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Dear readers of my blog!
Here is a little musical summary of the discography of my favourite band of all times: Amorphis. You can find excerpts from the different releases of this band between 1990 and 2015. Since I've already reviewed several of their albums, I've also added links to my reviews if you feel like reading them to get more background information about this outstanding Finnish sextet. Please enjoy the music and have a nice day!
Sincerely yours,
Sebastian Kluth
''Exile of the Sons of Uisliu'' (The Karelian Isthmus LP, 1992)
Review: http://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/Amorphis/The_Karelian_Isthmus/295/kluseba/238242
''Excursing from Existence'' (Privilege of Evil EP, 1993)
''The Castaway'' (Tales from the Thousand Lakes LP, 1994)
Review: http://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/Amorphis/Tales_from_the_Thousand_Lakes/294/kluseba/238242
''Black Winter Day'' (Black Winter Day EP, 1995)
''Better Unborn'' (Elegy LP, 1996)
Review: http://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/Amorphis/Elegy/162/kluseba/238242
''My Kantele (Acoustic Reprise)'' (My Kantele EP, 1997)
''Nightfall'' (Tuonela LP, 1999)
Review: http://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/Amorphis/Tuonela/1/kluseba/238242
''Alone'' (Am Universum LP, 2001)
Review: http://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/Amorphis/Am_Universum/148/kluseba/238242
''Day of Your Beliefs'' (Far From the Sun LP, 2003)
Review: http://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/Amorphis/Far_from_the_Sun/18194/kluseba/238242
''Darkrooms'' (Far from the Sun LP - Reloaded U.S. Edition, 2004)
''House of Sleep'' (Eclipse LP, 2006)
Review: http://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/Amorphis/Eclipse/97940/kluseba/238242
''The White Swan'' (Silent Waters LP, 2007)
Review: http://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/Amorphis/Silent_Waters/153275/kluseba/238242
''Sky is Mine'' (Skyforger LP, 2009)
Review: http://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/Amorphis/Skyforger/226394/kluseba/238242
''Magic and Mayhem'' (Magic & Mayhem - Tales from the Early Years LP, 2010)
''Mermaid'' (The Beginning of Times LP, 2011)
Review: http://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/Amorphis/The_Beginning_of_Times/299490/kluseba/238242
''Hopeless Days'' (Circle LP, 2013)
Review: http://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/Amorphis/Circle/365196/kluseba/238242
''Under the Red Cloud'' (Under the Red Cloud LP, 2015)
Review: coming soon
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The Western world is struck by terror
Cowards are attacking my generation
Bringing ruin to the nation
Refusing the news would be an error
Disfigured corpses where once children were
Hell could break lose at any destination
Impossible to find a bastion
All the world’s a noisy blur
We shouldn’t change our ideology
Refugees are always welcome
Immigration preserves our future
We shall rebuild peacefully
Our togetherness remains solemn
You’re victims but no martyrs
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My favourite metal band of all times comes around with another high-quality release two years after the furious, longing and sinister milestone ''Circle''. Right from the beginning, the band summarizes all its outstanding qualities in the opening title song ''Under the Red Cloud''. Longing and catchy melodies carried by enchanting and melancholic keyboard sounds and powerful yet simple riffs meet one of the most gifted singers ever who performs both hypnotizing clean vocals and rebellious growls in a perfect way from one moment to the other. The production is a little bit cleaner and lighter than on the last output. The songwriting has once again become more melodic and folkloristic. In a certain way, this album sounds like a catalyzed mixture of the five previous albums. It gets a little bit closer to the catchy, folkloristic and melodic outputs ''Eclipse'', ''Skyforger'' and ''The Beginning of Times'' than to the other releases. From this point of view, ''Under the Red Cloud'' is to the point and unites all of the band's qualities. If you haven't followed the band so far or have lost track of them during the last decade, this album would be a perfect starting point or reintroduction.
