AMORPHIS - Eclipse

AMORPHIS
Eclipse
Nuclear Blast Records
9/10




Many Amorphis fans anticipated this album with bated breath, with this newest platter of vigorously tuneful Finnish sounds introducing the talents of new singer Tomi Joutsen, who replaces the band’s longtime and much-revered frontman Pasi Koskinen. Often, groups are required to make such changes and for whatever reasoning, the results on this latest achievement stand as being surprisingly positive at the end of the day. Although Eclipse is an album where fans will find Amorphis to be more accessible than ever before, a large amount of the base of the band’s sound remains deeply rooted in the recognizable strains of their classic legacy.

As one of the first groups to factually combine the death metal style with more commercial sounds, Amorphis has overcome the odds on this refreshingly well-constructed record. While cuts like Perkele (The God Of Fire) and “Brother Moon” exhibit a noticeable return to the melodic death metal orchestrations of Elegy, most often the listener is thrust into a forebodingly harmonious musical realm that excels as a combination of the sensations delivered by the group’s most recently acclaimed effort, Tuonelaand to a much lesser extent, Elegy Motivated by a strongly persuasive intent to produce vital, engaging modern rock.

Over the years, more and more of the Finnish goth sound has penetrated the sound of the group and while Amorphis most certainly reclaims their identity on this stellar disc, that singular, distinct identity is less at odds with contemporary sounds than at any other point in the band’s career. Rife with bold, melancholy harmonies, “Two Moons” projects the classic Amorphis style that fans have come to know and love over the years, with Joutsen instantly proving himself to be a worthy replacement for Koskinen. A familiar thread runs through epic tracks like “Leaves Scar” and “The Smoke”, while “Under A Soil And Black Stone” delivers a restrained, morose sensation in what is as close to a traditional rock ballad as the Finnish sextet has ever managed.

Those who have followed Amorphis since the days of “Tales Of A Thousand Lakes” will find this latest chapter in the history of the band to be a logical next step. Being nothing short of amazing, Eclipse is nothing short of a must-have release that firmly re-establishes Amorphis as being one of the mightiest outfits in today’s European metal community.


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