
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I actually think neither Esa nor Tomi are really great guitarists but they fit the band's style very well and some of their leads and guitar melodies are just :omg:
After hearing Run Like Hell for the first time I was like "I see what you did there, Amorphis!" when I listened to Alone.
Exactly my thoughts when I heard Alone for the first time ;D
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From Amorphis' FB: "Massive church organs can be heard in Circle".
So in his both hands Sande had a massive organ :zydar:
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Meow :yarr
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Samples with Esa's comments: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbCj7cYk-Kg
It was obvious that the album will be heavier than the previous ones, but there also seems to be a stronger folk influence. Also, Amorphis + Ebow = me likes!
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Wooohooo excite :tup
EDIT: honestly I'm a bit worried that there are so many songs written by Sande on the album, since his compositions are usually the ones I find to be the weakest. And only one of the "regular" tracks is by Tomi K :-\
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EDIT: honestly I'm a bit worried that there are so many songs written by Sande on the album, since his compositions are usually the ones I find to be the weakest. And only one of the "regular" tracks is by Tomi K :-\
I wouldn't call Sampo, Under a Soil & Black Stone, A Servant, Battle for Light and Song of the Sage weak ;) Besides, he wrote 6 out of the 12 songs on TBOT, so there aren't as many compositions from him this time. However, I agree that Tomi K has written some great stuff and it's kind of sad that his songs end up being bonus tracks so often. In the Soundi interview Esa said that in a few of the bonus tracks Tomi wrote this time there's a really strong Finnish feel, and that he usually has a kind of cinematic approach in his songs.
BTW, it's Tomi K's birthday - he turns 40 today! :)
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Sampo and A Servant are the only songs of the ones you mentioned that I really enjoy. The others are (IMO of course) just alright and nothing more. "Just alright" for Amorphis standards obviously means that they are still good, but as I said earlier (IMO) amongst the weakest tracks. That "rule" doesn't really work for TBOT, since I also don't really enjoy the other songs from that album. It's actually the only one of their albums I can't really listen to all the way through cause I find it incredibly boring, which is really sad since the other albums with Tomi J were so fantastic. So I guess that the fact that Sande wrote that much for TBOT is one of the main reasons why that album is easily in my bottom 3 Amorphis albums (together with AU and FFTS).
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I agree that TBOT is the weakest Joutsen-era Amorphis album - it became my favorite pretty quickly, but after some time I started to see some flaws in it, like the unnecessarily big amount of songs and the fact that they didn't really evolve with that release, although Crack in a Stone is pretty different from anything they've done before. It's still a good album though and has some great stuff.
I like Sande's songs a lot and he has written some of my all-time favorite Amorphis songs, like the ones I mentioned in the previous post. That said, he was also responsible for my least favorite songs on TBOT (some of which were pretty typical Amorphis tunes). I'm looking forward to hearing Into the Abyss - in an interview it was said that it's experimental and that the solos are really good! :caffeine:
Far from the Sun is easily the weakest Amorphis album due to its uninspired and lazy mood, but I love Am Universum. It took a lot of time to grow, but nowadays it's one of my favorites. The lack of catchy leads and melodies from Esa and Santeri and the absence of growls may turn some people off, but I think it's a really unique release and I like the experimenting Amorphis did on that album.
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They are all really good songwriters (much better that I'll ever be), and I'm not saying Sande is bad, but his songs are pretty much hit or miss for me most of the time.
I'm looking forward to hearing Into the Abyss - in an interview it was said that it's experimental and that the solos are really good! :caffeine:
Me too, I watched the trailer yesterday evening and woke up today with the melody of Into The Abyss playing in my head ;D
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I'll probably be going to the pre-listening event tonight. I'll be sure to post a report when I come back although I'm not really sure what I can add now that all the reviews and samples are out.
Edit: Couldn't make it, some stuff came up. :( Oh well, it'll out be out soon enough.
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I'm currently listening to some more Amorphis to prepare for the release of Circle. Yesterday I put on Elegy and Tuonela. Elegy is still my favourite and probably one of my favourite albums of all time, but I really fell in love with Tuonela again. What an awesome album that one is :tup
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Tuonela is my second favorite album right behind Skyforger. The atmosphere of that album is just incredible and there are lots of brilliant tunes - the last 3 songs form one of the best 3-song runs I've ever heard. Tales and Elegy were really good too, but on Tuonela they matured a lot. Hopefully they'll play something from that album on the new tour...
BTW, has anyone else noticed that Jan plays the same fill in almost every song on The Karelian Isthmus? He wasn't that creative back then! :lol I collected some timestamps where you can hear that fill (the same fill or some variations appear even more often on the album, but I think this list is pretty long already):
The Gathering 3.15
Warriors Trial 0.38, 2.10
Black Embrace 0.27, 2.17, 2.22
Exile... 0.14, 2.57
Misery Path 0.59, 1.04
Vulgar Necrolatry 0.06
Actually I think I would call TKI a cute death metal album - the music isn't overtly brutal and Tomi K's growls and the aforementioned drumming style by Jan add to the lack of brutality :D Basic death metal has always been too heavy for me, but I can listen to TKI somehow, although it has never been a favorite of mine.
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I'm currently listening to some more Amorphis to prepare for the release of Circle. Yesterday I put on Elegy and Tuonela. Elegy is still my favourite and probably one of my favourite albums of all time, but I really fell in love with Tuonela again. What an awesome album that one is :tup
Yup Elegy is my fave too, has just about everything. As good as it s, if they re-recorded it with Tomi J doing all the vox, could be better :metal
I put 'Far From The Sun', on in the car yesterday, didn't sound too bad at all, has some good moments.
I'm starting to slowly finally click with Skyforger too :facepalm:
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Yup Elegy is my fave too, has just about everything. As good as it s, if they re-recorded it with Tomi J doing all the vox, could be better :metal
Exactly my thoughts. Elegy has some incredible songs like ...pretty much all of them (I'm not the biggest fan of Weeper On The Shore, but that's about it), but I always felt they could be so much better with decent production and vocals. Neither Tomi K nor Pasi are bad, but the Elegy songs sound incredible on Magic & Mayhem with Tomi J, especially My Kantele's 2010 version completely blows the original out of the water.
I still love the original, but I should have never listened to M&M since now I realise that Elegy is not as nearly perfect as I thought earlier and that makes me a bit sad :-[
EDIT: It's weird that I prefer the Elegy songs with Tomi J on vocals but don't nearly like the songs from TFTTL and Tuonela with Tomi J as much as the originals.
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The only Elegy songs they haven't played live since Tomi J joined are Weeper on the Shore and the acoustic My Kantele, so it wouldn't be a far-fetched idea in itself to re-record the whole album, but they did the 4 remakes on M&M already, so unfortunately it won't happen. A lot of the clean vocal parts on Elegy are also quite hard to sing - for example in this clip of Elegy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG65aqkMQnw) you can hear Tomi struggle in the chorus. However, he nailed The Orphan here (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yKA6i9JhhUo) and I hope they'll bring that song back on the new tour, especially considering that it hasn't been played in 5 years.
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Regarding My Kantele: If they still play it the way they did for the DVD, they combine both versions live (as they also did on M&M), so they have kinda played the acoustic one live a well.
I normally think of rerecordings pretty negatively, but if there are two albums that would profit IMMENSELY from being redone, they are Elegy and WDADU.
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I know about the My Kantele thing - I've seen them play it 3 times and the outro has always been there. However, when Pasi was in the band they always played it in the acoustic form without growls. But yeah, the new version is a nice combination :smiley:
From a productional point of view I think the first 2 albums would be in a bigger need of re-recording - the debut is pretty raw and on Tales you can't hear the other bass drum properly in the double bass parts. I think a good compromise would've been to make M&M a few songs longer, maybe even a double CD including all the songs from the first 3 records they've played live with Tomi J.
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The combination of both versions is the main reason why I love the 2010 version of My Kantele so much.
To be honest I don't think a rerecorded Tales would come out well. The atmosphere of the original is pretty much unmatchable. That includes its flaws like the ones you mentioned and the pretty horrible clean vocals. Its far from being perfect and I really enjoy the M&M versions, but I can't imagine a whole album.
I don't really care for TKI so I rarely listen to either version of its songs.
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The Wanderer is available for download:
https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B00CAWW9AU
https://itunes.apple.com/de/album/the-wanderer/id630598454
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Leakage...
But I'm going to try and hold out for my CD from Japan :yarr
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Just finished my first listen.
Such an incredible album. I'm seriously impressed. There's really not a dull moment on the whole album.
Epic stuff! :metal
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I'm going to wait till my CD arrives. At least I hope I'll be able to do so :)
Just finished my first listen.
Such an incredible album. I'm seriously impressed. There's really not a dull moment on the whole album.
Epic stuff! :metal
Which songs did impress you the most?
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I'm going to wait till my CD arrives. At least I hope I'll be able to do so :)
Just finished my first listen.
Such an incredible album. I'm seriously impressed. There's really not a dull moment on the whole album.
Epic stuff! :metal
Which songs did impress you the most?
Hopeless Days, Shades of Gray, Nightbird's Song, A New Day
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All songs are on youtube now. This absolutely kills me. I want to wait but :(
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All songs are on youtube now. This absolutely kills me. I want to wait but :(
Generally, they won't sound any different on release day. If I get the opportunity to listen to the next DT/IM/Gojira/whatever album 7 days before they're officially out, I'd grasp the opportunity. No-brainer.
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You're right but I still love to listen to an album for the first time while reading the lyrics and looking at the artwork. But I think I cannot resist the temptation.
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^I will definitely wait until the release date for the reasons you mentioned, and I also want to respect the band and the label by not listening to anything before it's released officially.
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All songs are on youtube now. This absolutely kills me. I want to wait but :(
Generally, they won't sound any different on release day. If I get the opportunity to listen to the next DT/IM/Gojira/whatever album 7 days before they're officially out, I'd grasp the opportunity. No-brainer.
To my ears there is a massive difference to anything on YT and mp3 rips of albums.
The real CD always sounds much better, you can hear things in the mix that are compressed and inaudible on the web.
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Okay finished listening a couple of minutes ago. As far as I can tell after only one listen (and definitely the last before I have the actual CD) it's definitely better than TBOT, maybe even on the level of Eclipse, but doesn't really compare to SW and Skyforger. Still I really enjoyed all of the songs, only A New Day was a bit weak compared to the rest. I liked the music and the chorus is great, but the vocals during the verses were just ..weird :-\
Really looking forward to having the album in my hands and listening to it in better quality :)
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(https://i364.photobucket.com/albums/oo87/Wolverica/h249C1F69_zpsab69de7b.jpg)
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My copy has just been shipped :caffeine:
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So it seems like there is a music video for Hopeless Days: www.radiorock.fi/videot?vt=video&vid=323606
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Nice imagery, although the video is a bit uneventful. Still more interesting than typical "band playing in an industrial hall" videos. Also, it still makes me chuckle a bit to hear "an union" :D
I'll buy my copy of Circle tomorrow! :caffeine:
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Also, it still makes me chuckle a bit to hear "an union" :D
Maybe my english just sucks, but what exactly is the problem everybody seems to have with "an union"?
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It's supposed to be "a union" because the word doesn't begin with a vowel sound.
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aaaaaaah ok thanx :)
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Mine is here and it sounds fabs fabs fabs.
Also hate that video. Like, really, it's pointless and I don't like Patrick Ullaeus at all. But whatever I love Amorphis :heart
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Just had a listen to the bonus track. It's about as fantastic as anything on the album. The opening is old-school death metal, probably the most aggressive thing they've done since Karelian Isthmus.
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Why do you all already have yours and I don't :'(
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Why do you all already have yours and I don't :'(
Tbh I am surprised mine came so fast. CDs are usually really really late.
I was also surprised by the minimalist design of the booklet... judging by the cover, I expected some occult looking shizz in there :biggrin:
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How does the booklet look like
Why do you all already have yours and I don't :'(
Tbh I am surprised mine came so fast. CDs are usually really really late.
I was also surprised by the minimalist design of the booklet... judging by the cover, I expected some occult looking shizz in there :biggrin:
What do you mean by "minimalist design"? Just black background with lyrics written on it or what :)
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What do you mean by "minimalist design"? Just black background with lyrics written on it or what :)
Yup.
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The album rules - 'nuff said :metal However, I'm sad that Dead Man's Dream isn't on the album - the beginning made me say "holy shit" aloud :o That said, Nightbird's Song and Into the Abyss slay and Enchanted by the Moon still sounds as epic as it did on the first listen.
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I'm hoping I can pick this up in store this weekend.
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So the general consensus is that we like this. I can't wait for a few months to pass to see how does it stack up against the rest of the Tomi J-era Amorphis. And yeah, if you can pick it up, do.
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And yeah, if you can pick it up, do.
This.
I watched the bonus "making of" DVD after listening to the album and the interview with Pekka Kainulainen was especially interesting. Whoever did the listening session report for Inferno was right - it's worth watching more than just once! :)
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I just noticed that in the booklet it says "a union", not "an union" like in the videos :)
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BTW, I also bought the latest issue of Inferno (a Finnish metal mag) that includes an intie with Esa and Tomi J (they also appear on the cover). The chat itself doesn't include any special info on the album, although it was interesting to read about their views on society, politics and making a living as a musician, but there's also a track-by-track breakdown by Tomi.
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I'm currently watching the documentary and had to laugh really hard at the part where Esa tried to tune the Telecaster and said "It's vintage shit, doesn't keep the tune" :rollin :lol :lol
BTW, I also bought the latest issue of Inferno (a Finnish metal mag) that includes an intie with Esa and Tomi J (they also appear on the cover). The chat itself doesn't include any special info on the album, although it was interesting to read about their views on society, politics and making a living as a musician, but there's also a track-by-track breakdown by Tomi.
If it's not too much work, would it be possible for you to translate the track-by-track thing? That would be freaking awesome :tup
EDIT: www.progrockmag.com/video/amorphis-santeri-kallio-names-his-top-prog-albums/
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Animals is my favorite Floyd album as well :tup
If it's not too much work, would it be possible for you to translate the track-by-track thing? That would be freaking awesome :tup
Sure:
Shades of Gray
"We wanted to open the album with an energetic song that immediately gives you the idea of what's coming up. The song includes all the elements you've been used to hear from Amorphis in the recent years: heavy riffing, growls and clean vocals. A traditional Amorphis song in a good way. Lyrically the landscape of the story gets painted here. The story begins with a sunset and ends with the dawning of a new day. In this song the darkness falls."
Mission
"Snoopy (Jan Rechberger, drums) offers a disco beat which is greatly loved by me. Too bad the tempo is so slow that this is probably hard to dance to. An easily accessible song with catchy guitar leads. The protagonist gets the first contact to the ancient warriors who will help him during the course of his life."
The Wanderer
"I'm sure this song will get its fair share of live play. Wanderer was playing in my head in a quite ready form even before the making of the album. The melody is catchy but not too cheesy. The protagonist of the story leaves futile worries behind and the burden of years disappears. It can metaphorically be related to your property, fears, job or, say, relationship. In Wanderer one decides to give up some even important things."
Narrow Path
"Starts piquantly with a Celtic-sounding melody. A sing-along feel in 3/4, musically quite cheerful. In this one returns to their spiritual home somehow. Everyone can guess by themselves what it means and whether it's a physical or a spiritual place. A Finnish landscape, sea, rocks, paths in the forest."
Hopeless Days
"We couldn't really pick a lead single from this album, so we wished the label would give a suggestion. Americans were interested in Nightbird's Song, in England people had been thinking about Enchanted by the Moon. At least you know the album has some variety and isn't dependent on one song. People may have been surprised by Hopeless Days, it's not the most obvious single. The chorus will surely stay in your head after a few listens. The lyrics include wallowing in self-pity, which is probably familiar for all the Finnish men, unless one has eaten some kind of positivity pill. The title of the original poem by Pekka is Why Me. The growls were edited out of the song at the last minute and a few essential lines from Pekka's poem were left unused: 'The group of ancient warriors / appeared within me / made a camp in my soul / a circle around my heart.' If you think about the title of the album, it gets condensed quite well here."
Nightbird's Song
"The black metal vocals were an idea of Peter's. I'm scared that if you goof off too much, some really corny idea is born and everyone else digs it. Then you're screwed, having to listen to something that disgusts you a lot every day. Luckily that didn't happen here. I thought Peter could've handled the screams, being so great at them. Doing the black metal rattles felt a bit weird at first, but it came out naturally. There's a loose spiritual connection to Kalevala in this song."