On the other side, Amorphis doesn't really try out anything new and stagnate on an elevated level but if you have choruses that are as enchanting as in the melancholic ''Bad Blood'', this most definitely can't be called an issue. Despite a certain stylistic stagnation, the band manages to experiment a little bit here and there even if a clear guiding line is somehow missing. ''Death of a King'' and ''Enemy at the Gates'' experiment with exotic Middle Eastern folk sounds and even slightly symphonic keyboard layers that aren't a far call from bands such as Orphaned Land. It would have been an interesting experiment if the band had kept this addicting approach throughout the entire release. If there is ever going to be a reboot of the Prince of Persia games, this band must get involved.
''Tree of Ages'' covers more Central European folk influences and fetaures flutes and tin whistles performed by Eluveitie's Chrigel Glanzmann while the closing ''White Night'' even comes around with light female guest vocals from gothic rock singer Aleah. These tracks rather recall groups such as Arkona and end the release on an appeasing note.
On the other side, ''Dark Path'' and ''The Four Wise Ones'' are among the rawest tracks in Amorphis' extensive discography and feature vivid death and even black metal influences. The latter song is probably the very best on the album since it features melancholic folk melodies to dream yourself far away, mysteriously psychedelic vocals in the relaxing middle section and harsh riffs and vocals in the liberating verses. This song unites everything Amorphis stands for in a coherent, intelligent and passionate way just under five minutes. If you need a track that perfectly represents the band, this one should be a perfect choice. Other bands try but fail to write such an emotional, imaginative and meaninigful track during entire careers and Amorphis manages to come around with such a masterpiece on each of their albums.
If you're looking for something simpler, try out the melodic single ''Sacrifice''. Even though this track rehashes elements of previous singles since it reminds me particularly of ''You I Need'' and is probably the least creative effort on the new album, it's still a charming tune that has grown on me since the first rather disappointed contact three months ago.
Amorphis' albums always manage to grow a lot as time goes by. As you can see, despite a certain stylistic stagnation, Amorphis is unable to release a bad record. While ''Under the Red Cloud'' doesn't have as many outstanding tunes and hits as the previous masterpiece ''Circle'', ''Under the Red Cloud'' is on the same elevated level as ''Eclipse'' and ''Silent Waters'' and even beats the really solid ''Skyforger''. This album is once again easily one of the very best releases of the year and cultivated music lovers just can't get around this record.
Now I know that Japanese versions are expensive and might cost three to four times more than regular records in the Western world but in this particular case, the limited Japanese version of ''Under the Red Cloud'' is worth every penny. Obviously, the bonus tracks are so great that they would have made it on the regular output of any other band. In addition to this, we even get a live album recorded at Loud Park two years ago. This concert features nine songs from all eras of the band. Early classics such as ''Into Hiding'' meet highlights of the middle years such as ''House of Sleep'' and the best live cuts taken from the last studio release such as the bombastic ''Hopeless Days''. Each of the nine tunes on this bonus CD is an instant killer. The set list is perfect, the production is authentic, the performance is dynamic and even the crowd blends in very well. This rare live release even beats the great other live effort ''Forging the Land of Thousand Lakes''. Any Amorphis fan should absolutely try to get his or her hands on this additional live output. Thank you for the music!
Final rating: 9,5/10
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Dear readers of my blog!
It has been a long time since I have posted my last review on this blog and that's why I decided to come back with a bang. I decided to introduce you to the new output of my favourite band of all times. The group is called Amorphis and the new release is called ''Under the Red Cloud''. Please support the band and buy the record!
Have a colourful autumn!
Sincerely yours,
Sebastian Kluth
PS: As a little bonus, I decided to introduce you to the music of Amorphis in a detailed separate post that will be online soon.
