Amorphis is a Finnish progressive metal band founded by Jan Rechberger, Tomi Koivusaari, and Esa Holopainen in 1990.[1] Initially a death metal band, on later albums they evolved into other genres, including progressive metal, folk metal, and melodic death metal. They frequently use the Kalevala, the epic poem of Finland, as a source for their lyrics.[2]
Jan Rechberger played in a thrash metal band called Violent Solution, which Tomi Koivusaari left in 1990 to form death metal band Abhorrence, with Koivusaari replaced with Esa Holopainen. [3] Violent Solution dissolved, and Jan Rechberger and Esa Holopainen continued working together to form their own death metal band, Amorphis.[clarification needed] Rechberger had ties with Koivusaari, and in early 1990, Koivusaari became the vocalist. The band also recruited Oppu Laine on bass. During that time, Koivusaari also performed rhythm guitar, leading to the band dumping all original compositions and starting over again.[why?] Koivusaari's other band, Abhorrence, split up and he had more time for 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".
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 inactive, they sent their own demo in the return mail and were signed to a worldwide recording deal. Soon after signing, they released their debut, The Karelian Isthmus, under the new name Amorphis, and later released the Privilege of Evil EP.[4] 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 album, Tales from the Thousand Lakes, a concept album based on the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala.[4] This 1994 release, while rooted in death metal, was their first step toward a new direction, adding melodic clean vocals 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 influenced the signature Amorphis sound.[5]
Elegy
During the subsequent tours, Martenson (keyboards) left the band, replaced with Kim Rantala. Rechberger was replaced with Pekka Kasari (ex-Stone), and a sixth member was recruited, singer Pasi Koskinen.[4] The third album, Elegy, was released in 1996.[4] Lyrics were adapted from the Kanteletar, a collection of ancient Finnish folk poetry. Koskinen and Koivusaari shared vocals equally, with Koskinen providing clean parts. After a year and a half of touring following the release of Elegy, the band members took a hiatus.
Tuonela and 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 (Koivusaari playing sitar in the song "Greed", Sakari Kukko on saxophone and flute providing a foreign accent) and death growls were reduced, as Koskinen performed all vocals.[6]
Following the breakup of Kyyria, Santeri joined Amorphis as a full-time member. Bassist Laine was replaced with another ex-Kyyria member, Niclas Etelävuori, to tour with Amorphis on their third United States tour.[6]
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.[6]
Far from the Sun and 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 as of 2024 the band's only song in their native language.[6] 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 was rejoined by original drummer Jan Rechberger after Pekka Kasari quit to concentrate on family. Koskinen left the band in 2004 after nine years.[6]
Eclipse
While searching for a new singer, Amorphis received over a hundred demo tapes from prospective vocalists, none of whom became the band's new frontman. Eventually, Tomi Joutsen got an audition through word of mouth and became their next singer in 2005.[6] Joutsen, best known for his work with metal band Sinisthra,[7] urged Amorphis to return to contrasting vocal styles for their next album.[6] 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,[8][9] and achieved gold certification in Finland for the first time in their history.[10]
Just after Joutsen joined, Amorphis performed at least one show in Finland as Amorjens ("aHello" in Finnish).[11]
Silent Waters
Amorphis followed Eclipse with shows and festival appearances throughout Europe, while writing material for a follow-up.[6] They released their next album, Silent Waters, on 3 September 2007, achieving gold certification in Finland for the second time.[10] This marked the first time in the band's history that an album was recorded with the same personnel as the previous one.[6] In support of Silent Waters, Amorphis launched their third headlining tour in North America with supporting acts Samael and Virgin Black.[10]
Skyforger and Magic & Mayhem – Tales from the Early Years
In November 2008, Amorphis entered Sonic Pump Studios to begin recording their ninth album.[10] The result, Skyforger, was released in Finland on 27 May 2009,[12] throughout Europe two days later,[12] and in the United States on 16 June.[12] Initial presses of the album had mastering errors, prompting Nuclear Blast to issue replacement CDs.[13] The album was certified gold in Finland on 7 July 2011, the third consecutive Amorphis album to do so.[14]
On 20 November 2009, while touring in support of Skyforger, Amorphis filmed a show at Club Teatria in Oulu, Finland for their first live DVD.[15] The show was released with another show from Summer Breeze Open Air 2009 and a documentary, titled Tales from the 20 Years, as a part of the CD/DVD Forging the Land of Thousand Lakes on 25 June 2010.[15]
On 15 September 2010, Amorphis released Magic & Mayhem – Tales from the Early Years, a reworking 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 30 September 2010, Nuclear Blast announced Amorphis had started work on a then-new album.[16] On 24 January 2011, the band revealed recording was almost finished except for vocals, which would be completed at the home of producer Marko Hietala.[17] The album The Beginning of Times was released on 27 May 2011 in Europe and 7 June 2011 in the United States, and features cover art by Travis Smith.[18]
Circle
On 21 August 2012, Amorphis announced on their website a new album was in the works.[19] On 17 January 2013, the band announced the title and release date for their next record. Circle was released on 19 April in Europe and 30 April in North America. Tomi Joutsen said about the 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."[20]
On 16 September 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."[19]
On 4 August 2014, Amorphis announced on their website and through social media they would play a number of special Tales from the Thousand Lakes 20th anniversary shows where they would perform their 1994 album 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.[19]
Under the Red Cloud
The band began demoing new songs at the start of 2015, and on 4 March, it was announced Amorphis would begin to record a new album in April, at Fascination Street Studio, Örebro, Sweden with Jens Bogren, with a release date sometime in September 2015.
The lyrics were written by Pekka Kainulainen, who said, "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."[citation needed]
The release of the album was followed by a world tour, starting with shows in Finland, then other parts of Europe with Nightwish and Arch Enemy in November 2015.[21]
On 15 June 2015, the band announced twelfth album Under the Red Cloud, with the artwork and track list revealed and a release date of 4 September 2015.[22]
Queen of Time
Singer Tomi Joutsen at Rockharz Open Air 2018
On 22 February 2018, Amorphis announced they had finished recording their thirteenth studio album, Queen of Time, released on 18 May 2018 via Nuclear Blast Records. The recording process featured the former bass player Olli-Pekka Laine replacing 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 original band members played on an album together.[23] On 23 March 2018, the band released the first single, "The Bee", off the record.
Halo
On 24 February 2022,[24] Amorphis released its 14th studio album, Halo, marking the 30th anniversary of its 1992 debut record, The Karelian Isthmus. The band struggled with complications related to the Covid-19 pandemic while recording the album.[25] This album was more guitar-driven and "heavier" than Queen of Time.[25] The album has been received well by fans and critics, landing on top of the charts in Finland and in top-10 charts in many other countries.[24] As of March 2022, two songs from the album have been released with full music videos ("The Moon" and "On the Dark Waters"). The album draws heavily on Finnish folklore, with references to Tuonela, the underworld realm of Finnish and Estonian mythology.
1 2 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.
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