Into the Abyss
"Unusual rhythms are difficult for me as a singer. You tend to follow them too much, which makes it hard to form a melody. They were kept pretty simple here, we tried to get a good flow to the verses. Peter is basically responsible for the chorus. I had a more complex idea for it, but in Peter's hands the chorus became more Swedish and catchy. That's good, because we hired a producer to produce and bring in ideas. There's a great solo trade-off between the keyboards and Esa's guitar."
Enchanted by the Moon
"You can hear the influence of the 1990's, this one reminds me of Paradise Lost. Slow and heavy. In the long notes you can hear how the guitars have some balls. The protagonist of Circle meets his spiritual guide. Judging by the lyrics you could imagine these guides to be physical beings. I thought they could be things that have happened during your life, childhood memories or things some important person said. Maybe Pekka feels he has found a connection with his Kalevala ancestors."
A New Day
"The day starts to brighten up. This is where you start to wish the story had a happy ending that didn't conclude with death. A cinematic, beautiful ending."
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Thank you!
Hopeless Days
The growls were edited out of the song in the last minute
So there actually were growls in there :'(
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On the other hand, it's refreshing to hear an Amorphis song with really heavy riffing but no growls - it's more unpredictable that way (as if it wasn't unpredictable already :lol)
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For those who didn't know, Tomi K made a guest vocal appearance in a song by Black Sun Aeon in 2009 (his part starts around the 2-minute mark): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZApBrcjQOwk
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I just want to say that Deadman's Dream is fucking incredible. :metal
why the hell did they leave that one off the album?!
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Yeah, DMD is awesome; I would've replaced Mission with it, although that's not a bad song, either.
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I would've replaced Mission with it
:omg:
I still think A New Day is the weakest song, although that doesn't say much since the whole album is pretty fantastic and there is no filler material on there at all (unlike TBOT, which IMO had more filler stuff than actually good songs).
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I would've replaced Mission with it
:omg:
The main melody is too folky for me, although it's a nice tune :P A New Day hasn't completely clicked yet, but I like it more.
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My CD arrived today from Japan.
New Song is a great bonus track, that is as good as any of the 9 songs on the album proper.
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Just found this awesome clip of Amorphis in Israel with Kobi Farhi of Orphaned Land :metal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGV1_CFbGtE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGV1_CFbGtE)
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Awesome! :metal The song is fitting for his vocals. Also, this is the first live video of Hopeless Days I've seen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvNBbJ7nS8k
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Awesome! :metal The song is fitting for his vocals. Also, this is the first live video of Hopeless Days I've seen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvNBbJ7nS8k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSVb1zPIgNM
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Hmm... that video is hidden, so no wonder why I hadn't seen it before, although I knew the song was premiered at that show.
Also, for some reason Veil of Sin has been stuck in my head in the last couple of days - I can't believe I used to find this song boring, it's really beautiful! :heart
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Hmm... that video is hidden
What do you mean?
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It says that only those who have received the link can view the video, which means that you can't search for it on YT. Speaking of Hopeless Days, someone had noticed that the rhythm guitar part at the 4-minute mark sounds like Exile of the Sons of Uisliu and I can hear it too!
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Speaking of Hopeless Days, someone had noticed that the rhythm guitar part at the 4-minute mark sounds like Exile of the Sons of Uisliu and I can hear it too!
Finally I know why I always felt like I knew that part already :tup
By the way: Hopeless Days > Exile
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I prefer Exile, but both songs are great.
BTW, is anyone else annoyed that there are so many different bonus tracks on different editions of Circle? In addition to Dead Man's Dream there are the following ones:
My Future (Nuclear Blast mailorder edition)
Illusions (Nuclear Blast mailorder edition)
New Song (Japanese edition)
His Story (Spotify)
The NB mailorder edition has been sold out already, I don't have Spotify, ordering CD's from Japan is ridiculously expensive and I wouldn't want to pay for 2 copies anyway :-\ Hopefully those songs will end up on Youtube...
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Annoyed is putting it mildly :censored
NB are trying to milk the fans for everything, with so many extra songs, it is ridiculous to say the least.
A more sensible idea to get every fan who buys the CD, would be to include a unique code to d/l these songs.
Which is a fair 'reward' for those who buy and support the artist.
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I got 'His Story' from iTunes Australia.
Which I would call an instrumental, although Tomi J does get in 2 lines of vocals towards the end of the song.
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Yes, I agree when it comes to the bonus tracks. That sucks.
Something that bothers me a little about Circle (not really that much, but I still think it's kinda annoying), is that A LOT of the songs start with some kind of main theme played softly on piano or flute, and then the guitars kick in and play the same thing as well. That structure gets a bit old after having five songs (Mission, The Wanderer, Narrow Path, Into The Abyss, A New Day) on the record following it.
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Annoyed is putting it mildly :censored
NB are trying to milk the fans for everything, with so many extra songs, it is ridiculous to say the least.
A more sensible idea to get every fan who buys the CD, would be to include a unique code to d/l these songs.
Which is a fair 'reward' for those who buy and support the artist.
Or another option (which would also bring more money to NB) could be releasing all those bonus tracks on a separate EP release.
Something that bothers me a little about Circle (not really that much, but I still think it's kinda annoying), is that A LOT of the songs start with some kind of main theme played softly on piano or flute, and then the guitars kick in and play the same thing as well. That structure gets a bit old after having five songs (Mission, The Wanderer, Narrow Path, Into The Abyss, A New Day) on the record following it.
I don't mind that, but I have to give some criticism for the track order - after Shades of Gray there are 4 songs without prominent growls and I think the album would be more balanced if Nightbird's Song was earlier in the tracklist or Dead Man's Dream was in the first half of the record as a proper album track.
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I really really like the new album! Best since Silent Waters.
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I really really like the new album! Best since Silent Waters.
I definitely didn't expect it to be this good, but you might be right.
Still, I think we will have to wait at least a couple of months to see if it can stand the test of time. But I'm optimistic! :tup
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As the video description says, the sound quality sucks ass, but it's still nice to hear this song played live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjuzoF8XWsU
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Nice, Into the Abyss is one of my favorites from Circle! :tup Too bad you can't hear Niclas' backing vocals in the chorus :sad: Hopefully there'll be more videos from that show... BTW, now Circle is the first Amorphis album from which all the songs have been played live since Elegy!
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Just a couple of days until I can get my hands on this bad boy. :D
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Enchanted By The Moon is such an incredible song that it makes up for the shitty quality of the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqMmgfPl9nM :metal
And the chorus is just hypnotic.
Just a couple of days until I can get my hands on this bad boy. :D
One of the advantages of living in Europe :laugh:
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^They HAVE to play that song when I see them live next time.
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Really loving the new album. It's much better than TBOT. "Into the Abyss" is simply ridiculous!
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The bonus tracks (with the exception of His Story) are on YT:
My Future (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Lg-injpyCI)
Illusions (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQ-inH-NGx8)
New Song (at 50:38) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlcPxXGdoGY)
I'd take all of these over Mission, My Future is especially epic! :hefdaddy And the vocals at the beginning of Illusions... :omg:
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This album is awesome. More details coming after another listen.
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Okay guys been hearing alot about this band but never checked them out
Where does a noob start?
Has there sound remained consistent or has the styles changed ? I ask this because I'm a metal guy first/prog secondly
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They started as a death metal band, but their music got gradually more melodic and the growls even got dropped at one point. However, since vocalist Tomi Joutsen's arrival in the mid-00s they've brought the heavier elements back and their sound has remained pretty consistent.
Any album featuring the said singer is a good starting point, but I think Skyforger is the peak of their career, so I recommend it. Eclipse is pretty well-liked among the fans too, and you can't go wrong with the new album, either.
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They have distinct eras. They started out as a death metal band, but moved away from that rather quickly. The growls lessened in the music and the focus on melody became more prevalent. During their last five albums, they have reintroduced growls a little, but the focus on melody has stayed. Yeah, they're metal, but not really the "I'll melt your face off" kind, but more melodic, for the most part.
As for introductory stuff, I'm only really familiar with their last era, and I'd say that Silent Waters or the most recent are both representative of the sound of that era and very good.
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^Yeah, Silent Waters and Circle are good picks too.
Anyway, looks like Amorphis continue the tradition of basing the intro tape for the tour on an album track: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfLFt_RcWAg As a doom metal fan I also wish they played Enchanted by the Moon (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7mhlDBCEuM) closer to the album version tempo :D
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I agree that Silent Waters is a good starting point. The song The White Swan in particular is probably the best representation of their current sound.
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Silent Waters and Circle are both really amazing places to start.
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Okay guys been hearing alot about this band but never checked them out
Where does a noob start?
Has there sound remained consistent or has the styles changed ? I ask this because I'm a metal guy first/prog secondly
This is what I did, in case it helps you:
- After hearing a lot about them from a forum member called 6 o'clock, I really wanted to see if they were that good. However, I was against any music with growls at that time, so I got their more melodic albums that don't have growls at all: Am Universum and Tuonela. I was deeply impressed by Am Universum, I've never heard saxophone used like that in rock music, and the melodies are incredibly good and original. Almost every song is amazing and has something unique. Tuonela was meh.
- I wanted more, so I got Eclipse . Wow. This is a beast of an album. Even now I can listen to it over and over. It's a 10/10 album. All the great elements I liked from the band are there: the incredible melodies, the great riffs, the e-nah-gy and po-wah. Add to this the most incredible, aggressive growls, the solid lyrics and the fantasy/epic/winter atmosphere and you have a great album. They combine melody and aggressiveness like nobody else, much better than Opeth IMO.
- Want more? I got Elegy and Silent Waters. Both excellent, but I definitely give the Edge to Elegy. The riffs on Better Unborn, against Widows, On Rich and Poor are incredible, and you have to listen to the growls with soft piano background on the title track. I've never been too impressed with Silent Waters.
- Tales from the Thousand Lakes is also recommended, but it's 100% growls. I prefer their latter work which makes them shine even more.
- I got Skyforger and wasn't 100% convinced by the effort, so I didn't buy their next album. I'm looking forward to listen to the new one, though.
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^Thousand Lakes isn't 100% growls - there are some clean vox in a few songs. Actually I think it was one of the first (melodic) death metal albums to use the combination of both vocal styles, or at least it came out before anyone knew Opeth.
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I was deeply impressed by Am Universum, I've never heard saxophone used like that in rock music, and the melodies are incredibly good and original. Almost every song is amazing and has something unique. Tuonela was meh.
That's interesting :D
I personally absolutely love Tuonela but Am Universum is the only Amorphis album I would consider to be bad. I cannot stand it. I think it sounds even more uninspired than Far From The Sun.
I definitely give the Edge to Elegy. The riffs on Better Unborn, against Widows, On Rich and Poor are incredible, and you have to listen to the growls with soft piano background on the title track.
Elegy is my personal favourite of theirs and it's and absolute masterpiece, although I wouldn't recommend it to a new listener, mainly because of the kind of "strange" vocals (both growls and cleans) and the pretty bad production which need some time so get used to. At least that was the case for me.
I'm looking forward to listen to the new one, though.
It's definitely worth it.
^Thousand Lakes isn't 100% growls - there are some clean vox in a few songs. Actually I think it was one of the first (melodic) death metal albums to use the combination of both vocal styles, or at least it came out before anyone knew Opeth.
I actually think it came out the same year as Orchid, but I might be wrong.
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Am Universum is a great album IMO, but it's not a great starting point unless you can't stand growls. It takes a lot of time to grow (especially due to the notable role of the saxophone and the lack of metal), but I think songs like Alone and Shatters Within are superb classics.
^Thousand Lakes isn't 100% growls - there are some clean vox in a few songs. Actually I think it was one of the first (melodic) death metal albums to use the combination of both vocal styles, or at least it came out before anyone knew Opeth.
I actually think it came out the same year as Orchid, but I might be wrong.
It was one year before Orchid. Either way, TFTTL was a revolutionary album at the time :hefdaddy
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Is anyone else getting huuuuge Derek Sherinian/FII vibes from the intro of Illusion? :metal
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Is anyone else getting huuuuge Derek Sherinian/FII vibes from the intro of Illusion? :metal
No, but the ending of New Song gives me a LTL vibe :D
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So, let's see if I like this album. :)
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No, dammit! I wanted to send Amorphis in your roulette. :censored :P
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No, dammit! I wanted to send Amorphis in your roulette. :censored :P
He had already heard some stuff by them before this.
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No, dammit! I wanted to send Amorphis in your roulette. :censored :P
He had already heard some stuff by them before this.
Yes, I already listened to Skyforger. Speaking of this, I should start compiling my list of forbidden bands. But my knowledge of Amorphis is so limited that I could very well allow it in the roulette.
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Nah, I think I'll be able to come up with some stuff that you don't know at all.
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^Thousand Lakes isn't 100% growls - there are some clean vox in a few songs. Actually I think it was one of the first (melodic) death metal albums to use the combination of both vocal styles, or at least it came out before anyone knew Opeth.
Really? I have to listen to it again. But ok, probably is their album with most growls.
And I'm not suggesting Am Universum at a starting point, unless you can't stand growls. I would say Eclipse is a great starting point.
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But ok, probably is their album with most growls.
That would rather be The Karelian Isthmus
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But ok, probably is their album with most growls.
That would rather be The Karelian Isthmus
Damn it! I fail so much at everything amorphis related :p
But yeah they're great.
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You're fine, to Amorphis is to be as far away from fail as humanly possible.
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You're fine, to Amorphis is to be as far away from fail as humanly possible.
QFT.
I've been listening to these bonus tracks a lot in the past 2 days and they are just pure awesomeness :2metal: I'm thinking about creating my own alternate tracklist for Circle... The album is already great as is, but it would be even better if some of these bonuses had been included.
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Okay guys been hearing alot about this band but never checked them out
Where does a noob start?
Has there sound remained consistent or has the styles changed ? I ask this because I'm a metal guy first/prog secondly
Here's the important thing to understand about Amorphis, in my opinion: Yes, they're prog and metal, but they're also kind of folky and poppy. If you're looking for Opeth, you're not going to find them here. Amorphis are all about hooks and melody, not epics.
Their heaviest albums are probably Tales from the Thousand Lakes and Silent Waters. I would definitely recommend the former, and the latter too with the caveat that it has the exact kind of poor production you'd expect to hear from a death metal band finding their feet.
Their proggiest album is Elegy, I think, which also has its fair share of growls and might be my favorite of theirs overall.
For a good mix of the heavy and the proggy, I would recommend Eclipse, which is the first album of theirs I heard, and is the album I recommend most to people just starting out as fans.
My overall ranking of their output is as follows, if you're interested:
1. Elegy
2. Silent Waters
3. Eclipse
4. Tuonela
5. Am Universum or Skyforger
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Their heaviest albums are probably Tales from the Thousand Lakes and Silent Waters. I would definitely recommend the former, and the latter too with the caveat that it has the exact kind of poor production you'd expect to hear from a death metal band finding their feet.
I think you meant that the other way around. ;)
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Their heaviest albums are probably Tales from the Thousand Lakes and Silent Waters. I would definitely recommend the former, and the latter too with the caveat that it has the exact kind of poor production you'd expect to hear from a death metal band finding their feet.
I think you meant that the other way around. ;)
Plus TKI is quite a bit heavier than both of them.
I wouldn't really consider SW to be that heavy at all. There are like four songs on there with growls (maybe five, I'm not completely sure), and IMO only two of them are really "heavy"overall (Weaving The Incantation and A Servant).
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Yeah, TKI is definitely the heaviest. Actually I think Silent Waters is the softest Joutsen-era album, although it's probably the darkest - there's a lot of piano and acoustic guitar, and the heaviest songs aren't as aggressive as on the other albums (WTI being the exception).
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Actually I think Silent Waters is the softest Joutsen-era album
Skyforger?
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Skyforger has more growls and none of the songs are as mellow as, say, Enigma or Black River. And of course there's Majestic Beast and the title-track giving extra heaviness :metal
Also, Tomi J. says they may play Dead Man's Dream live at some point! (https://www.nzrock.com/interviews/amorphis-interview-2013/) :caffeine:
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Finally listened to the new cd once through. Incredible, really consistent and great melodies all the way through, very impressive.
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Finally listened to the new cd once through. Incredible, really consistent and great melodies all the way through, very impressive.
This is my position as well. A really surprising album! (I am not very familiar with Amorphis and I didn't expect to like an album of their that much)
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I've been a fan for about a year and was initially blown away by Skyforger. Only familiar with mostly the last 4 or 5 albums, great style. Definitely loving this new one, not as much as Skyforger but it should be the last one.
Hopeless Days is absolutely incredible.
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After a month I still like the album a lot, although I think the tracklist could've been better if some songs had been replaced with the B-sides. Circle probably won't be a top 3 Amorphis album for me, but it is strong and will surely be among my favorite releases of 2013.
