Successfully building and expanding on a solid base of previous releases.
Keen to build upon the overwhelmingly positive response to their last couple of releases (Namely 2006’s “Eclipse” and 2007’s “Silent Waters”), long running Finnish (Helsinki based) metal act Amorphis are back with their ninth full-length release “Skyforger”.
Having retained a consistent and stable line-up comprising of vocalist Tomi Joutsen, rhythm guitarist Tomi Koivusaari, lead guitarist Esa Holopainen, bassist Niclas Etelävuori, keyboardist Santeri Kallio and drummer Jan Rechberger over the course of the last four years has definitely worked in Amorphis’ favour in every way. And as expected, the band’s third release with the same line-up maintains the level of musical perfection as laid down by its predecessors.
That’s not to say that “Skyforger” sounds exactly the same as “Eclipse” and “Silent Waters”, because there are some notable changes this time around. One of the more obvious shifts in the band’s sound is the greater progressive influence in the compositions, which really stands out on the opening track “Sampoo” and the very Opeth-like “Majestic Beast”. It’s on both these tracks where we hear the band stretching out and experimenting a little more than they have in the past, with the latter in particular standing out as one of the heaviest sounding tracks the band has recorded in many years.
The single “Silver Bride” is by far one of the album’s most melodic and accessible tracks, with Joutsen putting in a commendable performance both with his clean and growled efforts, while “From The Heaven Of My Heart” and “My Sun” follow a similar path in terms of direction.
The traditional folk element of Amorphis’ sounds is largely played down on “Skyforger”, with the album sounding more straightforward than previous releases, with the fast paced “Sky Is Mine” and “Course Of Fate” prime examples. But having said that, tracks such as “From Earth I Rose”, the downbeat “Highest Star” and the title track “Skyforger” do have moments of the band’s past intermingled with their current sound.
“Skyforger” may not be a huge departure from the band’s last couple of releases, but it does have a more immediate, memorable and consistent sound to it overall, proving that with each successive release, Amorphis really are mining a creative streak that doesn’t seem to be showing signs of being exhausted anytime soon.
For more information on Amorphis, check out - https://www.facebook.com/amorphis.
© Justin Donnelly.
