Amorphis

Amorphis is a Finnish heavy metal band founded by Jan Rechberger, Tomi Koivusaari, and Esa Holopainen in 1990. Initially, the band was a death metal act, but on later albums they evolved into playing other genres, including progressive metal, and folk metal. They frequently use the Kalevala, the epic poem of Finland, as a source for their lyrics.[1]

Amorphis
Left-right: T. Koivusaari, N. Etelävuori, T. Joutsen, J. Rechberger, E. Holopainen and S. Kallio performing in 2008
Background information
OriginHelsinki, Finland
Genres
Years active1990–present
LabelsVirgin (2003), EMI, Relapse, Nuclear Blast, Mojo Records, Mystic Productions, Victor Records (JVC), Spinefarm
Websitewww.amorphis.net

History

Disment of Soul & The Karelian Isthmus

Jan Rechberger played in a thrash metal band called Violent Solution, which Tomi Koivusaari had left in 1990 to form the death metal band Abhorrence, with Koivusaari being replaced by Esa Holopainen. Violent Solution slowly dissolved with Jan Rechberger and Esa Holopainen deciding to continue working with each other to form their own death metal band, Amorphis. With Rechberger having ties with Koivusaari, in early 1990, Koivusaari became the vocalist and the band also got Oppu Laine to become their bassist. During that time, Koivusaari also performed rhythm guitar, leading to the band dumping all original compositions and starting over again. Koivusaari's other band, Abhorrence, split up and he found himself with more time to put into Amorphis.

A demo tape, Disment of Soul, was recorded in 1991 by Timo Tolkki at TTT studios. It was meant to be Dismemberment of soul but they forgot the word "member" and so it was Disment.

Amorphis in 1992 with Jukka Kolehmainen of Abhorrence

After the band recorded their first studio demo tape, Relapse Records offered Abhorrence a recording contract. Since Abhorrence was no longer active, they sent their own demo in the return mail and were signed to a worldwide recording deal. Soon after getting signed they released their death metal debut, The Karelian Isthmus under the new name Amorphis and later released the Privilege of Evil EP. The EP featured Abhorrence's original vocalist, Jukka Kolehmainen, on vocals on the Abhorrence cover song "Vulgar Necrolatry".

Tales from the Thousand Lakes

In 1994, Amorphis released their second studio album, Tales from the Thousand Lakes, a concept album based on the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala. This 1994 release, while still rooted in death metal, was their first step toward a new direction as melodic clean vocals were added, provided by Ville Tuomi. Tales from the Thousand Lakes won the band a fan base thanks to its innovative sound and fusion of death metal with traditional folk, psychedelia, and progressive elements. This album went on to influence the signature Amorphis sound.[2]

Elegy

During the subsequent tours Kasper (keyboards) left the band, to be replaced by Kim Rantala. Jan was replaced by Pekka Kasari (ex-Stone), and a sixth member was recruited, singer Pasi Koskinen. The third album, Elegy, was released in 1996. Lyrics were again adapted from Finnish mythology, in this case, the Kanteletar, a collection of ancient folk poetry. Pasi and Tomi shared the vocals on an equal basis, with Pasi providing only clean parts. After a year and a half of touring following the release of Elegy, the band members took a hiatus.

Tuonela & Story: 10th Anniversary

Their next offering, 1999's Tuonela, was a mellow guitar album, although toward the end of the studio sessions, Santeri Kallio of Kyyria was brought in to add some keyboard tracks to the songs. New instruments were introduced (Tomi playing sitar in the song "Greed", Sakari Kukko on saxophone and flute providing a foreign accent) and the death growls were reduced, as all vocals were performed by Pasi.[3]

The band experienced another line-up change. Following the breakup of Kyyria, Santeri joined Amorphis as a full-time member. Bassist Oppu was replaced by another ex-Kyyria member, Niclas Etelävuori, to tour with Amorphis on their third U.S. tour.[3]

The tenth-anniversary compilation Story was released.