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After a month I still like the album a lot, although I think the tracklist could've been better if some songs had been replaced with the B-sides. Circle probably won't be a top 3 Amorphis album for me, but it is strong and will surely be among my favorite releases of 2013.
What are the b-sides? My cd has Dead Man's Dream as a bonus track. Is there others?
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The bonus tracks (with the exception of His Story) are on YT:
My Future (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Lg-injpyCI)
Illusion (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQ-inH-NGx8)
And since the link for New Song was broken, you can hear it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jP447Dl3j0
Looks like His Story (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xc4Ne88UP0) is available too - I hadn't heard it until now :o
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Wow, 4 bonus tracks, that's crazy for a 9 track album. Silly me should have just checked wiki, they apparantely list another one called New Song?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circle_%28Amorphis_album%29
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Just purchased a legit mp3 copy of the album with all the bonus tracks. :metal
https://musparade.com/album/Amorphis/Circle%282%29
Listening to My Future now. What the hell were they thinking making this a bonus track?
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Wow, 4 bonus tracks, that's crazy for a 9 track album. Silly me should have just checked wiki, they apparantely list another one called New Song?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circle_%28Amorphis_album%29
Yeah, I linked New Song too. I'm not a fan of the way the bonus tracks have been scattered on different editions >:(
Listening to My Future now. What the hell were they thinking making this a bonus track?
Agreed - I'm not a prog elitist, but making the second longest track in your discography a bonus track is a weird idea IMO.
I came up with an alternate tracklist for Circle recently and it looks like this:
1. My Future
2. Shades of Gray
3. New Song
4. Hopeless Days
5. Nightbird's Song
6. Illusion
7. Into the Abyss
8. Dead Man's Dream
9. Enchanted by the Moon
10. A New Day
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Whoops, missed you posted New Song. That's weird, 5 bonus tracks on a 9 track album with one being your second longest? :lol
Will be interesting to check all of these bonus tracks.
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Just purchased a legit mp3 copy of the album with all the bonus tracks. :metal
https://musparade.com/album/Amorphis/Circle%282%29
Listening to My Future now. What the hell were they thinking making this a bonus track?
Your legit site looks very dodgy, too cheap :yarr
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I have used a few sites like that with around the same prices. I mainly only use them to discover music. If I really like something I'll purchse the cd, which is mainly the case for me. I have Circle, but for the bonus tracks, I'm fine with this, :biggrin:
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Man, the more I listen to this the more I like it, incredible album.
Just found out they are touring Australia in October too. :metal Very busy month for me at work, but definitely gonna check these guys out.
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I checked the tour masterlist to see if they had plans to visit Italy and... whoa. What kind of huge popularity could push them to play 9 shows in Russia? (of which 8 consecutive)
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I checked the tour masterlist to see if they had plans to visit Italy and... whoa. What kind of huge popularity could push them to play 9 shows in Russia? (of which 8 consecutive)
Esa said they got an offer for a full tour in Russia, so looks like they took it. They want to visit as many places as possible on this world tour, which is also why they're finally coming to Australia. Besides, Russia is our eastern neighbor, so compared to bands from most countries it's relatively easy for Finnish groups to tour there.
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Russia is our eastern neighbor, so compared to bands from most countries it's relatively easy for Finnish groups to tour there.
And for vodka to go the other way in rivers? :D
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This album is owning me at the moment.
NP: The Wanderer. :heart
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This album is owning me at the moment.
NP: The Wanderer. :heart
Lovely song
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video for The Wanderer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDpEBMHRp4g&feature=player_embedded (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDpEBMHRp4g&feature=player_embedded)
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The video isn't that great but the awesomeness of the song makes up for it
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Basic performance video, although it's interesting that you can see their pedals :D
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I can now confidently say that Circle is a great album. It's much better than The Beginning of Times, and probably better than Skyforger too, although the latter has higher highs. If I had to rank their discography, I would list it as such:
1. Elegy (5)
---
2. Silent Waters (4.5)
---
3. Tales from the Thousand Lakes (4)
3. Tuonela
3. Am Universum
3. Eclipse
3. Circle
---
8. Skyforger (3.5)
---
9. Far from the Sun (3)
9. The Beginning of Times
---
11. The Karelian Isthmus (2)
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1. Elegy :heart :heart :heart (this album is just perfect)
2. Silent Waters :heart :heart
3. Circle :heart
4. Skyforger :heart
5. Tuonela :heart
6. Eclipse :tup
7. Tales From The Thousand Lakes :tup
8. The Beginning Of Times :\
9. Far From The Sun :\
10. The Karelian Isthmus :(
11. Am Universum :puke:
I'm not sure of Circle will stay that high on the list, but there's a good chance it will, since it's truly fantastic
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1. Skyforger
2. Tuonela
3. Tales
4. Am Universum
5. Circle
6. Silent Waters
7. Elegy
8. TBOT
9. Eclipse
10. Karelian Isthmus
11. FFTS
3-6 vary all the time, so I could rank those differently on some other day.
BTW, Mora and I have been talking about starting an "Amorphis top x" list thread. I'll make a top 20 for both the 92-03 era songs and the Joutsen-era stuff and start next weekend. Anyone interested in following or making their own lists after the two of us have finished?
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I'd definitely follow and I'd probably like to do a list myself (still have to think about it, but count me in after you two). Awesome idea :tup
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Lists are boring, unless you put comments :metal
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Lists are boring, unless you put comments :metal
That's what it's all about :P
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I'm just getting into them, so I will definitely follow to see where you guys think the good stuff is.
Listened to "The Smoke" for the first time today on Eclipse. What a great song! The second half of that album is amazing (and the first half ain't too bad either).
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Lists are boring, unless you put comments :metal
That's what it's all about :P
Yes, there will be writeups for all the songs like in the top 50/20/whatever threads for other bands.
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Santeri and Jan interviewed by another Finn... in English (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bc_JC94GK1w) ???
Don't know if this can be viewed outside of Finland, but the full Ruisrock show (with the exception of Shades of Gray) can be watched here: https://ylex.yle.fi/uutiset/popuutiset/ja-nain-heiluivat-hevirastat-ruisrockissa-katso-amorphiksen-keikkataltio I like Tomi K's cap :D
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here's the same show on youtube, 360p though: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Clg4XuxSjzY
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wow what a beautiful place for a festival.
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Yeah, it is. I was born in the city where that festival is held :biggrin:
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I have been to Helsinki many times, but never any further.
BTW are you a fan of Shade Empire, their new album is pretty darn good.
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I've never listened to them, black metal isn't really my thing.
BTW, I recently read an interview with Santeri where he said that at the Nightwish support gig in 2012 Esa came onto the stage when they had already started playing Silver Bride, because he was still in the toilet while the intro tape was rolling :lol Here's a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObgWw6Q4CR8
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I have been to Helsinki many times, but never any further.
BTW are you a fan of Shade Empire, their new album is pretty darn good.
Sorry to but in on your conversation, but I'm a fan of Shade Empire and yes their new album is just excellent. And I don't think they're really black metal. They sound more like blackened death metal to me.
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Yup I am the same, they don't really sound black metal to me, though there are some BM bits and influences.
I'd call them extreme progressive metal if anything.
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WTF did I just watch?! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0bCa4E4RBA) :lol
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any suggestions on how to get the bonus tracks from Circle? I don't see them in itunes or amazon. I just got the cd in the mail from amazon which I thought had Dead Man's Dream and My Future. Unfortunately it has neither. Bonus tracks are one of the most frustrating things to me about releases these days.
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ok, quick revision. It does have Dead Man's Dream and New Song, they're just not listed anywhere on the package.
But the one I'm really after is My Future. Where can I find that one?
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I guess only in the dark parts of teh interwebz ;)
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I guess only in the dark parts of teh interwebz ;)
Unfortunately yes, unless you want to buy multiple editions of the album :-\
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Some of the bonus tracks only came with "special mailorder editions" of the album, so I think you can't even buy them anymore even if you want to.
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I saw an LP version of Circle at a record store and it includes My Future (as well as DMD), but yeah, Illusion was exclusive to the mailorder edition.
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well, that sucks. It's been a loooong time since I've visited the darker alleys of the intertubes. I wouldn't even know where to start! :lol
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Ville, I think you did the Amorphis survivors previously, would you mind doing one this year? Of course only if enough people are interested in participating.
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Yeah, I ran the survivor in 2011, but unfortunately the amount of voters was pretty small - on some rounds for Tuonela and Am Universum there was only one voter besides me and we skipped TKI and FFTS completely. Of course you and Milena have joined the forum since then, but I'm not motivated enough to do it again and I'll also be busy with my song roulette and possibly my top 50 album list too. However, I'd definitely vote in every round if you or someone else started the survivor.
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Okay guys, I'd do it, but who would be interested to vote? I'd really appreciate if we were enough people to make it possible :tup
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I'm in.
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Cool :tup
I hope you're not the only one (apart from ? and me) :lol
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You can watch the Wacken 2013 show here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bH1aTRrJo8
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Thanks for the link, I hope I find the time tonight to watch it :tup
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Wow what a great set list and performance.
Must have taken a lot of balls to play the acoustic stuff in front of 80, 000 screaming metal fans.
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Yeah, the acoustic bit was the best portion of the set IMO, although it looked like everyone in the audience was just waiting for the heavy songs. Mari's cautious headbanging in the beginning of Hopeless Days looks so cute :D
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I was kind of disappointed, the mix and guitar sound were pretty much shit, and I also found Esa's and Tomi J's performances relatively weak :-\
But props to them for doing the acoustic set :metal
SFTNS is both weird and awesome as an acoustic version :lol
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The mix could've been better indeed and Tomi had trouble with high notes, but I found the show enjoyable nevertheless. Also, Sakari Kukko's solo at the beginning = :hefdaddy
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Well it is raw live sound not remixed or altered, so I would never expect it to be perfect.
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I don't expect it to be perfect, but the guitars were pretty much inaudible during the acoustic set, and when they played the heavy set, the guitars were really low in the mix again and sounded more like a trebly mess than anything else.
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As you can see, not that many people seem to be interested in a survivor :-\
To those who would participate: do you think I should do it nonetheless or not?
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I'm interested in it! :D
Am on holiday and pretty hard to check everything in here :)
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Okay, I'll do it :metal
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General information on the upcoming survivor here: www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=38557
PLEASE VOTE THERE WHETHER YOU WANT BONUS TRACKS AND NON-ALBUM TRACKS TO BE INCLUDED
If you have suggestions, I'd appreciate you posting them there as well.
I hope as many of you as possible will participate :metal
Thanks :smiley:
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The survivor has started: www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=38592
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Seriously? https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/best-of/id684097850
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Nuclear Blast cashing in again, how surprising... ::)
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And such a creative album cover...
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The top comment on the official video for You I Need (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rs-or7As0k) made my day a while ago :lol Also, I mentioned this in the DT-side chat thread half a year ago, but thanks to DTF "as toooneees" always reminds me of Mangini nowadays.
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The top comment on the official video for You I Need (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rs-or7As0k) made my day a while ago :lol
:rollin :tup
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Setlist for the first night of Circle World Tour (https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/amorphis/2013/zal-ozhidaniya-saint-petersburg-russia-7bc7a600.html)
Hopefully there'll be many changes when they come to Finland... :mehlin
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I'm seeing them next month in Sydney, and I really don't care what they play.
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Amorphis played Hopeless Days at the Emma Gaala (Finnish Grammy Awards) yesterday - I bet a video will surface on Youtube soon. Circle was also nominated in the "Metal Album of the Year" category, but that award went to Halo of Blood by Children of Bodom.
E: Here's the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAoK2IjeOLU
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A great interview with Tomi K, related to the 20th anniversary of Tales: https://www.metalcrypt.com/pages/interviews.php?intid=378 We finally got an explanation for the hilariously bad Into Hiding video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-fMPci2Q18) :lol
BTW, I read a short interview with Tomi K in Finnish and he said they'd like to make a more experimental album next. I thought Circle was a breath of fresh air and if the next album takes that direction further, I'll be happy :tup Of course we'll never get another Am Universum, but some experimenting would be cool.
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Of course we'll never get another Am Universum
Thank god
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Of course we'll never get another Am Universum
Thank god
:angry:
I'd love to see fans' reaction to an album like that :lol
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That would be quite a shock for me after the really strong Circle :lol
But if they're going to experiment a bit, why not? :tup
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Circle myi kultaa Suomessa! Kiitos te 10 000 levyn ostanutta fania! Circle reached gold record status for over 10,000 sales in Finland!
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Just wanted to pop in and talk about these guys. Hadn't listened to them in about half a year, then popped in some Elegy and Skyforger and about smileed my pants. Such a great band.
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In a recent interview (in Finnish) (https://www.forum24.fi/uutiset/oulu.-siella-on-hevifaneja) Esa says they'll start recording the next album in March and it'll come out in the fall of 2015. This means that the gap between Circle and the next record will be the longest since the one between FFTS and Eclipse. Esa says we shouldn't expect radical changes, but notes that "you always have to try new things with production and song structures, for example". Well, I hope the long gap and Tomi K's talks about experimental stuff mean that the new music will be different enough from Circle...
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(https://wallpoper.com/images/00/38/90/46/skyforger_00389046.jpg)
Still one of the most beautiful album covers that I know. Awesome album as well.
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I wonder if Travis Smith got inspiration from here:
(https://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SfzlNK-GmOw/TOcP5COoLLI/AAAAAAAAAN4/khSV4u_g0e0/s1600/Capa.jpg)
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I often wondered the same.
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Wow, that's very similar.
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Amorphis played a show in a medieval castle called Olavinlinna a couple of days ago:
(https://www.nba.fi/fi/Image/13010/olavinlinna-350.jpg)
(https://scontent-a-ams.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/t1.0-9/10553360_10154288975480276_1733247995447703335_n.jpg)
Unfortunately I wasn't there, but judging by all the comments it was an amazing show. I didn't manage to find a lot of videos on YT yet, but there's a clip of the Finnish version of In the Beginning, which is based on a cover by Viikate called Ensimmäinen runo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3qSSauQcm8 At the start of the clip Tomi J basically says "this song is in Finnish, but it's death metal so you probably won't understand the lyrics" and I have to say he's right :lol
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Amorphis - Tales From The Thousand Lakes 20th Anniversary -shows.
Hi,
July 12th marked the 20th anniversary of the release of the by far most significant album of our career: "Tales From The Thousand Lakes".
The years have flown by, and it feels great to notice that the tooth of time has not diminished the value of the album, nor the popularity of its songs when performed live. Black Winter Day, The Castaway, Into Hiding and In The Beginning are still part of almost every Amorphis gig. Although we have played these songs hundreds of times, it is still as exciting as ever to see the joy in people’s faces and the sheer emotion evoked by, for example, the piano intro of Black Winter Day.
When Tomi Joutsen joined the band, we reviewed the setlist in a new (old) light. It was perfectly clear that we would include more tracks from "Tales" – without forgetting our debut "The Karelian Isthmus", of course.
At that point we understood how much TFTTL meant to people. Most of us have feelings about the 1990s that are brought back to mind by the songs from "Tales", so we are certainly talking about nostalgia here. To honor the two-decade history of the album, we will embark on the Tales From The Thousand Lakes 20th Anniversary Tour. The shows of this tour will feature the TFTTL album in its entirety as well as some rarely performed Amorphis songs. Don your wigs and start the pit!
Esa Holopainen / Amorphis
Amorphis - Tales From The Thousand Lakes 20th Anniversary -show
confirmed for Wacken Open Air, Germany 30.07-01.08.2015
...more to follow soon.
They'll play some shows in Finland in October, but I don't know whether they're part of this anniversary tour. Fingers crossed! :lucien:
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Finally after several years of really not liking Skyforger too much at all, it has started to click.
It has lots of very subtle melodies and was the one of, if not the most difficult album I have ever come across to fully digest.
That said the mastering on this is poor, many songs clip.
Same with Circle, didn't really like it at all, but this one is easily as good as anything else they have ever done.
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Skyforger clicked with me pretty much right away and has remained my favorite Amorphis album ever since.
I'll probably see Amorphis live again later this month after a 2-year break. The setlist at the start of the tour (https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/amorphis/2014/ouluhalli-oulu-finland-53cf53a5.html) was amazing, but unfortunately they dropped a lot of the rarities that I hadn't seen. I'm looking forward to hearing Weeper on the Shore and Weaving the Incantation, though!
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Skyforger clicked with me pretty much right away and has remained my favorite Amorphis album ever since.
Same. It was my first Amorphis album though.
Finally after several years of really not liking Skyforger too much at all, it has started to click.
