Skyforger | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 27 May 2009 | |||
Recorded | November 2008 – January 2009 | |||
Genre | Melodic death metal, power metal, [1] heavy metal [2] | |||
Length | 47:42 | |||
Label | Nuclear Blast | |||
Producer | Mikko Karmila, Marko Hietala, Amorphis | |||
Amorphis chronology | ||||
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Singles from Skyforger | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
About.com | [3] |
AllMusic | [1] |
Revolver | [4] |
Skyforger is the ninth studio album by Finnish heavy metal band Amorphis. Like the previous album, the lyrics to Skyforger are English translations of Finnish poems based on the Kalevala and written by Pekka Kainulainen. Unlike the two previous albums, it is based on different parts of several episodes, but all told from a single character's point of view. In this sense it is a return to Tales from the Thousand Lakes which told stories from different parts of the Kalevala. The last two albums focused on Kullervo and Lemminkäinen, respectively, and this one focuses on Ilmarinen.
Like Amorphis's previous two albums, Eclipse and Silent Waters , Skyforger is a concept album and was recorded at Sonic Pump Studios in Helsinki. [5]
In addition to a regular edition, the album was also released in a limited digipak edition which included the bonus track "Godlike Machine". Initially, this digipak edition caused controversy because of sound level fluctuations during the tracks "My Sun" and "Skyforger", but Nuclear Blast has since remedied the problem by promising replacement CDs. [6]
On 22 April 2009, "Silver Bride" was released as a Finland-only single, peaking at number 1. [7] [8] The music video for the single premiered on 11 May 2009. [9]
The album's sound has been described as melodic death metal with influences from progressive metal, power metal and folk metal. [1] The album was honored with a 2009 Metal Storm Award for Best Heavy Metal Album. [2]
All lyrics by Pekka Kainulainen. All music as noted.
No. | Title | Music | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Sampo" | Kallio | 6:08 |
2. | "Silver Bride" | Holopainen | 4:13 |
3. | "From the Heaven of My Heart" | Kallio | 5:20 |
4. | "Sky Is Mine" | Kallio | 4:20 |
5. | "Majestic Beast" | Holopainen | 4:19 |
6. | "My Sun" | Koivusaari | 4:04 |
7. | "Highest Star" | Holopainen | 4:44 |
8. | "Skyforger" | Holopainen | 5:15 |
9. | "Course of Fate" | Kallio | 4:15 |
10. | "From Earth I Rose" | Joutsen | 5:04 |
Total length: | 47:42 |
No. | Title | Music | Length |
---|---|---|---|
11. | "Godlike Machine" | Koivusaari | 5:18 |
12. | "Separated" | Koivusaari | 4:17 |
Total length: | 57:17 |
Chart (2009) | Peak position |
---|---|
Austrian Albums Chart [10] | 48 |
Finnish Albums Chart [11] | 1 |
Swiss Albums Chart [12] | 74 |
Top Heatseekers [13] | 33 |
Amorphis
| Other personnel
| Lyrics
Photography
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In Finnish mythology, the Sampo is a magical device or object described in many different ways that was constructed by the blacksmith Ilmarinen and that brought riches and good fortune to its holder. When the Sampo was stolen, Ilmarinen's homeland fell upon hard times. He sent an expedition to retrieve it, but in the ensuing battle it was smashed and lost at sea.
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.
Ensiferum is a Finnish folk metal band from Helsinki. The members of the band label themselves as "melodic folk metal."
Marko Tapani "Marco" Hietala is a Finnish heavy metal vocalist, bassist and songwriter. Internationally, he is best known as the former bassist, male vocalist and secondary composer to Tuomas Holopainen, of the symphonic metal band Nightwish. He was also the vocalist and bassist as well as composer and lyricist for the heavy metal band Tarot.
Tuonela is the fourth full-length album by Finnish metal band Amorphis.
Elegy is the third studio album by Finnish metal band Amorphis. It is their first to feature a majority of clean vocals, sung by new vocalist Pasi Koskinen. The music and lyrics are inspired by the traditional Finnish ballads and poems compiled in the Kanteletar by Elias Lönnrot in 1840.