Am Universum

Am Universum was released in 2001, and included more emphasis on keyboards and saxophone work, the latter contributed by Sakari Kukko. It was an experimental album and Amorphis' most psychedelic to date.[3]

Far from the Sun & Chapters

In 2002 the band contributed to the soundtrack for the movie Menolippu Mombasaan. The commissioned piece was a cover version of a 1976 Finnish pop hit "Kuusamo", and is currently the band's only song in their native language.[3] The same year they started to record the band's last album with Relapse Records, Far from the Sun. In 2003, Relapse released the retrospective Chapters, which included a DVD featuring the band's videos from "Black Winter Day" to "Alone". Far from the Sun was produced by the band itself, which had been rejoined by original drummer Jan Rechberger after Pekka Kasari had quit to concentrate on family duties. Pasi left the band in 2004 after nine years.[3]

Eclipse

While searching for a new vocalist Amorphis received over a hundred demo tapes from prospective vocalists but none of them became the new frontman of the band. Eventually Tomi Joutsen got an audition through word of mouth and he became their next singer in 2005.[3] Joutsen, best known for his work with metal band Sinisthra,[4] urged Amorphis to return to the use of contrasting vocal styles for their next album.[3] His first album with the band, Eclipse, was released in 2006. It was a critical and commercial success, hailed as a return to form by some critics,[5][6] and achieving gold certification in Finland for the first time in their history.[7]

Just after Joutsen joined, Amorphis performed under name Amorjens ("aHello" in Finnish) to perform at least one gig in Finland.[8]

Silent Waters

Amorphis followed Eclipse with gigs and festival appearances throughout Europe, all the while writing new material for the follow-up.[3] They released their next album, Silent Waters, on September 3, 2007, achieving gold certification in Finland for the second time.[7] The album marked the first time in the history of the band that an album was recorded with the same personnel as the previous one.[3] In support of Silent Waters, Amorphis launched their third headlining tour in North America alongside supporting acts Samael and Virgin Black.[7]

Skyforger & Magic & Mayhem – Tales from the Early Years
Amorphis playing at Tuska 2009

In November 2008, Amorphis entered Sonic Pump Studios to begin recording their 9th album.[7] The result of those studio sessions, Skyforger, was released in Finland on May 27, 2009,[9] throughout Europe two days later,[9] and in the United States on June 16.[9] Initial presses of the album had mastering errors, which prompted Nuclear Blast to issue replacement CDs.[10] The album was certified gold in Finland on July 7, 2011, making it the third Amorphis album in a row to do so.[11]

On November 20, 2009, while touring in support of Skyforger, Amorphis filmed a show at Club Teatria in Oulu, Finland for their first-ever live DVD.[12] The show was released alongside another show from Summer Breeze Open Air 2009 and a documentary, titled Tales from the 20 Years, as a part of the CD/DVD set Forging the Land of Thousand Lakes on June 25, 2010.[12]

On September 15, 2010, Amorphis released Magic & Mayhem – Tales from the Early Years, a re-working of a dozen tracks from their first three albums with slightly different arrangements, better audio quality and featuring the band's current lineup, plus a cover of "Light my Fire" as a bonus track. During the tour that followed, the band briefly reunited with Pasi Koskinen and other past members (such as keyboard player Kim Rantala) on stage, to perform some of the older songs.

The Beginning of Times
Santeri Kallio at Metal Frenzy Festival 2017 in Gardelegen

On September 30, 2010, Nuclear Blast announced that Amorphis had started work on a new album.[13] On January 24, 2011, the band revealed that recording was almost finished, except for vocals which would be completed at the home of producer Marco Hietala.[14] The album The Beginning of Times was released on May 27, 2011 in Europe and June 7, 2011 in the US, and features cover art by longtime collaborator Travis Smith.[15]

Circle

On August 21, 2012, Amorphis announced on their website that a new album was in the works.[16] On January 17, 2013, the band announced the title and release date for their next record. Circle was released on April 19 in Europe and April 30 in North America. Tomi Joutsen said about the new album, "Circle represents integrity. Back in the days, when there was something special to talk about, wise men used to sit in circle. Not everyone was invited to join them. But in this story, the protagonist was invited among the wise men's circle."[17]

On September 16, 2013, Circle won Metal Hammer's "Album of the Year" award. Esa Holopainen said about the award, "For us, Album of the Year award is a great recognition for the work done so far. Especially when we got it from our 11th studio album."[16]

On August 4, 2014, Amorphis announced on their website and through social media that they would be playing a number of special Tales from the Thousand Lakes 20th anniversary shows where their 1994 album would be performed in its entirety. The shows included festivals such as Wacken Open Air, Maryland Deathfest, and 70000 Tons of Metal, with many other tour dates and festivals included.[16]

Under the Red Cloud

The band began demoing new songs at the start of 2015, and on 4 March it was announced that Amorphis would begin to record a new in album in April, at Fascination Street Studio, Örebro, Sweden with Jens Bogren, and with an album release date sometime in September 2015.

