With each Amorphis
album, opens up a new chapter in the bands' progression. “Skyforger,”
the band’s ninth full-length, tends to brighten the horizon on all
that the band has accomplished over the years. In other words, each of the
ten tracks take completely different approaches. So there, essentially,
are traces of material from each album they have released. The opening track,
"Sampo" goes into the more recent “Eclipse”/“Silent
Waters”-type direction. While "From Earth I Rose" sounds
straight off the “Elegy” album. Then, of course, "Majestic
Beast" is probably about as close to the older material as you'll get
these days. Joutsen’s vocals seem more and more diverse with each
album, this being his third with the band. He is a tremendous clean vocalist
with his majestic and melodic style. He could very easily stand ground in
the 70's prog. rock genre. On the other hand, he is one of the best death
metal growlers out there too. On to the guitar work of Esa and Tomi... I
believe Iron Maiden-esque is not all too far from their repertoire! Just
hearing great riff followed by great riff with repetition that's enough
to get into but not enough to get bored with. The keyboards have a much
more "classical" sound on this disc. Which is great because the
usage of piano, sampling and some flute complement the guitars, persuade
the listener and just lift the overall atmosphere to a whole new level.
Not only those, the acoustic and bass parts have a much "bigger"
sound. Which also broadens the drumming landscape. This may be the most
important part too. Drumwork is always important, but is especially good
when you have someone who puts great emphasis on all the details (like a
cymbal here, a crash there and double kicks when needed). I suppose the
production is another essential here. It's so crystal clear this time, you
could probably hear the sigh of relief when the band finished recording.
Haha! Amorphis have really sounded so much more complete since the “Eclipse”
disc, though I will always love everything from “Elegy” and
back the most. Still, they have remained true to form and have successfully
reinvented themselves every time!
Rating: 85
Reviewed By: Thomas Mitchell |
