Boring Cash Grab - A Review of Amorphis' Rarities 1991 - 2001

Amorphis is still my favourite band but the group's most recent live records and this compilation of rarities are the worst releases in the sextet's entire discography. However, former label Relapse Records deserves to be blamed instead of the Finnish musicians. The artists were with that label for the first ten years of its wonderful career and have released experimental, influential and progressive rock and metal milestones back in those days. A whopping twenty-three years later, the same label decides to release a compilation of twelve rarities from those good old days. The only issue is that most reissues of regular studio albums and extended plays already include the vast majority of these songs.

One has to wonder who would even purchase that compilation. Seasoned fans already know all these songs and most likely own the records with this compilation's greatest cuts. Occasional fans should have no interest in discovering leftovers dating back at least two and a half decades in time. Potential new fans should discover the excellent contemporary releases by a completely different line-up rather than digging in the past and discovering those forgotten hidden gems. At the end of the day, only avid collectors such as myself might even consider purchasing this compilation. However, I don't see the purpose of spending twenty-five dollars or even more on a forty-seven-minute compilation including twelve good average tunes of which I legally own ten already. That compilation here really offers no value for money whatsoever.

With that perspective out of the way, the material included here is quite eclectic, entertaining and traces the group's development throughout its early years. "Misery Path" for instance is an atmospheric, gritty and rough death metal tune from the early nineties that will put a bright smile upon the faces of fans of early Scandinavian extreme metal. "The Brother-Slayer" combines folk rock lyrics and melodies with playful progressive rock segments displaying the band's style in the mid-nineties. "Levitation" goes a few steps further and is an enchanting progressive rock pearl unfolding its hypnotizing magic in six fascinating minutes. Among the great cover songs, I would highly recommend playing Amorphis' version of The Doors' "Light My Fire" to elderly progressive rock fans who claim that no good music is being released anymore in the new millennium to put a shocked expression upon their distorted faces when hearing this rough under-produced death metal take of the sleep-inducing and overrated original version.

To keep it short, the quality of the material included here would be worth around eighty percent but since the vast majority of the twelve songs are already available on numerous reissues of past records, releasing such a compilation in times like these is simply stated absolutely unnecessary. My generous ten percent are justified by the fact that I have no reissues including the final two songs from the band's Tuonela and Am Universum era from the late nineties and early years of the millennium. Then again, I'm not willing to spend twenty-five dollars to purchase two below average tunes that are two and a half decades old. Anybody who is willing to do so should be aware to be considered a weird outsider with questionable judgement to put it mildly.

Final Rating: 10%