Esa Holopainen is a Finnish musician, currently the main songwriter, occasional lyricist, founding member and lead guitarist of the Finnish metal band Amorphis. He is one out the two longest standing members of the band and one of the four original members in the band.
Tomi Koivusaari is the current rhythm guitarist and former vocalist of the Finnish metal band Amorphis. He started playing at the age of 12, his first band was Violent Solution formed in 1987, with him on guitars and vocals, Esa Holopainen on guitars and Jan Rechberger on drums. The band played thrash metal, recorded a demo and an EP. He also formed a death/doom band called Abhorrence in 1989, and recorded a demo and an EP. Both bands broke up in 1990, but Tomi was not a member of Violent Solution since he formed Abhorrence.
Eclipse is the seventh studio album by Finnish heavy metal band Amorphis. The lyrics are from a play based on the Kullervo legend, written by Finnish poet and playwright Paavo Haavikko in 1982.
Far from the Sun is the sixth studio album by Finnish heavy metal band Amorphis.
In Sorte Diaboli is the eighth studio album by Norwegian symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir, released in 2007. It is the band's first concept album. A site on the Nuclear Blast website was created for In Sorte Diaboli, in which a new promotional photo can be seen and an audio sample can be heard. This would be the last album by Dimmu Borgir to feature ICS Vortex, Hellhammer and Mustis.
Before the Dawn is a Finnish melodic death metal/gothic metal band formed in 1999 by Tuomas Saukkonen.
Silent Waters is the eighth studio album by Finnish heavy metal band Amorphis.
The Days of Grays is the sixth full-length studio album by Finnish power metal band Sonata Arctica. The album was released in South America on 8 September 2009, on 16 September in Finland, 18 September in Europe and 22 September in North America through Nuclear Blast. The special edition of the album includes the album along with an orchestral CD as a digipak.
Imaginaerum is the seventh studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was released on 30 November 2011 by Scene Nation Oy and Sony Music in Finland, then on 2 December in Nuclear Blast in the rest of Europe and Roadrunner Records worldwide. According to Nightwish songwriter Tuomas Holopainen, the album is a concept album that tells the story of an old composer who is reminiscing of his youth on his deathbed. The album was produced alongside the movie of the same name, directed by Stobe Harju, who previously directed Nightwish's "The Islander" music video, and the album and the film share the same themes and general story. It is their second and last album with vocalist Anette Olzon, as well as the last with drummer Jukka Nevalainen.
The Beginning of Times is the tenth studio album by Finnish metal band Amorphis, released on 25 May 2011 in Finland, 27 May in Europe and 7 June in the United States. Like previous Amorphis albums, The Beginning of Times, is a concept album. The central character of the songs is Väinämöinen, described by the band as "the iconic hero of Finnish mythology".
Olli-Pekka Laine is a Finnish musician, currently as a bassist in Finnish metal bands Amorphis and Barren Earth (2008-). He was also formerly in other Finnish metal bands, Nuxvomica (1990), Rytmihäiriö (1991-1992), Mannhai, Chaosbreed (2003-2005) & Kiljuvelka-70.
Circle is the eleventh studio album by Finnish heavy metal band Amorphis, released on 17 April 2013 through Victor Entertainment and on 19 April 2013 through Nuclear Blast. Recorded at Petrax Studio in Hollola and at 5K Studios in Helsinki, it is the first Amorphis album since Far from the Sun (2003) not to be produced by Marko Hietala, or to be based on the Finnish national epic Kalevala. Instead, Circle was produced by Peter Tägtgren and focuses on an original story penned by lyricist Pekka Kainulainen.
The discography of Amorphis, a Finnish heavy metal band, consists of fourteen studio albums, fifteen singles, three extended plays, and five compilation albums.
Queen of Time is the thirteenth studio album by Finnish heavy metal band Amorphis, released worldwide on 18 May 2018 through Nuclear Blast. This is the first album since 1999's Tuonela to feature original bassist Olli-Pekka Laine who rejoined the band in 2017, making this the first time since 1994's Tales from the Thousand Lakes that all four original band members played together on an album. The album was produced by Jens Bogren, who was described as "a true brother in spirit."