It has lots of very subtle melodies and was the one of, if not the most difficult album I have ever come across to fully digest.
That said the mastering on this is poor, many songs clip.
Same with Circle, didn't really like it at all, but this one is easily as good as anything else they have ever done.
I'd say Circle is a lot more difficult to get into than Skyforger. Circle is indeed amazing though.
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I saw Amorphis live last Saturday at the last show of the Circle World Tour. Not the absolute best gig I've witnessed by them, but I had a good time and the set had enough rarely played songs to keep me interested:
(https://scontent-a-ams.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/s720x720/10846038_10154791532590276_7223060046792198186_n.jpg?oh=6e110e999d59fe5f885a0016b50454d6&oe=55135A29)
My Kantele was the highlight for me - they played a new version that mostly stays true to the acoustic arrangement, but has the ending of the heavy version ("So it will not play..."). They even had acoustic guitars with them, which was sweet, and Esa played the intro to Brother Moon acoustically as well. The third verse of Silent Waters was also played in a more mellow way than on the album, and Hopeless Days had an extended outro. Drowned Maid is my favorite song from Tales, so it was cool to finally hear it live, and Weeper on the Shore was beautiful.
I have to complain about the unbalanced song order, though: as you can see, there are lots of heavy songs in a row in the second half of the main set, while the encore only includes radio-friendly singles. Also, playing Black Winter Day in the middle of the set is blasphemy! :police:
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Fuck yes Drowned Maid! :metal :metal :metal
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Band just announced they'll be recording a new album to come out around September.
This year just keeps getting better and better.
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Jens Bogren will be producing! :metal I hope he'll encourage the band to try some new things like Tägtgren did. That said, even if there's no change in style, at least the sound will be different compared to the previous records.
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I don't think I've listened to Amorphis in 5 years or so. I'll try to remedy that.
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(https://33.media.tumblr.com/aba4de1c08b5fe1ae5142e9971b1ea2e/tumblr_ms7sbrPBiy1swe6iro1_500.gif)
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OK, I'll try.
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Woohoo just bought tickets for one of their shows with Nightwish in December :2metal:
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https://kaaoszine.fi/amorphis-julkaisee-uuden-albuminsa-syyskuussa/ (https://kaaoszine.fi/amorphis-julkaisee-uuden-albuminsa-syyskuussa/)
Details for the new album, sounds good!
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Looking forward to this one.
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Yeah, saw this on facebook. Hope they'll play some new songs on their August festival gigs.
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Looking forward to this one.
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The cover art looks pretty atypical but cool! According to Esa this is probably their tightest record instrumentation-wise, so Bogren must've kicked their asses in the studio. :P Tomi Joutsen also said the new album is heavier than Circle.
BTW, an official Amorphis biography (in Finnish) is getting released at Record Shop X in July, one month ahead of the official release date. I already ordered a copy with a T-shirt! :metal
Yeah, saw this on facebook. Hope they'll play some new songs on their August festival gigs.
They premiered Shades of Gray on a Finnish tour they did about 4 months before Circle was released, so there'll probably be at least one new song in the set by August.
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Yeah, saw this on facebook. Hope they'll play some new songs on their August festival gigs.
They premiered Shades of Gray on a Finnish tour they did about 4 months before Circle was released, so there'll probably be at least one new song in the set by August.
I'm relatively new Amorphis fan though, so I probably won't be able to distinguish the new songs from the old. :lol
Is there any fan favourite songs they always play and make people to sing along? I'll learn the words if that's the case. ;)
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House of Sleep gets played at every normal Amorphis show and towards the end Tomi lets the audience sing the chorus. Most of their festival gigs concentrate heavily on Joutsen-era albums and especially the singles, such as Silver Bride and Hopeless Days, but they always throw in a song or two from early classics like Tales from the Thousand Lakes and Elegy.
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Got an email from CD Japan yesterday.
Under The Red Cloud will be issued in Japan with a bonus track and bonus DVD, Live at Loud Park 2013.
Short Festival set list, only 9 songs, but for me well worth it:
https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/amorphis/2013/saitama-super-arena-saitama-japan-6bc77e4e.html
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Is the bonus track one of those on the digipak or a different one?
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I'm taking a guess here, but I reckon it's an exclusive Japan only song.
Given that 13 songs were recorded, standard album has 10 songs, vinyl and digi have 12.
Leaves track 13 for the Japanese/Asian markets.
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Yeah, I guess it's an exclusive track, just like New Song was on Circle. I'm just glad there aren't a million different editions and bonus tracks out there like last time. :lol
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New album trailer #1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r943QLN9Xxs
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Not the most charasmatic guys in the world, but cool stuff nonetheless!
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A listening session report: https://www.stalker.cd/index.php?lang=2&content=22&kat=stalker_special&id=391
The return of the sitar sounds promising! Death of a King has been played twice on the radio already, but unfortunately I missed it on both occasions.
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Great report and thanks for the link, September 4th cannot come fast enough for me.
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New album trailer #2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOvX_o9vyCg
Wow sounds amazing these little bits we are getting from these 2 trailers so far.
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Death Of A King
https://youtu.be/4jZ66GNmyPY
Hell yeah this has to be one of their better if not best lead single in a long time.
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Love the return of the sitar, the song reminds me of Better Unborn :metal The oriental elements are a big part of the charm of Elegy and Tuonela for me, so I don't mind them coming back at all. I like the fact that they didn't choose a safe single this time, although Hopeless Days was pretty different too.
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Really excellent new song.
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Really excellent new song.
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sounds really awesome!
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According to the Finnish magazine Soundi, Amorphis and Children of Bodom will release a split single later this year, and both bands cover each other on it. Amorphis has recorded a version of Everytime I Die, whereas COB will contribute a cover of Black Winter Day. Santeri hinted at this in a video interview so I can't say I'm shocked - in fact, when he first mentioned that they'd recorded a Bodom song, my first thought was "Everytime I Die would be the perfect song for Amorphis!" :D
The official biography has been available in Finland for a while already and I have to say it's a great book! :tup It's got lots of interesting and funny stories from each era, even including the core trio's (Esa, Tomi K, Jan) childhood bands. I knew the record deal with Relapse had been a rip-off, but I can only imagine how the band felt when their albums sold six-digit figures around the world, yet they got zero royalties.
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video for "Sacrifice" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiOX2axSWvg (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiOX2axSWvg)
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Apart from the jaw-dropping solo (Esa shreds so rarely!), the song is pretty average. However, there's some cool time signature shifting going on, and in the final chapter of the biography Bogren said it's the only (obvious) radio song on the album, so I'm definitely not giving up hope. I still think Death of a King rocks!
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I like that new song a lot. Classic single material Amorphis but I think it's great.
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I like that new song a lot. Classic single material Amorphis but I think it's great.
Same here, gorgeous stuff.
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Really looking forward to this album now.
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Tomi Joutsen is getting hotter every year.
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New review
https://www.angrymetalguy.com/amorphis-under-the-red-cloud-review/
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Album of the year ?....yes probably!
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Album of the year ?....yes probably!
Wow, it's that good?
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Album of the year ?....yes probably!
Wow, it's that good?
Yes, it's probably their best album since Elegy. :hefdaddy
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Awesome to hear. Hopefully I can find a copy instore this weekend.
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"Sacrifice" hasn't really clicked for me, but "Under the Red Cloud" is already one of my all-time favorite Amorphis songs. I'm so pumped for the new album, which should be arriving tomorrow afternoon. :D
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"Sacrifice" hasn't really clicked for me, but "Under the Red Cloud" is already one of my all-time favorite Amorphis songs. I'm so pumped for the new album, which should be arriving tomorrow afternoon. :D
Sacrifice is the worst song of the album.
All the other songs are amazing.
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"Sacrifice" hasn't really clicked for me, but "Under the Red Cloud" is already one of my all-time favorite Amorphis songs. I'm so pumped for the new album, which should be arriving tomorrow afternoon. :D
Sacrifice is the worst song of the album.
All the other songs are amazing.
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2419/1849109365_569a41f236_z.jpg?zz=1)
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https://themetalist.net/album-review-amorphis-under-the-red-cloud/
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Picked this up today, the digipak, couldn't wait for the Japenese version to arrive.
So glad that I did, because this is just bloody amazing.
It could end up being my fave Amorphis album ever.
Yes it is that good.
For a band would have been around for 20 years, this even more amazing
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Man, really pumped for this!
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Man, really pumped for this!
But why does it come out the same day as the new Maiden. Where am I going to take the time to listen to both thoroughly?
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On my first listen now, really really good so far.
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Picked this up today, the digipak, couldn't wait for the Japenese version to arrive.
So glad that I did, because this is just bloody amazing.
It could end up being my fave Amorphis album ever.
Yes it is that good.
For a band would have been around for 20 years, this even more amazing
Hoping a JB up here has it in store tomorrow.
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Picked this up today, the digipak, couldn't wait for the Japenese version to arrive.
did this end up like the last one with several versions all having different bonus tracks?
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Picked this up today, the digipak, couldn't wait for the Japenese version to arrive.
did this end up like the last one with several versions all having different bonus tracks?
No, there are 3 bonus tracks: 2 of them are on the digipak and one on the Japanese edition.
I've heard the album twice now and it sounds really fresh and strong - easily the best since Skyforger! :hefdaddy The album is really proggy, and Sacrifice is indeed the weakest and the only song not to include growls. It's too early to name any standouts, because at least half the songs feel like potential candidates for a list of my all-time Amorphis favorites. I'll write a full review next week after more listening.
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Correction to an earlier post: I was actually referring to "Death of a King" and not "Under the Red Cloud", although they're both all-time favorites now, so doesn't really matter. :)
I'm loving the new album, although some of the songs will need more listens.
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A mate of mine from NY picked up the USA jewel case version, this also includes the 2 bonus tracks ('Come The Spring' and 'Winter's Sleep'). While the Australian and European jewel case version only has the 10 tracks.
Japanese version ads the exclusive bonus track, 'The Wind', plus bonus DVD of Loud Park Live 2013.
This version is limited to only 3000 units.
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I hope JB has the digipak with the bonus tracks.
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I reckon there's a good chance.
The big stores in the city should have.
I got mine from a local one in the Melbourne western suburbs, they had 2 digipak's.
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I reckon there's a good chance.
The big stores in the city should have.
I got mine from a local one in the Melbourne western suburbs, they had 2 digipak's.
Cool, I'll find out in a few hours.
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New album's really good. It's already up there with Circle and Skyforger as one of my favorite Amorphis albums. Bad Blood is probably my favorite track on it but I also love Death of a King, title track and Tree of Ages.
The lyrics are really interesting too. Scandinavian/Finnish folklore is a fascinating topic for me so this is right up my alley.
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I reckon there's a good chance.
The big stores in the city should have.
I got mine from a local one in the Melbourne western suburbs, they had 2 digipak's.
Cool, I'll find out in a few hours.
One copy on the shelves. Phew. Looking forward to having a listen after I can get through the Maiden. Might be a couple of days haha.
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After my first listen - and it was a distracted one at that, I can say it will be better than the last two for certain. Unfortunately it was released on the same day as Iron Maiden, The Dear Hunter, and Riverside; so it's not going to get as much attention immediately than if it was a stand alone purchase. For now, the Riverside album is out of the picture as I broke it in the 3 seconds it should have taken me to get it from the digipack to my computer's DVD drive :lol
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After my first listen - and it was a distracted one at that, I can say it will be better than the last two for certain. Unfortunately it was released on the same day as Iron Maiden, The Dear Hunter, and Riverside; so it's not going to get as much attention immediately than if it was a stand alone purchase. For now, the Riverside album is out of the picture as I broke it in the 3 seconds it should have taken me to get it from the digipack to my computer's DVD drive :lol
Wow, I've always had a fear of doing this. Was it just one of those trays where it just won't budge and the cd just bends and you gotta try and hit it from different angels to avoid this exact situation? That would have really pissed me off.
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I gave this another listen tonight, bloody amazing how good this.
Twelve killer songs, even the supposed weak link, 'Sacrifice' sounds perfect in the middle of the album.
So much depth in the songwriting, riffs, melodies, some amazing death growls.
Album of the year for me, with daylight a distant second.
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For now, the Riverside album is out of the picture as I broke it in the 3 seconds it should have taken me to get it from the digipack to my computer's DVD drive :lol
Wow, I've always had a fear of doing this. Was it just one of those trays where it just won't budge and the cd just bends and you gotta try and hit it from different angels to avoid this exact situation? That would have really pissed me off.
No, I got it out no problem. I just dropped it when I tried to pick it up - 100% my fault.
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I don't understand the comments about Sacrifice being the weak link. I love it.
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For now, the Riverside album is out of the picture as I broke it in the 3 seconds it should have taken me to get it from the digipack to my computer's DVD drive :lol
Wow, I've always had a fear of doing this. Was it just one of those trays where it just won't budge and the cd just bends and you gotta try and hit it from different angels to avoid this exact situation? That would have really pissed me off.
No, I got it out no problem. I just dropped it when I tried to pick it up - 100% my fault.
:facepalm: Oh dude!
I don't understand the comments about Sacrifice being the weak link. I love it.
Love it.
I've had one listen so far but not really paying attention and the cd sounds very strong. I like how much growls they have put back inot their music. It's refreshing for once hearing a band move back towards their roots a little instead of continuing in a more mainstream fashion. Good signs.
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The solo in Sacrifice is incredible.
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Yeah Tomi's voice is amazing, the cleans, growls and even some black metal type shrieks.
Jens Bogren has definitely got the best out of him.
They seems to know just the right time for each different kind of vocal.
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These guys, together with Arch Enemy, will be the opener to Nightwish. A bit odd that these two are the opener for NW to my ears, but I am not complaining since both bands have a good reputation and the ticket price was cheap. Familiar with AE, but have never really listened to Amorphis. But they have a new album? I will check it out then. Just listened Sacrifice and I liked it.
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These guys, together with Arch Enemy, will be the opener to Nightwish. A bit odd that these two are the opener for NW to my ears, but I am not complaining since both bands have a good reputation and the ticket price was cheap. Familiar with AE, but have never really listened to Amorphis. But they have a new album? I will check it out then. Just listened Sacrifice and I liked it.
You can't go wrong with any of their last few albums. Check this new one and Skyforger.
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I'm kind of lost for words. This album is absurdly good. I haven't reacted this strongly to an album in some time. I am in complete and utter fanboy mode, and loving every second of it.
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These guys, together with Arch Enemy, will be the opener to Nightwish. A bit odd that these two are the opener for NW to my ears, but I am not complaining since both bands have a good reputation and the ticket price was cheap. Familiar with AE, but have never really listened to Amorphis. But they have a new album? I will check it out then. Just listened Sacrifice and I liked it.
You can't go wrong with any of their last few albums. Check this new one and Skyforger.
Yeah, Skyforger is awesome and I'm not even a big fan of Amorphis and growls in general. If the new album is that good, I'll probably pick it up too.
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Under the Red Cloud is probably my favourite Joutsen-era album of theirs at the moment - that or Skyforger, and it's very close.
Nothing beats Tales though.
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So UTRC is officially my favorite Amorphis album both musically and lyrically. Phenomenal stuff!
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These guys, together with Arch Enemy, will be the opener to Nightwish. A bit odd that these two are the opener for NW to my ears, but I am not complaining since both bands have a good reputation and the ticket price was cheap. Familiar with AE, but have never really listened to Amorphis. But they have a new album? I will check it out then. Just listened Sacrifice and I liked it.
You can't go wrong with any of their last few albums. Check this new one and Skyforger.
These guys, together with Arch Enemy, will be the opener to Nightwish. A bit odd that these two are the opener for NW to my ears, but I am not complaining since both bands have a good reputation and the ticket price was cheap. Familiar with AE, but have never really listened to Amorphis. But they have a new album? I will check it out then. Just listened Sacrifice and I liked it.
You can't go wrong with any of their last few albums. Check this new one and Skyforger.
Yeah, Skyforger is awesome and I'm not even a big fan of Amorphis and growls in general. If the new album is that good, I'll probably pick it up too.
Thanks, will give Skyforger a spin soon then, sounds good ;D
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I've not yet heard the new album in full, but apart from that Eclipse is my favorite Joutsen-era album, closely followed by Skyforger or Circle.
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This is a wonderful album.
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I've had two listens of the new album and what I heard was really good, this could grow to be one of their best. :metal :metal :metal
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Was so inspired by the new album I decided to write down my thoughts in a short, simple review yesterday evening. Feel free to read if interested.
https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=44547.0
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Really good review and comments mate.
They seemed to have taken a step up to the next level with this album.