The lyrics would be written once again by Pekka Kainulainen, who says, "Like 'Kalevala', they are descriptions of natural phenomena, seasons and the human mind. Reoccurring situations where hope and uncertainty alternate. Attempting to gain advice from higher powers. The poems do not form a complete story per se, but they are drawn together by a certain theme. We live under a red cloud and once again, time weighs us."

The release of the new album was to be followed by a world tour, starting with shows in the band's home country of Finland, then other parts of Europe with Nightwish and Arch Enemy in November 2015.[18]

On 15 June 2015, the band announced the upcoming twelfth album titled Under the Red Cloud, with the artwork and track list revealed and with a release date of 4 September 2015.[19]

Queen of Time
Singer Tomi Joutsen at Rockharz Open Air 2018

On February 22, 2018, Amorphis announced finishing the recording of their upcoming studio album titled Queen of Time which was scheduled for release on May 18, 2018, via Nuclear Blast Records. The album recording process featured the band's former bass player Olli-Pekka 'Oppu' Laine replacing Amorphis' longtime bassist Niclas Etelävuori who left in April 2017 after their North American tour due to disagreements with the band's management, making this the first time since Tales from the Thousand Lakes that all the original band members had played on an album together.[20] On March 23, 2018 the band released the first single, "The Bee," off the new record.

Musical style

Amorphis began as a death metal[21] and death-doom band,[22] and later incorporated other styles, as progressive metal,[21][23] melodic death metal,[22][24][25] folk metal,[21][25] and power metal.[21]

Members

Timeline

Discography
Main article: Amorphis discography

Studio albums

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References
  1. Aberback, Brian (7 March 2017). "Heavy metal rockers draw inspiration from Finnish epics". North Jersey Media Group. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  2. "Relapse Records". Shop.relapse.com. Archived from the original on 29 July 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  3. "Band". Amorphis. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  4. "Biography". Sinisthra. Archived from the original on 5 January 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  5. Bowar, Chad. "Amorphis - Eclipse Review". About.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  6. Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Eclipse - Amorphis | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  7. "Amorphis To Enter Studio In November". Blabbermouth.net. 8 September 2008. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  8. "Amorjens at Lojo". Last.fm. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  9. "Skyforger released". Amorphis. 27 May 2009. Archived from the original on 27 June 2009. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  10. "Skyforger – Error on digipak version". Nuclear Beast. Amorphis. Archived from the original on 1 June 2009. Retrieved 29 June 2009.
  11. "Amorphis' 'Skyforger' Certified Gold In Finland". Blabbermouth.net. 7 July 2010. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  12. "Amorphis: Complete 'Forging The Land Of Thousand Lakes' DVD Details Revealed". Blabbermouth.net. 8 April 2010. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  13. "AMORPHIS – Studio-Update! - Nuclear Blast". Nuclearblast.de. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  14. "Amorphis: New Album Update". Blabbermouth.net. 24 January 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  15. "Amorphis: New Album Details Revealed". Blabbermouth.net. 28 February 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  16. "Tour in December, new album in spring". Amorphis. 21 August 2012. Archived from the original on 6 September 2012. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  17. "AMORPHIS - New Album Details Revealed!". Facebook. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  18. "Amorphis To Begin Recording New Album In April". Blabbermouth.net. 4 March 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  19. "AMORPHIS To Release 'Under The Red Cloud' Album In September". Blabbermouth.net. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  20. "Amorphis announces release date of new album "Queen Of Time"". NOIZR.COM. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  21. Hill, Gary. "Amorphis | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  22. Hartmann, Graham (20 December 2018). "10 Most Beautiful Voices in Death Metal". Loudwire. Retrieved 3 February 2019. Amorphis experienced their Renaissance when Tomi Joutsen joined in 2005. Having taken a death-doom approach in their early days, Amorphis found their identity when Joutsen’s voice made them one of the best melodeath acts on the planet.
  23. "Amorphis: Fourth Trailer For 'Queen Of Time' Album". Blabbermouth.net. 10 May 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  24. Christopher, Michael (22 February 2018). "Amorphis Announce May Release for New LP 'Queen of Time'". Loudwire. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  25. Hartmann, Graham (27 February 2017). "10 Rock + Metal Acts Who 'Went Soft' But Still Rule". Loudwire. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
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