Amorphis - Eclipse (2006) - The beginning of a new era and a look back - 95% (19/09/11)

Even if Amorphis' last record "Far From The Sun" was by far not as bad as many critics said and ultimately a very calm and progressive grower, it was still the weakest release in the almost unbeatable discography of the Finnish masters of experimental metal. "Eclipse" marks their return to form and they truly are back with a bang. The new singer Tomi Joutsen is even more unique and diversified than the amazing Pasi Koskinen and he unites the past roots and the more modern progressive works of Amorphis as he easily switches from emotional and voluminous death growls to melancholic and catchy clean vocals sing-along passages.

The new and old aggressive style of a couple of tracks and the short length of the songs sound very healthy on this album. Every track quickly gets to the point and half of the songs are potential hit singles. The melodic and romantic single "House Of Sleep" has beautiful piano passages and one of the catchiest choruses ever written by the band. The more floating, calm and inspiring "The Smoke" or the soft hymn "Brother Moon" with some interesting guitar riffs and chords hit in the same vein and it was a good choice to take this track as a second single. Today, a concert without those catchy tracks and public's favourites would be unimaginable.

From a more aggressive point of view, Amorphis delivers a surprisingly very straight opener this time with "Two Moons" that features energizing screams and a beautiful harmonious chorus. The track also already adds something completely new to the diversified sound of Amorphis with its electronic approach in the beginning, bashing drum loops and exotic folk passages. In only three minutes, there are more details, experiments and innovation than other bands put in entire albums. "Leaves Scar" is comparable to this and maybe my favourite track on this strong album. It has relaxed folk passages, death metal verses and a catchy and beautiful chorus. This is an energizing song to dream, sing and also bang your head along just like Tomi Joutsen does in its own impressive way during the great live shows of the band. "Perkele (God Of Fire)" once again unites folk passages, a calm chorus and punching death metal verses and is one of the straightest metal tracks Amorphis have written since the glorious days of "Tales From The Thousand Lakes". There are more metal elements that shape the sound of Amorphis once again. I just need to mention the brilliant guitar work, for example the emotional solo in "Born From Fire".

Amorphis also writes some melancholic and introspective tracks like the inspiring half ballad "Under A Soil And Black Stone" or the progressive lounge sounds in the atmospheric grower "Same Flesh" as well as the album closer "Empty Opening" and also the enjoyable bonus track "Stone Woman" included on the special editions that could have also been on the previous two record with their warm organ sounds, weird crying guitar chords and transcendently floating vocals.

This diversity proves that this album would be an ideal start for a newbie to get into the world of Amorphis. "Eclipse" almost sounds like a compilation of the band's best moments and still marks the beginning of a new era and the introduction of a couple of new and fresh ideas.

This also leads to the only negative point of the entire record. The songs are all close to perfection but don't always fit together. The last records all had a common point of approach, an almost conceptual feeling, a big coherence in the material which is quite heterogeneous itself. "Eclipse" mixes the band's roots, the band's latest experiments and some new aspect into one melting pot that makes less sense than the last records. It rather seems as if the band had made three different writing sessions or used some lost tunes from the past to finally put out a new album with their new singer to show that they are back in force and more variable than ever. Maybe the band should simply have taken its time to focus on the compatibility of the single songs as they prove on the upcoming records that they didn't lose their talent to create special emotions and atmospheric concepts on entire albums. As they decided to not do this, "Eclipse" sounds sometimes directionless and could maybe be considered as a more transitional record to confront the new singer as well as the fans with everything the band has already done before. This may now sound way more negative as it is, as the quality of the material is still better than anything else released in the same year and I only took of a little five percent for this minimal flaw.

All in all, this is one of Amorphis great albums but not the perfect way to kick a bright new era off. My high rating still speaks volumes about the quality of this diversified masterpiece filled with live anthems and many potential hit singles and this record should find its place in any collection of an open-minded metal fan.