I think working with Jens Bogren is the secret here, he really has pushed them hard and got the best out of them.
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Nice review, TOX! :tup Mine got published today: https://www.musicalypse.net/reviews/amorphis-under-the-red-cloud.php
I see you made a reference to Taylor Swift as well - great minds think alike! :lol
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This album is getting some spins between the Book of Souls and is magical. Dark Path has opened up to be a classic Amorphis tune, excellent.
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It really has that something special feel about it.
As for the new Maiden, well this is so good I can't even bother with more than a couple of songs that didn't sound that interesting.
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Nice review, TOX! :tup Mine got published today: https://www.musicalypse.net/reviews/amorphis-under-the-red-cloud.php
I see you made a reference to Taylor Swift as well - great minds think alike! :lol
Great review, sir. Also fun to see someone mention at the bottom that he isn't a huge Amorphis fan, but he couldn't stop listening to the new album.
At this point, I feel like the record is in the running for their best, behind maybe only Elegy. I love it to death.
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Totally agree, it just keeps getting better and better with each play.
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Nice review, TOX! :tup Mine got published today: https://www.musicalypse.net/reviews/amorphis-under-the-red-cloud.php
I see you made a reference to Taylor Swift as well - great minds think alike! :lol
Great review, sir. Also fun to see someone mention at the bottom that he isn't a huge Amorphis fan, but he couldn't stop listening to the new album.
*She ;) But anyway, thanks! :) Amorphis shared the review on their official FB page, which makes me a happy camper. ;D
Btw, has anyone else listened to Amorphis' version of Everytime I Die by Children of Bodom yet? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qafQngvbBIQ It's not that different from the original, but they've made it sound like their own.
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Yeah been spinning this and it's a pretty good Amorphis album. Nothing mindblowing but very solid with a lot of good tracks. Still not huge on Sacrifice though. Prob a 7/10,I prefer it to Circle though and it's most likely their best since Skyforger.
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Been waiting to hear the Bodom cover, many thanks.
Sounds like Amorphis, not that different from the original, but I reckon it's a killer version.
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I recently put Under The Red Cloud in my car again and have it now in heavy rotation.
This is now officially and definitely my favorite Amorphis record. :metal
Cool thing for a band that's been around for so long to release such a strong record.
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Amorphis is playing a special show in Helsinki in August that will consist of an improvised set with a few guest musicians and a second set that includes UTRC in full. Man, I can't miss out on this! :metal
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Yeah, that deserves to be played in full. Sadly Aleah will never perform White Night, RIP.
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Sadly Aleah will never perform White Night, RIP.
Yeah, that was sad news - she was so young. :( I wonder who they'll get to sing it with them.
On a happier note, Elegy is 20 years old today!
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I wonder who they'll get to sing it with them.
Anneke van Giersbergen. Nice!
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The first extensive North American tour since 2008 is imminent, apparently from early March til mid-April. No official announcement yet, but individual venue information is probably popping up already.
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Amorphis is playing a special show in Helsinki in August that will consist of an improvised set with a few guest musicians and a second set that includes UTRC in full. Man, I can't miss out on this! :metal
Aaand here (https://www.musicalypse.net/amorphis-huvila-teltta-helsingin-juhlaviikot-helsinki-27-08-2016/)'s a report of that show! We also got to do an interview with Esa and Anneke, which you can read here (https://www.musicalypse.net/esa-holopainen-anneke-van-giersbergen-huvilateltta-helsingin-juhlaviikot-helsinki-27-08-2016/).
Amo had a 360-degree video stream of the show up on YT, but unfortunately the video has gone private now. Maybe there's some kind of video release in works?
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Great review!
I only wish I wasn't on the other side of the world.
Hopefully it will get an official release.
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Amo had a 360-degree video stream of the show up on YT, but unfortunately the video has gone private now. Maybe there's some kind of video release in works?
Indeed! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBCkm4VYo_Dhy8W6G55jyzMOwDX1HwRMh
At least I now have this as I was unable to attend the show. 360 degrees is awesome.
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The first extensive North American tour since 2008 is imminent, apparently from early March til mid-April. No official announcement yet, but individual venue information is probably popping up already.
Please dear God/Cthulu/Shamoz/Flying Spaghetti Monster make this happen.
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The first extensive North American tour since 2008 is imminent, apparently from early March til mid-April. No official announcement yet, but individual venue information is probably popping up already.
Please dear God/Cthulu/Shamoz/Flying Spaghetti Monster make this happen.
It's real, Amorphis have started announcing Facebook events.
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I'm just now getting into this band. I've been listening to everything from "Elegy" onward. :metal
Although, for some silly reason, I laugh every time I think of the lyrics to "From Earth I Rose."
I am a brother to the fire
To fire a brother I am
From breasts of maidens three
I drank the black milk
Devoured the white milk
I swallowed the red milk
I just imagine the narrator having one glass with Nesquik, another plain and then a third glass with Strawberry Nesquik.
Anyway, great band.
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I just imagine the narrator having one glass with Nesquik, another plain and then a third glass with Strawberry Nesquik.
Thanks for the mental image of Tomi Joutsen sipping Nesquik :rollin
Speaking of those lyrics, you can read the English translations of Pekka Kainulainen's original poems (which the songs were based on) here: https://web.archive.org/web/20090721062814/https://www.amorphis.net/?page_id=230 You can also find the ones for Eclipse and Silent Waters there. It sucks that Amo's current website only consists of a social network wall, a list of tour dates and a bunch of links, because all the cool stuff like the band member bios and those poems are gone. :-\
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You know, because of this thread title, I kinda got it stuck in my head that the band's name is Amorphis Blow :lol
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I'm just now getting into this band. I've been listening to everything from "Elegy" onward. :metal
Although, for some silly reason, I laugh every time I think of the lyrics to "From Earth I Rose."
I am a brother to the fire
To fire a brother I am
From breasts of maidens three
I drank the black milk
Devoured the white milk
I swallowed the red milk
I just imagine the narrator having one glass with Nesquik, another plain and then a third glass with Strawberry Nesquik.
Anyway, great band.
I always laugh at this as well! :lol
If anyone's interested in going to the Charlotte show, hit me up. Would love to see these guys live.
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Speaking of those lyrics, you can read the English translations of Pekka Kainulainen's original poems (which the songs were based on) here: https://web.archive.org/web/20090721062814/https://www.amorphis.net/?page_id=230
Thanks. Bookmarked for future use.
Foolishly, I also bought a ton of other music in the last few weeks. I was behind with several bands and bought a lot of music.
I listened to everything once, but it's going to be many months before I familiarize myself with Amorphis. Expect a top 10 sometime next year.
UPDATE: This band has mastered the art of opening their albums with a great track. I tried to make an Amorphis playlist, and 5 of the 16 songs were openers, which essentially means there's no way to make the playlist flow well.
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The band are back with JB doing a new album, listening to Red Cloud today, I just don't know how they can top it?
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December: Recording (basically done)
January: Mixing & mastering
???: Release
:corn
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I'm just now getting into this band. I've been listening to everything from "Elegy" onward. :metal
Although, for some silly reason, I laugh every time I think of the lyrics to "From Earth I Rose."
I am a brother to the fire
To fire a brother I am
From breasts of maidens three
I drank the black milk
Devoured the white milk
I swallowed the red milk
I just imagine the narrator having one glass with Nesquik, another plain and then a third glass with Strawberry Nesquik.
Anyway, great band.
These lyrics always stuck out to me too haha.
Pumped for a new album, Red Cloud is amazing.
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Recording still isn't done apparently, Anneke van Giersbergen is getting her parts done right now :metal
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The new album cover is pretty gnarly looking...
(https://www.nuclearblast.de/de/data/bands/amorphis/releases/amorphis-queen-of-time.jpg?x=450)
Drops on May 18. I also take it that Oppu is back in the band full-time now.
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Nice! Looks very different from every other album cover. Looking forward to it.
I still have to catch up with the new albums. I have only listened till Am Universum (2001).
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To this day, simply because of this thread, I think the name of the band is Amorphis Blow :lol
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Yeah, that's a very futuristic cover! The full announcement is here: https://www.nuclearblast.de/en/label/music/band/news/details/5301292.70915.amorphis-unveil-album-title-release-date.html
I'll be at the album listening session and interview Tomi K and Oppu afterwards, so if anyone's got questions for them, hit me up.
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I'll be at the album listening session and interview Tomi K and Oppu afterwards, so if anyone's got questions for them, hit me up.
I'll send you a PM
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Cover looks cool and metal as fuck. :metal :metal :metal
Very anticipated release for me after the stellar Under The Red Cloud.
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Looking forward to it. This band doesn't disappoint.
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Tracklist, obtained from a pre-listening session report (in Finnish, so no point linking to it)
1. The Bee
2. Message In the Amber
3. Daughter of Hate
4. The Golden Elk
5. Wrong Direction
6. Heart of the Giant
7. We Accursed
8. Grain of Sand
9. Amongst (the) Stars [feat. Anneke van Giersbergen]
10. Pyres on the Coast
The Golden Elk and Wrong Direction seem like potential singles.
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My listening session report is online and includes the bonus track titles as well ;) https://www.musicalypse.net/amorphis-queen-of-time-listening-session-sonic-pump-studios-helsinki-24-02-2018/
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Cheers mate, nice 'review' and the two words have me eagerly waiting, 'least accessible' :metal
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My listening session report is online and includes the bonus track titles as well ;) https://www.musicalypse.net/amorphis-queen-of-time-listening-session-sonic-pump-studios-helsinki-24-02-2018/
This all sounds really positive. Another album I'll be checking out this year :metal really good article.
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Thanks guys! "Least accessible" of course doesn't equate to all the songs being prog epics, but there's more going on in them musically and dynamically, which means that you can't easily categorize them as the radio-friendly single(-type) tracks and the heavy hitters like before.
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My listening session report is online and includes the bonus track titles as well ;) https://www.musicalypse.net/amorphis-queen-of-time-listening-session-sonic-pump-studios-helsinki-24-02-2018/
Wow great review, thanks! \m/
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The band are hinting on Facebook that The Golden Elk could be the lead single.
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The band are hinting on Facebook that The Golden Elk could be the lead single.
Pekka Kainulainen, on the other hand, posted a short Instagram clip from a video shoot with the tag #thewrongdirection: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bf-TqfHAi0E/?igref=ogexp&utm_source=fb_www_attr Maybe The Golden Elk will be the first single and Wrong Direction the first video, like they did with Death of a King and Sacrifice last time around?
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Maybe The Golden Elk will be the first single and Wrong Direction the first video, like they did with Death of a King and Sacrifice last time around?
That's what I was thinking as well.
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That is an amazing title for a song.
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That is an amazing title for a song.
That's the first thing I thought. Makes me think of the Forest Spirit from Studio Ghibli's Princess Mononoke :heart
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That is an amazing title for a song.
In german it would be translated to "Goldener Hirsch" and that's the name of various restaurants throughout the country, most of them of the more bourgeios style.
Not really metal. :biggrin:
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Well, Amo have had ewes, milk, mittens and cantors in their lyrics before, and none of those things are very metal either :lol
Anyway, my interview is now online: https://www.musicalypse.net/amorphis-tomi-koivusaari-olli-pekka-laine-helsinki-2018-english/ Besides new album talk, Tomi K revealed one of the songs from Eclipse they may have tried out with Pasi on vocals before he left the band.
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Cool interview. :tup
I'm not really up to date with Amorphis personel and stuff. Why did Oppu leave in the first place and why did Niklas leave then?
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Cool interview. :tup
I'm not really up to date with Amorphis personel and stuff. Why did Oppu leave in the first place and why did Niklas leave then?
Thanks!
Oppu disagreed with the turn the band's music took on Tuonela and thought they should either go back to their roots or call it a day. The others didn't feel the same way (though according to the official book, Pasi and Pekka would've preferred to do some heavier stuff and it was mainly the guitarists spearheading the new direction), so he quit. Niclas, on the other hand, didn't like the way the management was handling the band's businesses (he didn't go into details in his statement (https://www.facebook.com/amorphis/posts/10158438819300276)). The way he said "most" of the band didn't see a need for change makes it sound like at least one of the guys shared his reservations about the management. Maybe we'll find out someday, but the current lineup is so strong that hopefully it'll last.
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Thanks for the info.
Yeah, this lineup is great and I hope they continue to deliver.
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The Bee was aired today on the Finnish radio. Check out the radio rip while it's still up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sWTClLEHbk
Edit: Aaaand it's gone.
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I still have to catch up. I listened up to "Far From The Sun". Next is Eclipse. I hope I am done before the album gets released.
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The Bee sounds killer, and really I wasn't expecting anything less.
This song is almost full on progressive death metal :metal
One of the very few bands that seem to get better with age.
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The Bee is also the first single. https://open.spotify.com/album/5rt36I1yznBfg8kIliw2ec (available whenever your timezone hits Friday)
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The new song is really good :hefdaddy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xf_4uvymwRw
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Oh wow, didn't expect them to release the opener as a single, given that they've done that very rarely since Tomi J joined (I think only Shades of Gray had a lyric video). Not a bad choice though :metal Just wait until you hear the rest :biggrin:
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Oh wow, didn't expect them to release the opener as a single, given that they've done that very rarely since Tomi J joined (I think only Shades of Gray had a lyric video). Not a bad choice though :metal Just wait until you hear the rest :biggrin:
I was just coming to mention their new single! It looks like I was beaten to it. Anyhow, amazing song. These guys continue to impress. It sounds like you've heard the new record by some means. I'm assuming it met the hype? :metal
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Yeah, I was at the listening session for journalists and posted my report (https://www.musicalypse.net/amorphis-queen-of-time-listening-session-sonic-pump-studios-helsinki-24-02-2018/) above. As mentioned at the end, it's hard to form an opinion on it based on a single listen, but I have a feeling I'll rank it pretty high once I've heard it enough times. If you liked The Bee, just wait 'til you hear the rest ;)
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Music video for Wrong Direction premieres tomorrow, and it'll probably go up on Spotify as well.
On another note, an Amorphis list thread came up in the forum search. I wonder if a some sort of revival should be done :P
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Here's the very cool new video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz9uAOM4DHo
As for the song, they've figured out some new arrangement tricks and it sounds fresh. Brilliant.
I should have understood
I should have seen it coming
The signs on the road had changed
The fires on the mountain died
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I like the new song but I hope that the rest of the album is heavier.
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On another note, an Amorphis list thread came up in the forum search. I wonder if a some sort of revival should be done :P
I did mine back then, but I'd certainly follow if someone dug it up again.
I like the new song but I hope that the rest of the album is heavier.
It's the Sacrifice of the new album, i.e. the only obvious radio single. I remember the Anneke duet being catchy as well, but it probably wouldn't make much sense to release a single that won't get played live, given that they avoid backing tracks.
Btw, since size matters for prog geeks (:zydar:), one review includes the track lengths: https://www.folk-metal.nl/2018/04/amorphis-queen-of-time-2018/
01. The Bee 05:30
02. Message in the Amber 06:44
03. Daughter of Hate 06:20
04. The Golden Oak 06:22
05. Wrong Direction 05:09
06. Heart of the Giant 06:32
07. We Accursed 04:59
08. Grain of Sand 04:44
09. Amongst Stars 04:50
10. Pyres on the Coast 06:19
Why do all sites keep misspelling The Golden Elk? First Imperiumi and now this one :lol
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Why do all sites keep misspelling The Golden Elk? First Imperiumi and now this one :lol
There's probably a mistake in some of the promo material. It's not particularly new when this band and Nuclear Blast are concerned, they used to write "Against Windows" in their setlists as a joke and eventually that started going around for a bit :lol
Also, that's probably more 6+ minute songs than on all their other albums combined.
I did mine back then, but I'd certainly follow if someone dug it up again
I think I'm gonna do it, be on the look-out. That thread title will need some work ;) I think there'll be some interesting picks.
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I really enjoyed the first two-thirds of "Wrong Direction". The final third or so, however, completely blew my head off. This album is shaping up real nicely!
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https://www.sonicperspectives.com/features/talking-perspectives-episode-three/
This is a discussion podcast, and the middle stanza is a discussion about the new Amorphis album, enjoy!
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New interview with Tomi J and lots of snippets of a new song.
https://youtu.be/3aXEy7exthU
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Gave the new one a spin, very impressive stuff. Favorites so far are Daughter of Hate and Heart of the Giant.
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Played it through a couple of times and yes it's another killer album from Amorphis.
Lots going on here, a few new things with the choir and orchestra, both are used sparingly, but fit in very well.
Tomi J sounds amazing too, he really has raised his vocals to a new level. Though i am pretty sure Jens Bogren played a strong part in this.