My favourite metal band of all times comes around with another high-quality release two years after the furious, longing and sinister milestone ''Circle''. Right from the beginning, the band summarizes all its outstanding qualities in the opening title song ''Under the Red Cloud''. Longing and catchy melodies carried by enchanting and melancholic keyboard sounds and powerful yet simple riffs meet one of the most gifted singers ever who performs both hypnotizing clean vocals and rebellious growls in a perfect way from one moment to the other. The production is a little bit cleaner and lighter than on the last output. The songwriting has once again become more melodic and folkloristic. In a certain way, this album sounds like a catalyzed mixture of the five previous albums. It gets a little bit closer to the catchy, folkloristic and melodic outputs ''Eclipse'', ''Skyforger'' and ''The Beginning of Times'' than to the other releases. From this point of view, ''Under the Red Cloud'' is to the point and unites all of the band's qualities. If you haven't followed the band so far or have lost track of them during the last decade, this album would be a perfect starting point or reintroduction.
On the other side, Amorphis doesn't really try out anything new and stagnate on an elevated level but if you have choruses that are as enchanting as in the melancholic ''Bad Blood'', this most definitely can't be called an issue. Despite a certain stylistic stagnation, the band manages to experiment a little bit here and there even if a clear guiding line is somehow missing. ''Death of a King'' and ''Enemy at the Gates'' experiment with exotic Middle Eastern folk sounds and even slightly symphonic keyboard layers that aren't a far call from bands such as Orphaned Land. It would have been an interesting experiment if the band had kept this addicting approach throughout the entire release. If there is ever going to be a reboot of the Prince of Persia games, this band must get involved.
''Tree of Ages'' covers more Central European folk influences and fetaures flutes and tin whistles performed by Eluveitie's Chrigel Glanzmann while the closing ''White Night'' even comes around with light female guest vocals from gothic rock singer Aleah. These tracks rather recall groups such as Arkona and end the release on an appeasing note.
On the other side, ''Dark Path'' and ''The Four Wise Ones'' are among the rawest tracks in Amorphis' extensive discography and feature vivid death and even black metal influences. The latter song is probably the very best on the album since it features melancholic folk melodies to dream yourself far away, mysteriously psychedelic vocals in the relaxing middle section and harsh riffs and vocals in the liberating verses. This song unites everything Amorphis stands for in a coherent, intelligent and passionate way just under five minutes. If you need a track that perfectly represents the band, this one should be a perfect choice. Other bands try but fail to write such an emotional, imaginative and meaninigful track during entire careers and Amorphis manages to come around with such a masterpiece on each of their albums.
If you're looking for something simpler, try out the melodic single ''Sacrifice''. Even though this track rehashes elements of previous singles since it reminds me particularly of ''You I Need'' and is probably the least creative effort on the new album, it's still a charming tune that has grown on me since the first rather disappointed contact three months ago.
Amorphis' albums always manage to grow a lot as time goes by. As you can see, despite a certain stylistic stagnation, Amorphis is unable to release a bad record. While ''Under the Red Cloud'' doesn't have as many outstanding tunes and hits as the previous masterpiece ''Circle'', ''Under the Red Cloud'' is on the same elevated level as ''Eclipse'' and ''Silent Waters'' and even beats the really solid ''Skyforger''. This album is once again easily one of the very best releases of the year and cultivated music lovers just can't get around this record.
Now I know that Japanese versions are expensive and might cost three to four times more than regular records in the Western world but in this particular case, the limited Japanese version of ''Under the Red Cloud'' is worth every penny. Obviously, the bonus tracks are so great that they would have made it on the regular output of any other band. In addition to this, we even get a live album recorded at Loud Park two years ago. This concert features nine songs from all eras of the band. Early classics such as ''Into Hiding'' meet highlights of the middle years such as ''House of Sleep'' and the best live cuts taken from the last studio release such as the bombastic ''Hopeless Days''. Each of the nine tunes on this bonus CD is an instant killer. The set list is perfect, the production is authentic, the performance is dynamic and even the crowd blends in very well. This rare live release even beats the great other live effort ''Forging the Land of Thousand Lakes''. Any Amorphis fan should absolutely try to get his or her hands on this additional live output. Thank you for the music!
Final rating: 9,5/10
Purchase the Japanese special edition here: http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/VIZP-139
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