This band from Finland has traveled a long way. They started in the late 80s as a straight-forward death metal band, (the pinnacle of that being "Karelian Isthmus" (1992)), but soon became slower and more melodic on "Tale Of A Thousand Lakes" (1994), helping to coin the genre of "doomdeath." Their original vocalist, growler Tomi Koivusaari, switched to playing guitar, hiring a cleaner singing Pasi Koskinen. The lyrics specialized on the Finnish folk epos, "Kalevala." With time, the band continued their progression away from death metal and into progressive fusion metal on "Elegy" (1996) and "Tuonela" (1998), and, finally settling in the field of post-doom gothic hard rock in "Ad Universum" (2001) and "Far From The Sun" (2003). Soon after, Koskinen was replaced by Tomi Joutsen. Currently, the line-up consists of Joutsen, Koivusaari, Esa Holopainen (guitars), Niclas Etelavuori (bass), Jan Rechberger (drums), and Santeri Kallio (keyboards), and their latest release "Skyforger" (2009) won significant critical acclaim.
TALE OF A THOUSAND LAKES (1994)
RATING: ***1/2
BEST SONGS: "To Father's Cabin," "Black Winter Day," "Forgotten Sunrise"
A melodic death album, that differs from similar works by In Flames and Dark Tranquility by its slow tempo (that's what, in fact, constitutes doomdeath) is melodic death. "TOTL" has plenty of melody and good songs to fill with it. Some of the faster tracks include "Drowned Maid" and "Forgotten Sunrise." At the end of the latter, there's a riff that all later-period Metallica lovers would recognize. I sincerely hope James Hetfield never heard this song, because otherwise, his "Bleeding Me" is a blatant plagiarism (or, as it's called nowdays, "sampling"). Lyrics don't mean squat to anyone who hasn't read "Kalevala," but "Tale Of A Thousand Lakes" is not a rock opera, and seemingly, there's no story behind it. All songs are united by a common theme, the theme of Karelia, a land divided between Russia and Finland, the Land of the Thousand Lakes (I lived several hours away from there, but never got around to actually visiting Karelia, but my mother went to the University of Petrozavodsk, the capital city of Karelia and she says it's very beautiful). All that, plus solid musicianship make it a good album, even if you have a hard time digesting death vocals, although Koivusaari is not the most brutal among the death singers and even sometimes sings with the clean voice. At any rate, it's a good album, and I recommend it to everyone who wants to try something new.
SKYFORGER (2009)
RATING: ****1/2
BEST SONGS: "Sampo," "Sky is Mine," title track
It's been more than 10 years since I purchased an Amorphis album. To let you in on a secret: I wouldn't have bought this one either, had the Year 2009 not suck so badly in terms of metal. Luckily, this release is here to save the day… I meant "the year." This is the album that I've been waiting for since Sentenced decomposed, only it's decidedly more goth and less folk. Still, there are plenty of Karelian melodies to sink your teeth into, most apparently – in the opening "Sampo." Just like in the "Tale of a Thousand Lakes", the lyrics are based on the "Kaleval" folklore epos. This is the first time I hear Joutsen in recording (saw him at the ProgPower fest), and he is amazing, even more so because he is quite competent as both a clean singer and a growler. When singing clean he heavily resembles Ville Laihiala, and that adds to the Sentenced parallel. The music is catchy and accessible enough even for radio, had the radio in this country been interested in playing music. Yet it is not by any means commercial, just melodic and flawlessly executed. There are no weak songs here at all. My favorites are the dark folklore of "Sampo," the flight sensation of "Sky is Mine" (love that guitar!), the power and magnificence of the title track, and the mid-tempo melodic drive of "Course of Fate." "From the Heaven of My Heart" reminds me of The Cure (as any goth band should). "Majestic Beast" is exactly what the name implies: majestic sound with the roaring voice. And I just have to mention the sheer power of "From Earth I Rose": when Joutsen roars "I'm a brother to the FIRE!!" one cannot help but nod. One particularly interesting thing is that the music actually fits the lyrics. An excellent disc throughout.
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