Hard to pick a favourite right now, all songs are very strong.
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Gave the new one a spin, very impressive stuff. Favorites so far are Daughter of Hate and Heart of the Giant.
Only went thru the cd one time and the same 2 songs above
are early favorites along with song Amongst Stars with male and female
vocals and some well placed harsh vocals.
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Did a full listen through on my afternoon hike today, it's really a solid, complete album. I was able to let go of the song by song structure and just get absorbed by the whole thing. Really enjoying it man.
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So... Amongst Stars... Holy crap.
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Really good album. This is a silly complaint but I just wish there were less growl/guttural vocals. His clean voice is amazing and makes the songs sound less generic. I think Skyforger is still my favorite (I only know that and UTRC, and now this one), but this is another very solid album. Ordered my copy this morning.
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First casual listen, sounds good and promising. And it's clearly different from Red Cloud, sometimes almost progressive, some songs doing a left turn about halfway through. But it's still Amorphis and that's good. :metal
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You know when you kind of get a feeling an album is going to be good and you just subconsciously decide you're going to dig it? That's what's happened to me with this new album. One listen down and it's in my top 10 of the year. I'm eager to give it more listens. I just dig the whole vibe, artwork, song titles, it's the full package.
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So, Amongst Stars was pretty awesome! Anneke really elevates the chorus.
Other songs from "Queen of Time" have been good as well, especially The Bee. So far, it's looking good for the album.
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Here are my thoughts on the album so far:
Even though Amorphis have a distinct "formula" and "style", I think that they do a good job of going to different places within that foundation. For whatever reason, the variation they went to for Under the Red Cloud is my favorite. In other words, songs on the catchier and shorter side. By contrast, Queen of Time is clearly going for something more epic, kind of like Beginning of Time. While I also enjoy this style, it doesn't hit me as hard as the aforementioned Eclipse / Under the Red Cloud approach. So while I really like Queen of Time, I don't love it like I loved the last album. That said, it still kicks ass. I don't want to come across as disappointed. I think the extra instruments and layers sound great, and give the album a unique sound. And Amongst Stars... Wow. Top ten Amorphis song in my books. :metal
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So, finally had the time to listen to Queen of Time!
I don't they have made a better album with this lineup, excluding Skyforger! Blows the last few albums out of the water for me, and the last few were really good! It feels like they threw the kitchen sink, and then some into this album.
Daughter of Hate and Heart of a Giant are my favs also. Really love the combination of harsh/clean vocals, saxophone, organs and spoken words in Finnish in Daughter of Hate.
This will rank very highly in their discography for me!
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I don't they have made a better album with this lineup
Perhaps because this is the first album with this lineup? :biggrin:
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I don't they have made a better album with this lineup
Perhaps because this is the first album with this lineup? :biggrin:
Right, the old bass player came back.. :D
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Not sure if it will surpass Red Cloud for me, because that is my favorite Amorphis record, but the new one is still growing with every listen. Really really good record.
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The Japanese bonus is a pretty folky number: https://www.soundcloud.com/decibelmagazine/amorphis-honeyflow-db091
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Message in Amber is the highlight for me. Love that song :metal
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Finally managed to get a copy of this and had a listen through. Surprisingly it has 12 tracks over 10, so that's nice. Seems like pretty standard Amorphis but seems to have some different little sound and things going on. Hard to pick up on anything just yet, but very promising, as usual.
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Loads going on that you don't pick up for quite a few plays.
Aussie jewel case version has the two unlisted bonus tracks that are on the euro/usa digipak.
That version also has the shiny gold artwork while ours is the flat yellowish colours.
Also the lyrics are blurred with the colours not working with the black background in the booklet.
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After the 4th or 5th listen this new album has really clicked. It's pretty epic folk metal at times :metal
It's moved up to my #6 album of the year, however, with new Black Peaks and Coheed & Cambria albums coming out Friday that's likely to change.
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This new album still sounds brilliant and fresh.
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it's fantastic. My kids love it, too. They start cheering whenever The Bee starts up with that growling in the intro.
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Oh yeah that killer intro and Tomi's growl is amazing, song of the year for me.
Live it's even better...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2CKapEwvpg&t=285s
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The Bee is a great song, but not one of my favs. Shows the strength of the album. We Accursed is my fav.
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It's disappointing that Honeyflow was relegated to being just a Japanese bonus track. It's one of my favourites.
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This bonus track thing is crazy imo. I bought the digipack with two bonus tracks (As Mountains Cruble, Brother And Sister) for a steep price. Then you learn that there are other editions with other bonus tracks, wft?
That said, I really like Queen Of Time, especially the first five songs are great, then it looses a bit of steam imo, I'm not too keen on We Accursed and Grain Of Sand. My favorite is probably Daughter Of Hate.
But I still like Under The Red Cloud better.
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Amorphis's bonus tracks are always legit. I usually prefer them to at least a handful of songs on the actual album.
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So these guys are touring the Delain, whom I want to see, and i nothing about them. Can any fans and/or experts give me a 100 words or less crash course in them?
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See my post a few above yours, with the link to a killer live show tells you everything you need to know.
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I went to Delain/Amorphis in Montreal this week. I have to say this was a bit of a strange co-headline for me.
Never heard of Amorphis - the were good on stage. I picked up Queen of time and I am liking it more and more with each listen. No urge yet to explore previous catalogue.
The best part of the show was Amongst Star with Anneke. Very melodic live.
WM
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It's disappointing that Honeyflow was relegated to being just a Japanese bonus track. It's one of my favourites.
I just realised that I had no idea this song existed.
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So I bought Skyforger several years ago after hearing Sampo in roulette and really liking it. For years I never got into the rest of the album, but the last month or so I have been listening to it a ton and really loving it. I think I've finally turned a corner on growls, and the songwriting here is just spectacular. I really like every song here; it's hard to pick a favorite. Right now I'm somewhat obsessed with My Sun and the title track.
I just got Queen of Time since it's their newest and seems to have been well-received. Too early to have many thoughts on it; it's such a dense album. I'll say I was surprised by how much more growl-heavy it seems to be than Skyforger. I don't think that will be a major obstacle to me liking it, but since I think Skyforger has the perfect clean-growl ratio for me with this band, I'm a bit curious as to where the other Joutsen-era albums fall on that continuum. Regardless, though, I'm rather excited about finally getting into this band.
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'Queen Of Time' is probably the most growl heavy album of the TJ era, it's also their most progressive too.
As I've stated may times Tomi Joutsen is the best growler in metal and then some.
I would suggest to try 'Under The Red Cloud' almost as good as QoT.
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Queen of Time is a masterpiece imo. Red Cloud may not quite reach that high for me, but it is up there and great songs as well.
I know I've mentioned it before, but our cat's name is Sampo. And we just got a dog recently and named her Reverie (after the Opeth album/song).
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Yup I agree it's pretty close to being the perfect Amorphis album, Red Cloud is almost as good.
But that opening of 'The Bee' with Tomi's growl just floors me every time I hear it.
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Queen of Time is a masterpiece imo. Red Cloud may not quite reach that high for me, but it is up there and great songs as well.
I know I've mentioned it before, but our cat's name is Sampo. And we just got a dog recently and named her Reverie (after the Opeth album/song).
I think I agree. It's one of the most complete albums of the last few years. I'd probably classify it as my fav Amorphis album.
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Queen of Time is incredible.
And yeah Skyforger has the most clean vocals of the Joutsen era. In terms of songwriting, I do still love it but I actually think its one of the weaker of this era, along with The Beginning of Times. The rest I consider outright amazing.
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I think Red Cloud is even better than Queen Of Time, but both are stellar albums. And I have a soft spot for Eclipse, the first one with Tomi Joutsen and the return of growls in Amorphis music.
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Alright, sounds like it's ranking time!
Top-tier:
1. Queen of Time
2. Silent Waters
3. Eclipse
4. Under the Red Cloud
5. Circle
Also great:
6. Skyforger
7. The Beginning of Times
8. Am Universum
9. Elegy
Still good:
10. Tuonela
11. Magic & Mayhem: Tales From the Early Years
Decent:
12. Tales from the Thousand Lakes
13. Far From the Sun
Ew no:
14. The Karelian Isthmus
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I think I'd take Circle over Red Cloud truthfully.
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I might as well.
10/10
1. Under the Red Cloud
9/10
2. Eclipse
3. Elegy
8/10
4. Queen of Time
5. Skyforger
6. Silent Waters
7. Tales from the Thousand Lakes
8. Circle
7/10
9. The Beginning of Times
10. Tuonela
11. Am Universum
6/10
12. The Karelian Isthmus
13. Far from the Sun
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Top Tier:
Queen Of Time
Under The Red Cloud
Elegy
Tuonela
Not far below:
Circle
The Beginnings Of Time
Am Universum
Good but not killer:
Silent Waters
Eclipse
Far From The Sun
The rest:
Skyforger
Tales
The Karelian Isthmus (never heard it)
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Queen of Time is incredible.
And yeah Skyforger has the most clean vocals of the Joutsen era. In terms of songwriting, I do still love it but I actually think its one of the weaker of this era, along with The Beginning of Times. The rest I consider outright amazing.
'Queen Of Time' is probably the most growl heavy album of the TJ era, it's also their most progressive too.
As I've stated may times Tomi Joutsen is the best growler in metal and then some.
I would suggest to try 'Under The Red Cloud' almost as good as QoT.
Awesome, if the other recent-ish ones are somewhere between Skyforger and Queen of Time in balance of vocal styles, I'll be pretty happy with that.
Seeing all the positivity here for Under the Red Cloud make me think I'll go backwards from here for a while (and of course get the new one that I think they're working on right now when it comes out).
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New live album announced, releases May 21st.
(https://www.nuclearblast.de/de/data/bands/amorphis/releases/amorphis-live-at-helsinki-ice-hall.jpg)
Setlist: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/amorphis/2019/jaahalli-helsinki-finland-1b9a6938.html
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:metal
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So far as the TJ era goes love it all and my list would look something like this (and may be wrong but I thought we were expecting a new studio album this year no?)...
Skyforger
Silent Waters
Eclipse
Under The Red Cloud
Queen Of Time
Circle
The Beginning Of Times
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Not that keen on live albums anymore, but I will probably still get this. But new studio would be better.
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They're currently recording a full-length, yes.
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Awesome, looking forward to both the live album and the new studio album. Looks like that setlist has a lot of my favorites from Queen of Time, which I have been listening to almost obsessively this week. Of the ones they could do with the standard lineup (so not Amongst Stars), I'd have loved to see Grain of Sand, but I'll absolutely take The Bee, Heart of the Giant and Pyres on the Coast. Plus Sampo and Silver Bride!
Already went ahead and ordered Under the Red Cloud.
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I would have loved We Accused. I'm in love with that song.
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Oh, man, that's another one I forgot about! That one is awesome, too. It's such a good album, and insanely consistent.
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First single from Esa's upcoming album, sounds amazing :metal
https://youtu.be/wTQBfqxi4cc
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First single from Esa's upcoming album, sounds amazing :metal
https://youtu.be/wTQBfqxi4cc
Something a bit different but I enjoyed this. Dunno who old mate is but he has a great voice. Love the song structure too. Keen for this now actually.
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Yeah not sure what I was expecting, but this different some great subtle stuff going on and Esa's guitar tone superb.
If the rest of the album is this good I hope, already pre-ordered Japan CD.
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Live At Helsinki Ice Hall is out now, video lyric (for a live song?) House Of Sleep
https://youtu.be/GV01J7jqCf0
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Live At Helsinki Ice Hall is out now, video lyric (for a live song?) House Of Sleep
https://youtu.be/GV01J7jqCf0
Out already!? I'll have to get onto this.
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The live album is the kind of quality you'd expect from this band's shows. The mix is pretty good, it's not easy to get enough rhythm guitar to cut through the mix with their sound but it's decent here. Some of the live arrangements also give additional value to the release, like the extended middle section in Sampo that makes it even better than the original studio version in my opinion.
I also can't help but notice how heavy that setlist is. They dropped some older hits in favor of more Queen of Time songs and this is the result.
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Esa's album is finally and it's an absolute beauty.
Not as heavy as Amorphis with quite a few different styles and singer present throughout the record.
https://www.discogs.com/Esa-Holopainen-Silver-Lake/release/18930796
Most recent video, seems a little odd at first, but with a few listens to seems to work quite well.
https://youtu.be/71_0evn_3mU
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Hoping JB has both these releases in store next week.
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Mine are in transit from CD Japan :yarr
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Mine are in transit from CD Japan :yarr
I haven't done any ordering for a while as there hasn't been a lot I've wanted to spend my money on but these two look the goods. Might have to result to some online ordering for these possibly.
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Found a JB in the city today where I managed to get both the new Amorphis and Esa's album too. Looking forward to digging into them. :metal
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Live At Helsinki Ice Hall is great, slightly rawer (as you'd expect) from the album versions and Tomi sounds amazing.
Esa's album is pretty solid, not really as good I thought it would be with the singers involved.
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Live At Helsinki Ice Hall is great, slightly rawer (as you'd expect) from the album versions and Tomi sounds amazing.
Esa's album is pretty solid, not really as good I thought it would be with the singers involved.
That's a bit of a shame. I'll report back my thoughts when I listen.
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Esa's album is pretty solid, not really as good I thought it would be with the singers involved.
Feel kind of the same way about Esa's album. Very enjoyable listen, but not blown away (maybe that's not the kind of album that's supposed to do that anyway...). I like the songs with Renske and the first single (Storm). Einar's song is growing on me. The couple of instrumentals/semi-instrumentals are very pleasant. Not too impressed by the songs featuring Tomi and and Strid. Anneke is always Anneke but I've heard better from her ;D
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Had one listen of Esa's album and I thought it was really nice. Very short and not much to it but I didn't really have any expectations but I really enjoyed it and loved the variety throughout. Bjorn's song was nice and really like Anneke's song too. Storm could be up there for song of the year, fuck that's so good.
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I'm not an Amorphis fan, so maybe I'm experiencing Esa's album a little differently as a result, but I like it more than I thought I would. I don't know what I was really expecting, but I agree with wolfking that it's really nice. Although I'm not that into the singer's voice on Storm (and he has the unfortunate placement of being between two of my favorite singers). And as usual I could do without the harsh vocals on the one track, but otherwise I like the rest. Jonas' tracks took a few times to grow on me but they and Einar's track are incredible. The spoken word track is pretty cool and Promising Sun and Fading Moon are really nice.
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I'm not an Amorphis fan, so maybe I'm experiencing Esa's album a little differently as a result, but I like it more than I thought I would. I don't know what I was really expecting, but I agree with wolfking that it's really nice. Although I'm not that into the singer's voice on Storm (and he has the unfortunate placement of being between two of my favorite singers). And as usual I could do without the harsh vocals on the one track, but otherwise I like the rest. Jonas' tracks took a few times to grow on me but they and Einar's track are incredible. The spoken word track is pretty cool and Promising Sun and Fading Moon are really nice.
Yeah, it's not mindblowing but it's fresh and pleasant.
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Yeah, it's not mindblowing but it's fresh and pleasant.
That's pretty much how I feel about it too. Esa's playing is always a pleasure to hear. He doesn't have a particularly large bag of tricks, but he has a distinctive sound - indeed, there are a few styles across the album's songs and he provides a nice, unifying thread.
And Storm is a great song! ;D
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Yeah, it's not mindblowing but it's fresh and pleasant.
That's pretty much how I feel about it too. Esa's playing is always a pleasure to hear. He doesn't have a particularly large bag of tricks, but he has a distinctive sound - indeed, there are a few styles across the album's songs and he provides a nice, unifying thread.
And Storm is a great song! ;D
His not the greatest guitarist, but knows how to write and play a good melody which is just as important. His playing is always welcome to hear. I like the shortness of the album too which makes it quick to spin and enjoy.
Had a listen to the Amorphis live album. It's pretty much as expected, a great live performance. A few strange picks for the setlist for me, but a nice set and sounds great.
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Rock and metal music have always been a haven for those who have bigger stories to tell; who have grander emotions to convey. For more than thirty years, Finnish figureheads AMORPHIS have done their best to carve their very own niche in heartfelt yet aggressive, melancholic yet soothing tunes. On “Halo”, their staggering fourteenth studio effort, the Finns underline their trailblazing status as one of the most original, culturally relevant and rewarding acts ever to emerge from the land of the thousand lakes.
"Halo" will be released on February 11th, 2022 on Atomic Fire Records and contain the following songs:
01. Northwards
02. On The Dark Waters
03. The Moon
04. Windmane
05. A New Land
06. When The Gods Came
07. Seven Roads Come Together
08. War
09. Halo
10. The Wolf
11. My Name Is Night
In the past, mythology and legend took the role of today’s pop culture: Stories and a set of values uniting us by giving us a voice and a tapestry on which we can find each other and identify with something. By weaving the tales of Finnish national epos “Kalevala” into their songs and interpreting them in a timeless way, AMORPHIS combine the role of ancient minstrels and luminaries of the modern world, honouring tradition without getting stuck in the past.
The vibrant, lively, and touching beauty that is “Halo” highlights their musical and storytelling mastership on a once again soaring level: It’s a progressive, melodic, and quintessentially melancholic heavy metal masterwork plucked from the fickle void of inspiration by original guitarists Esa Holopainen and Tomi Koivusaari, bassist Olli-Pekka Laine, drummer Jan Rechberger, longtime keyboardist Santeri Kallio and vocalist Tomi Joutsen, the band’s long-standing lyrical consciousness Pekka Kainulainen and a selected group of world class audio professionals led by renowned Swedish producer Jens Bogren. Considering the band’s prolonged journey in the forefront of innovative metal music, it’s difficult to grasp how AMORPHIS manages to raise the proverbial bar time and time again, presenting a more than worthy finale to the trilogy begun with 2015’s “Under the Red Cloud” followed by 2018’s “Queen of Time”.
“It really is a great feeling that we can still produce very decent music as a band,” says Holopainen, a founding member of the band. “Perhaps a certain kind of self-criticism and long experience culminate in these latest albums.” To the songwriter himself, “Halo” sounds both familiar and different. “It is thoroughly recognizable Amorphis from beginning to end but the general atmosphere is a little bit heavier and more progressive and also organic compared to its predecessor,” he elaborates.
Tomi Joutsen, the man with vocal cords capable of unleashing colossal, bear-like growls as well as singing soothing, mesmerising lullabies, adds, “To me, ‘Halo’ sounds a little more stripped down compared to ‘Queen Of Time’ and ‘Under The Red Cloud.’ However, don’t get me wrong: when a certain song needs to sound big, then it sounds very big.” He’s right, of course: By stripping down some of the arrangements, the monumental moments become even more monumental.
That’s of course also thanks to producing renaissance man Jens Bogren who harvested the thirteen final tracks from a batch of thirty songs AMORPHIS offered him. “Jens is very demanding, but I really like to work with him,” says Holopainen. “He takes care of the whole project from start to finish, and he allows the musician to focus on just playing. I may not be able to thank Jens enough. Everything we’ve done together has been really great, and this co-operation has carried Amorphis significantly forward.”
Indeed. Setting off with the stormy grandeur of opener “Northwards”, AMORPHIS take us on an epic journey through the lands of the north, their rich cultural and historical heritage and musical traditions. This is not only an album for fans or metal connoisseurs. It’s a must for every imaginative mind out there with a soft spot for cinematic soundscapes, triumphant melodies and breathtaking dynamics measuring the borderlands of light and dark.
However, no AMORPHIS album would be complete without the imaginative and poetic storytelling of renowned lyricist and “Kalevala” expert Pekka Kainulainen. “From day one, Pekka has always been an enthusiastic and prolific lyricist for Amorphis,” says Joutsen. “It is a slow process of translating archaic Finnish poetry into English and adapting it our progressive rhythms. Fortunately, Pekka does everything on time and with great care.” Since 2007’s “Silent Waters”, Kainulainen has been navigating the mythological waters of his homeland with great skill and respect. For “Halo”, he outdid himself once again. “‘Halo’ is a loose themed record filled with adventurous tales about the mythical North tens of thousands of years ago,” he explains. “The lyrics tell of an ancient time when man wandered to these abandoned boreal frontiers after the ice age. While describing the revival of a seminal culture in a world of new opportunities, I also try to reach the sempiternal forces of the human mind.”
Thirty-one years after their inception, with uncounted global tours under their belt and fourteen albums deep in their career, AMORPHIS still proves to be the musical fountain of youth, an extraordinary band constantly reinventing itself without abandoning its mystical roots. With “Halo”, they deliver an astonishing album that deserves to be played everywhere, transcending the realms of metal and rock by its sheer profoundness and musicality.
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Can't wait \M/
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Oh hell yes! :metal
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I'm so ready for this. :metal :metal :metal
The last two records were excellent, here's hoping the new one is anything like that.
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They are probably just about the most consistent band in metal over the past decade and a half. I burned out on them a little bit from overplay in the late 00s, and The Beginning of Times is to me the weakest of the modern era, but it's still a very good album, and the successive ones have picked back up again. "Amongst Stars" with Anneke from the last one is one of my favorite songs they've ever done. I'm really curious to see if Laine brings much to the table again, he was one of the key writers for the mid-90s material. And while everyone is ranking their albums, I think mine is something like:
Eclipse
Silent Waters
Skyforger
Tuonela
Elegy
Queen of Time
Under the Red Cloud
Am Universum
The Karelian Isthmus
Tales From the Thousand Lakes
Circle
The Beginning of Times
Far From the Sun
That order changes a lot, sometimes fairly significantly for the middle ones, but that's how I feel today. Even FFtS is still a pretty good and underrated album, they just have such a high bar that something has to be the worst. Glancing at some older lists, it looks like I'm higher on Karelian Isthmus than most. It's really quite a singular album, clearly death metal, but a bit doomy, a tad melodic, and with a menacing guitar tone I've never heard anywhere else.
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It's going to be mighty tough to top the last two, which IMO were absolute classics.
I replied as much to a Tomi K insta post and he commented 'you'll see' :)
Top 3 Tomi J era Amorphis:
1. Red Cloud
2. Queen
3. Beginning
Top 3 any other era:
1. Elegy
2. Tuonela
3. Universum
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Yeah, I'm skeptical that they can top QOT. That might now be my fav Amorphis album.
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Yes so am I, QoT is such a monumental record, but I reckon if anyone can they are capable, Jens Bogren, is apparently a pretty tough task master.
They've already had listening sessions in Helsinki to those lucky bastards :metal
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QoT was indeed incredible!
I'm very excited to hear this new one too! Not a long wait either.
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Ranking time you say?
1. Silent Waters
2. Queen of Time
3. Eclipse
4. Under the Red Cloud
5. Circle
6. Skyforger
7. Am Universum
8. Elegy
9. The Beginning of Times
10. Tuonela
11. Tales From the Thousand Lakes
12. Far From the Sun
13. The Karelian Isthmus
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Ranking it is, then!
I love Amorphis. I discovered them with Tales...right when it came out, and that early to mid-90s period was such a special time. Not surprisingly, my ranking reflects that, although it is most definitely not just a "nostalgia" thing. I keep revisiting my top records - I have done that recently, actually - and they haven't lost an ounce of their magic. At the same time, it's so remarkable how the band keeps putting out fantastic albums.
Anyway, enough rambling...here's my ranking:
1. Tales from the Thousand Lakes
2. Elegy
3. Tuonela
4. Silent Waters
5. Eclipse
6. Skyforger
7. Queen of Time
8. Under the Red Cloud
9. Am Universum
10. Circle
11. The Beginning of Times
12. The Karelian Isthmus
13. Far from the Sun
The top 3 is pretty untouchable for me at the moment. 4 through 8 is very tight - all incredibly high-quality albums. A bit of a drop-off after that, but with PLENTY to enjoy. Karelian Isthmus is not one I go back to often, although I should probably revisit it (I don't dislike that it's more "classic" death metal, it's just that Tales...was such a leap forward). Far from the Sun leaves me a bit cold, except for a few tracks here and there. Not a particularly "inspired" effort.
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They are one of the most consistent bands that I can think of. Everything in the Joutsen era is really solid, and tough for me to rank. I really like Beginning of Times, which tends to be the lowest ranked of his era. Pretty much everyone will have Far From the Sun at the bottom overall, but it still have a few tracks that are worthy. I think I'll go with the top 3 from both eras ranking for now. I would really have to take some time to think about where the albums in the middle would be ranked for an overall ranking. ;D
Joutsen era top 3
-Silent Waters
-Circle
-Queen of Time
Older era top 3
-Tuonela
-Elegy
-Tales from...
Tuonela definitely takes the cake overall though. Love that album!
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New interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMNb7iUYa64
One big takeaway from this would be an expected first single release on December 3rd which is a Friday.
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Also they had 36 songs for the new album???
13 reordered, 11 on regular version, and I'm guessing 1 exclusive Japan bonus track and maybe one more on the NB deluxe edition.
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Track lengths:
1. Northwards (5:30)
2. On the Dark Waters (4:47)
3. The Moon (5:57)
4. Windmane (4:49)
5. A New Land (4:36)
6. When the Gods Came (4:56)
7. Seven Roads Come Together (5:38)
8. War (5:24)
9. Halo (4:40)
10. The Wolf (4:46)
11. My Name Is Night (4:43)
Source: https://www.metal1.info/specials/amorphis-erste-eindruecke-zu-halo-aus-der-listening-session (text is in German)
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One big takeaway from this would be an expected first single release on December 3rd which is a Friday.
Sure enough...
(https://scontent.fqlf1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/262017448_443445833806817_5624720286742946218_n.jpg?_nc_cat=106&ccb=1-5&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=vb1-h0f9x0oAX8k1WEO&_nc_ht=scontent.fqlf1-1.fna&oh=26ad1d4e1d18733f0cd15a5eaa6660bb&oe=61AA6C53)
Source: Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/amorphis)
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Did anyone else check out Esa Holopainen's solo album Silver Lake earlier this year? It has guest appearances from Tomi Joutsen, Anneke van Giersbergen, Jonas Renkse, Speed Strid, and others. Probably in my top 20 for the year.
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Did anyone else check out Esa Holopainen's solo album Silver Lake earlier this year? It has guest appearances from Tomi Joutsen, Anneke van Giersbergen, Jonas Renkse, and Speed Strid. Probably in my top 20 for the year.
Listened to it once, and thought it was really good. They play "Storm" constantly in rock radio stations in my country!
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The rock stations in the US suck.
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Did anyone else check out Esa Holopainen's solo album Silver Lake earlier this year? It has guest appearances from Tomi Joutsen, Anneke van Giersbergen, Jonas Renkse, Speed Strid, and others. Probably in my top 20 for the year.
I did and I was kind of disappointed by the final product.
Storm was great and all the pre-release hype from Esa was it's different, not so metal...
Then when I hear it it sounds pretty much how each singer is with their respective bands.
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New single THE MOON...
(Mindful it may not play yet for some of you outside Aus etc until Friday date rolls over)...
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Dda25qP2nKc
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As expected it's magnificent, catchy, proggy and epic.
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Indeed, I'm pleasantly surprised by how progressive the song is considering it's the lead single. It's mostly in 7/8 (apart from the chorus) which is a fairly uncommon time signature for Amorphis (several songs have prominent 7/4), and the juxtaposition of growls against a relatively light soundscape in the verses is pretty cool. And typically for this band, several instantly memorable melodies.
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Extremely solid first single! :tup
I think we are in for another awesome album from Amorphis!
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Official music video for 'The Moon'
https://youtu.be/EU5A5nqojYo
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That new song is amazing.
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They can pretty much do no wrong at this point. I love the mini synth solo in particular, and man is that chorus addictive.
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They can pretty much do no wrong at this point. I love the mini synth solo in particular, and man is that chorus addictive.
Yeah, that whole interlude was different and fresh, really good stuff.
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This band. Wow. Honestly it's crazy how everything they create sounds fresh and quickly becomes the best of the genre. Someone in the band has the best ear for melodies in the business! :metal
Also seems they improved the mixing a lot with Queen Of Time. This new song sounds great. Circle and Under The Red Cloud are great albums but the mixing isn't that great which is such a pitty! Glad they finally fixed it 😊
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First review of the new album
https://metalwani.com/2021/12/amorphis-halo-exclusive-neither-showing-signs-of-slowing-down-nor-afraid-of-embracing-new-creative-elements.html
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On the Dark Waters... first impression is a bit mixed. The growled verses are backed by a pretty generic heavy riff and kind of uninspired vocal rhythm, while the chorus has a soaring vocal melody and really nice uplifting feel. The C-part consists of a sitar solo over some interesting drumming, and a pretty cool growl section with no heavy guitars. This probably won't be in the stronger half of the album, personally.
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On the Dark Waters... first impression is a bit mixed. The growled verses are backed by a pretty generic heavy riff and kind of uninspired vocal rhythm, while the chorus has a soaring vocal melody and really nice uplifting feel. The C-part consists of a sitar solo over some interesting drumming, and a pretty cool growl section with no heavy guitars. This probably won't be in the stronger half of the album, personally.
Hmmmm, I quite liked this new single and in particular was quite chuffed with those verse riffs :metal
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New video: https://youtu.be/T8aH5HVx_0c
Amorphis can do no wrong!
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I like it, watched the video just once and now I'll wait for the CD to drop in two weeks.
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AMG Staff rate the Amorphis discography;
https://www.angrymetalguy.com/amgs-guide-to-amorphis/
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I like how every Amorphis album since Eclipse has had basically the same production and it still works.
New music video was solid.
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Due to timezone differences Halo is due to hit Spotify here in just over 8hrs.
I didn't give the new single more than a couple spins intially but for kicks warmed up to it with the video again just now and was blown the fck away! :metal
Absolutely brilliant and probably my favorite Amorphis track of the last few albums. Spectacular song I think I need sit up past midnight with some cold ones tonight and get into this asap and am also in process of having to order both the CD and vinyl online now too damn them! :D
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Yeah same mate, I'll be up in the early hours, as I just moved and I'll be unpacking to the sounds of Halo.
Got both Japanese versions on order and maybe vinyl from Utopia Records in Sydney.
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Yeah same mate, I'll be up in the early hours, as I just moved and I'll be unpacking to the sounds of Halo.
Got both Japanese versions on order and maybe vinyl from Utopia Records in Sydney.
Excellent might have post a few words about it then but hey I checked Utopia too and didn't see the vinyl???
Hope the unpacking goes smoothly...
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Well I may have jinxed myself the album didn't drop for a while after midnight LOL so Plan B was early morning listens, anyway some footnotes for fun...
I would describe Halo as Amorphis taking the Queen and Red Cloud templates and pushing them into a more progressive direction (I recall reading that was their intention?) and adding many layers not heard in some time and not heard before at least like this that I can recall (confess to not being that well versed in Amorphis pre-Tomi so take that as you will)? I mean there's a ton of 70's-like keyboard tinkering throughout that absolutely enhance the listen and often-times the songs divert nicely and go off into short interludes etc which are done very well. We get plenty female backing vocals even a rich duet to conclude the album. The ballad and title-track are arguably the only entire cleans and while it could just be the excitement of new Amorphis but hearing some of their strongest riffs (and possibly material?) have heard in eons! Whether any those will feature on personal fave lists is yet to be seen, I mean nothing will likely ever top Skyforger fer these ears and some of those Queen and Red Sky tracks will be hard to beat, but to each our own and will be interesting to see ;)
Can't honestly list any faves yet the sequencing felt perfect like a genuine album experience and each song I proclaimed a favorite would give way to the next! No bad thing of course ;D
So only two listens in and has far more chapters to reveal yet hoping to discuss some favorites once absorbed more and can't wait to read others thoughts soon :metal
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New video \m/
https://youtu.be/vwyrppDEcYM
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Listening to 'Halo' for the first time, what struck me immediately is how good the sound is, production/mix/mastering is spot on.
The actual music itself, is going to take a many listens to fully digest everything that is going on.
Amazing for a band in it's 30th year to be still producing such great music.
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Agreed 100%
I like the production better than Queen of Time. QoT had more stuff going on, with orchestration and such. Halo feels punchier and the rhythm section sounds especially great.
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Didn't get around to picking this up unfortunately this weekend. Looks like another week of anticipation. Really looking forward to checking this though. Queen of Time might have become my fav Amorphis album.
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Got my cd on friday but don't have the time to listen to it, hopefully on monday.
Their last two releases are incredibly strong, not that the ones before were bad, but I think it's amazing that they release some of their best works 30+ years into their career.
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I listened it through once, and the first impression was positive!
At the moment, I don't think Halo quite rises to the level of QoT but it's definitely another rock solid Amorphis record.
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Well it definitely sounds like another Amorphis album. I wish I liked several elements of this band more, then I'd share the love of the band with all my friends. Oh well. It's not a bad album, they make very cool metal, but there's literally nothing to connect with on an emotional level and it sounds just like the last 3 or 4 records; I'm not looking for Tom Waits but I wish their lyrical themes weren't just mythology and folklore y'know? Just rambling, not trying to be a buzz killer. The constant switch from growls to cleans bugs me too. I like his growls way more than his cleans.
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I feel the same way, though I do love the band The new album sounds like another Tomi Joutsen-era Amorphis record. The songs are good, but every album since Skyforger just blends together for me. Skyforger was the last album of theirs to truly blow me away. Each record has a few songs I like, but they are all completely interchangeable to me.
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After one listen I agree it sounds like a solid Joutsen-era album.
I disagree with Skyforger being the last great record. Imo it's the other way round. From Skyforger to Circles they were solid with some great songs here and there. And with Red Skies and Queen Of Time they didn't change their formula that much but nonetheless released two of their best records.
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Under the Red Cloud is potentially my favorite record of theirs. Elegy and Eclipse are the other contenders, but they've released so much great stuff it's insane. Haven't finished Halo yet but I expect nothing less than :metal.
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I disagree with Skyforger being the last great record. Imo it's the other way round. From Skyforger to Circles they were solid with some great songs here and there. And with Red Skies and Queen Of Time they didn't change their formula that much but nonetheless released two of their best records.
Eclipse is between the two for me but otherwise I tend to agree. Skyforger was my favorite Amorphis album at one point but it just hasn't aged as well.
Halo is indeed a very solid record but not as good as Under the Red Cloud or Queen of Time. I feel like the arrangements are more fluid and "clever" in a way on those two, whereas on Halo they're either more simplified or rough. There's a couple of songs midway through the album that suffer from this a bit.
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I disagree with Skyforger being the last great record. Imo it's the other way round. From Skyforger to Circles they were solid with some great songs here and there. And with Red Skies and Queen Of Time they didn't change their formula that much but nonetheless released two of their best records.
Eclipse is between the two for me but otherwise I tend to agree. Skyforger was my favorite Amorphis album at one point but it just hasn't aged as well.
Halo is indeed a very solid record but not as good as Under the Red Cloud or Queen of Time. I feel like the arrangements are more fluid and "clever" in a way on those two, whereas on Halo they're either more simplified or rough. There's a couple of songs midway through the album that suffer from this a bit.
Interesting points...
Firstly, don't think Skyforger has aged at all but dunno, I've been around that long now I'd be hard pressed to know what is and what isn't considered old or aged anymore, certainly not a 10yr old album that's fer sure ;D
While I think it was their greatest record thus far I do however agree between it and now there have been some absolute highlights and certainly wasn't suggesting nothing since has come close, arguably it all has. For example its one of my least liked of the bunch personally but could play The Beginning Of Times front to back all day and absolutely no complaints, great album regardless \m /
So far as Halo goes I've lost none of my initial excitement in fact after chipping through each the songs these last few days gave the album a few spins through and rather confident it will end up in the upper end of things so far as my own Amorphis lists go ;)
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With 1 week+ of listening, I can confirm that, in my book, this is another great addition to the Amorphis canon. It's no doubt signature, trademark Amorphis, and not particularly adventurous, but I keep going back to it. Very tight album with no filler.
Random comments/highlights:
- Northwards is good, but not their strongest opener. Sets the mood right, though, and it gets better from there
- I liked The Moon when it came out as the first single, but I LOVE it now. Classic Amorphis.
- Windmane is one of the best in terms of dark/light contrasts, and the brief guitar solo section is great, with a mood that reminds me of the Tuonela album
- A New Land's pre-chorus, with the growls and that guitar melody, almost transports me back to Tales...
- Love the melodic section starting around the 3-minute mark in Seven Roads Come Together
- The mellow closer, My Name is Night, works great. Interesting that the music was written by Koivusaari...
Anyway - Halo made this Amorphis fan quite happy :)
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Solid "Amorphis by the numbers" album 7/10
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It's kind of mindblowing that this is the 8th cycle through a new album with Joutsen now. They are one of my absolute favorite bands, but their new albums always take at least a minimum half-dozen listens to even start to sink in, not sure why they never grab me immediately. This one is even a bit more challenging since nothing even immediately leaped out like "Amongst Stars" did on QoT. But still, their consistency is absolutely astounding. There are very few bands that have perfected a formula to the degree they have and maintained a very high quality level.
The talk of albums "aging" is bizarre to me, because I would suspect that if you played casual Amorphis fans deeper cuts from each of the past Joutsen albums, they would struggle to match them to each album. There are subtleties that more experienced listeners can pick up on that differentiate each album, but those can take time to notice. I was kind of hoping that bringing Laine back into the fold would result in him contributing more material, since he was a key writer for Tales/Elegy, but I don't believe he was involved in that facet. Maybe next album?
All this to say that I'm not entirely sure what I think of the album yet. I know I like it, but any thoughts of comparisons to other albums by them or others are a bit premature and futile right now. '22 music exploration has been lighter this year than '21, so I'll have to wait for additional plays later in the year to really solidify my thoughts.
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Finally have the CD in hand and gotta give them huge props for the quality booklet with full lyrics and pics etc, sensational stuff and can delve in even more now \m/
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The talk of albums "aging" is bizarre to me, because I would suspect that if you played casual Amorphis fans deeper cuts from each of the past Joutsen albums, they would struggle to match them to each album. There are subtleties that more experienced listeners can pick up on that differentiate each album, but those can take time to notice.
Skyforger "not aging well" is indeed entirely subjective in this case. It's still very good but some of the tracks midway through have kinda worn out. As for playing deeper cuts to casual fans, some of the differences aren't even that subtle. Queen of Time has prominent elements that are almost entirely absent from other albums, enough to be even a significant turn-off for some people.
I was kind of hoping that bringing Laine back into the fold would result in him contributing more material, since he was a key writer for Tales/Elegy, but I don't believe he was involved in that facet. Maybe next album?
He contributed for both QoT and Halo sessions, but none of his songs were picked for the albums proper. Two bonus tracks are credited to him.
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This was my first Amorphis album in a while, and I must say, I enjoyed the hell out of it.
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Honestly struggling to put this one away which is a little weird as generally speaking, aside from Paradise Lost and Amorphis, I'm not a fan of the growls etc. But they enhance some of this stuff and bring something different. Lots emotion on this one and both bands output particularly since the mid 00's has proven to be nothing but essential for my ears...
And probably the first time in a long time the singles are some of the faves. Can't get enough of On The Dark Waters and The Moon, and initially had it way down the list but now the title-track Halo is right there with them too (as are Seven Roads and When The Gods...)
:metal
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This new one is really good and still growing. I don't see it surpassing Under The Red Cloud or Queen Of Time but it's still a very worthy addition to their already stellar discography.
My Name Is Night works surprisingly good as the album closer.
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Here's a cool article and interview with Tomi Koivusaari about the band's early years; how a death metal album was Finland's biggest international success at the time, and how their pioneering record deal was an important lesson for later acts.
https://musicfinland.com/en/news/pioneers-amorphis-blazed-finnish-metals-path-into-the-mainstream
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My brick and mortar finally got copies in on LP and grabbed mine but after getting it home and putting #1 LP on the turntable realized the second LP was missing? A double 2xLP with only the one LP!?
Wonder if anyone else has experienced the same thing, if ever even as never heard of it happening before? Hopefully a one-off and wasn't a batch worth of Halo (are the LP's still placed into their protective sleeves and jackets by hand these days or machine I wonder?)...
Anyway frustrating and back to the local to hopefully get an exchange or re-order, was so happy to finally have this one UGH but ya know, first world problems and all that :sad:
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Our local replaced my copy and have this on the turntable already :metal
There's nothing to skip and having trouble listing faves but these would be those given can't quite get it down to just 5...
On The Dark Waters
The Moon
Halo
When The Gods Came
Seven Roads Come Together
The Wolf
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Finally got around to spinning my copy of Halo and obviously a lot to take in on first listen. Doesn't seem to be as many instant melodies as there were on QOT but I really liked everything going on here.
Our local replaced my copy and have this on the turntable already :metal
There's nothing to skip and having trouble listing faves but these would be those given can't quite get it down to just 5...
On The Dark Waters
The Moon
Halo
When The Gods Came
Seven Roads Come Together
The Wolf
I think I'd list those 5 also on first listen. The title track is incredible.
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Cool. And personally think the beauty of Halo is the fact it isn't as immediate and is the perfect example of an album taking several full listens before being able to truly start appreciating it, the very definition of a grower! :metal
While on the other hand I immediately loved On The Dark Waters and it remains a favorite The Moon didn't do a great deal for me until I heard it as part of the album tracklist and it is clearly now high on the list of faves also. And so too were other songs such as the title-track which just got better with every damn listen.
Have actually taken a deliberate breather from Halo as was playing it so much was worried would wear it out so have about another week before I am allowing myself to return to it...
Cannot begin to tell you how damn excited I am to finally get back onto it \m/
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Amorphis canceled their Berkeley show tomorrow :'(
Very bummed, was looking forward to really letting loose for this one, they were so good on the Queen of Time tour just the one show, they state they'll still be playing in LA Saturday, so my guess is mechanical issues with the van or something.
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Tomi Koivusaari just posted an Instagram pic of him in the studio with producer/Thunderstone guitarist Nino Laurenne.
'Something is cooking' was his message, hopefully a heavy side project with Tomi K on lead vox :metal
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For whatever reason, I didn't get a chance to listen to Halo much when it first came out. I've been making up for that this week and man... What an album. Amorphis are truly the Tom Brady Patriots of metal. Just so consistent and never a bad outing.
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For whatever reason, I didn't get a chance to listen to Halo much when it first came out. I've been making up for that this week and man... What an album. Amorphis are truly the Tom Brady Patriots of metal. Just so consistent and never a bad outing.
it's solid, but I haven't come back to it as much as I thought I would.
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Yeah, me too. Really good record, but none I reach for often.
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For whatever reason, I didn't get a chance to listen to Halo much when it first came out. I've been making up for that this week and man... What an album. Amorphis are truly the Tom Brady Patriots of metal. Just so consistent and never a bad outing.
IMO it's their weakest in many years, perhaps the worst Tommy Joutsen era release.
Nowhere near the complete greatness of the previous two.
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For whatever reason, I didn't get a chance to listen to Halo much when it first came out. I've been making up for that this week and man... What an album. Amorphis are truly the Tom Brady Patriots of metal. Just so consistent and never a bad outing.
IMO it's their weakest in many years, perhaps the worst Tommy Joutsen era release.
Nowhere near the complete greatness of the previous two.
Whoah! Think it's the best of the last 3. Not by much though they've all been fantastic but have really taken to On Dark Waters, The Moon and the title track as much as I love much of the last 2 not sure anything comes close to these.
Have this and Red Cloud on vinyl but do need get Queen Of Times LP too \m/
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Its not even in the same realm as QOT.
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Halo for me sounded a bit like Amorphis by numbers. (Guitar melody in the intro, clean singing verse, growled chorus or as variety, growled verses and clean singing chorus). That isn't necessarily a bad thing but Queen Of Time and Red Cloud had a lot more variety and felt more inspired. Those two were stellar. Maybe if Halo had come out before those two I would appreciate it more.
And the song I like best on Halo is My Name Is Night because it's the only song that strays from their usual formular.
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I thought Under the Red Cloud was a masterpiece. I thought Queen of Time was really good. I think that Halo is good, maybe not one of their best, but there's also something really special about Amorphis that you just can't replicate elsewhere. I also read that they approached those three albums as a sort of spiritual trilogy, which is neat.
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I thought Halo was a bit forgettable and only listened through once. I enjoyed Under the Red Cloud and QOT much more. I'll listen to each of them again and report back later this week.
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I thought Under the Red Cloud was a masterpiece. I thought Queen of Time was really good. I think that Halo is good, maybe not one of their best, but there's also something really special about Amorphis that you just can't replicate elsewhere. I also read that they approached those three albums as a sort of spiritual trilogy, which is neat.
That's interesting.
I thought Halo was a bit forgettable and only listened through once. I enjoyed Under the Red Cloud and QOT much more. I'll listen to each of them again and report back later this week.
I wouldn't personally say forgettable as the songs were great but it just didn't have the sticking power like QOT. I'm also in the thinking that while Red Cloud was great, I don't rate it as highly as most others did.
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Yes they explained the trilogy was loose but certainly there and I gotta say these last three absolutely sit well together as opposed to for example the difference between say The Circle than Red Cloud ;)
For a long while I had Red Cloud over QOT but they probably on par with one another now and atm still have Halo above those. Great 3 album run and it will be interesting see where they eventually go next.
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Yes they explained the trilogy was loose but certainly there and I gotta say these last three absolutely sit well together as opposed to for example the difference between say The Circle then Red Cloud ;)
For a long while I had Red Cloud over QOT but they probably on par with one another now and atm still have Halo above those. Great 3 album run and it will be interesting see where they eventually go next.
I rate Circle way higher than Red Cloud personally.
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Well if we're talking the catalogue I rate Skyforger above them all :)
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Well if we're talking the catalogue I rate Skyforger above them all :)
Me too.
Well, I used to.......that may be different now. I think QOT trumps them all.
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Hmmm nah I'm happy with Skyforger there still in fact Halo would probably be one of my personal 5's atm too these days, along with Silent Waters actually that album still continues to reveal more with each spin ;)
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Tomi Joutsen era Amorphis albums for me:
1. Queen of Time
2. Eclipse
3. Skyforger
4. Silent Waters
5. Under The Red Cloud
6. Halo
7. The Beginning of Times
8. Circle
5 and 6 are pretty interchangeable.
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My Tomi Joutsen era Amorphis rankings:
1. Queen of Time
2. Under The Red Cloud
3. Circle
4. The Beginning of Times
5. Skyforger
6. Eclipse
7. Silent Waters
8. Halo
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I think I'd bump Skyforger down a little.
1. QOT
2. Circle
3. Skyforger
4. Under the Red Cloud
5. Silent Waters
6. Halo
7. TBOT
8. Eclipse
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K this is much harder than I thought...
1. Skyforger
2. Silent Waters
3. Eclipse
4. Halo
5. Under the Red Cloud
6. QOT
7. Circle
8. TBOT
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Interesting how completely different those lists are.
Here's my attempt at ranking:
1. Under The Red Cloud
2. Queen Of Time
3. Eclipse
4. Skyforger
5. Silent Waters
6. Halo
7. The Begining Of Time
8. Circle
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1: Eclipse
2: Silent Waters
3: Skyforger
4: Queen of Time
5: Under the Red Cloud
6: Circle
7: Halo
8: The Beginning of Time
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Anyone else catch the new single that dropped today, "Amongst Stars"? Not bad. Features Anneke Van Giersbergen, which is always welcome.
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That one's actually from 2018, on Queen of Time. :p But it's possibly my favorite song of theirs though, Tomi and Anneke work so well together, wish they'd collaborate more in the future.
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That one's actually from 2018, on Queen of Time. :p But it's possibly my favorite song of theirs though, Tomi and Anneke work so well together, wish they'd collaborate more in the future.
So it's a re-release?
Maybe a remix or something?
EDIT: Went back and checked. It's a live version.
Sorry everyone lol
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Oh, it is new content though, so don't be sorry at all, it hadn't even appeared in my feed yet apparently. It was a big hit in Jamesman's last round, so certainly worth spreading even further.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jg2n7kRg3h4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jg2n7kRg3h4)
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Tomi Koivusaari will release his first solo album, Heartrot, by the name Bjørkø (stylized Swedish that can be literally translated to his last name) on December 1st. The list of guest artists (mainly vocalists) is intriguing considering the lead single features a lot of old school death metal.
1. The Heartroot Rots (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXvXn_zByQw) (feat. Jeff Walker / Carcass)
2. Vaka Loka (feat. Addi Tryggvason / Solstafir)
3. Whitebone Wind (feat. Marco Hietala and Petronella Nettermalm)
4. Värinvaihtaja (feat. Ismo Alanko)
5. Awakening
6. World As Fire and Hallucination (feat. Stian Thoresen / Dimmu Borgir)
7. The Trickster (feat. Jessi Frey / Velcra)
8. Hooks In The Sky (feat. Tomi Joutsen)
9. Magenta (feat. Mariska)
10. Reverberations (feat. Sakari Kukko)
Tomi Koivusaari – guitars
Valtteri Väyrynen (Opeth) – drums
Lauri Porra (Stratovarius) – bass
Janne Lounatvuori (Hidria Spacefolk) – keyboards
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Oh wow, had no idea this was in the works.
I guess not too dissimilar of an idea to what Esa did with his Silver Lake album...although this will probably sound quite different (at least based on the first single)
Thanks for posting this :tup
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Yeah same, the first single sounds great, shame Tomi K isn't doing any of the lead vocals.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXvXn_zByQw
:metal
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Anyone here wants to review the BR coming out next week?
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Yes I would love to.
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Yes I would love to.
PM sent