Artist: Amorphis
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Lodge Doom are a Swedish act who play a sort of grandiose hybrid of heavy progressive rock and folk (Scandinavian and otherwise) that, while often quite ostentatious, largely succeeds due to an obvious and persistent concept and ambition. Bookended by a pair of atmospheric interludes, "Visions of Dunkelheit" covers a vast musical terrain that approaches both the mellower moments of Amorphis and the pagan folk of Hexvessel and beyond, yet always remains anchored by the excellent violin playing of main instrumentalist Thomas von Wachenfeldt and the band's overriding dark vision. Whereas the band's previous release "The Walpurgis Night EP" suffered from an inadequate recording that failed to match the band's large aspirations, there are no such issues here -- "Visions of Dunkelheit" sounds every bit as big as their ideas and so it succeeds in most every way. My only complaint however, and unfortunately not a small one, is that the vocals don't always measure up quite so well. Whether it's a matter of distinction or range, it's the one thing that keeps this good album from being a great one.
- Avi Roig
Amorphis has announced details for their new album "The beginning of times" due out in late May: http://amorphis.net/?page_id=903
Black winter day? Yesterday the Pacific NW was anything but! Monday brought us a few inches of snow which, for a region that often gets none not to mention rarely this early, meant that most folks said "screw it" and took the rest of the week off seeing as how Thursday is Thanksgiving and we're just not all that well-equipped to handle extreme winter weather. Tuesday followed with sheer perfection: cold, clear and sunny all day with the temperature peaking at just above freezing. I still had to work because, well, I always have to work, but I still made sure to spend plenty of time out of doors with all the smiling folks happy for a snowday. So even though Amorphis may not be on-point lyrically, their happy-sounding melodic death metal is still a perfect fit for the season. Just think "bright winter day".
Amorphis - Black winter day
Peaceville has signed Finnish death metal/prog act Barren Earth and will be releasing their debut EP in November with a full-length to follow in 2010. The band consists of ex-members from Amorphis plus current members of bands such as Swallow the Sun and Moonsorrow. Swede Dan Swanö is handling the mixdown and you can preview some clips here: http://www.myspace.com/officialbarrenearth
Sounds a lot like Amorphis, unsurprisingly.
The new Amorphis album "Skyforger" is now streaming at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/amorphis
Antenna talks to Amorphis guitarist Esa Holopainen about the band's new album "Skyforger": http://www.antenna.nu/?p=1022
Long-running folk-influenced Finnish metal act Amorphis will be releasing the new album "Skyforger" in May.
Finnish act Amorphis will tour North America this fall with support from Samael, Leaves' Eyes and Virgin Black. Dates at Lambgoat: http://www.lambgoat.com/news/view.aspx?id=10463
Here's the playlist for this week's radio show:
01. Britta Persson - Cliffhanger
02. TALK 1
03. Death By Kite - Sweet M
04. KVLR - Traitors and thieves
05. Anna Ternheim - Today is a good day
06. TALK 2
07. Don Juan Dracula - Take me home (Johan Angebjörn remix feat. Sally Shapiro)
08. Amorphis - Weaving the incantation
09. Thomas Denver Jonsson - Dreams at the film club (feat. Nina Kinert)
10. TALK 3
11. Don't Be A Stranger - Lonely together
12. Madrugada - Tonight I have no words for you
13. Majessic Dreams - Have to go
14. TALK 4
15. Pavan - The bird
16. Bröderna Lindgren - Om en guldfisk (feat. Kristofer Åström)
17. The Tarantula Waltz - Where I end and you begin
18. Adam Tensta - They wanna know
19. TALK 5
20. Commando M Pigg - Mot stjärnorna
21. Gravy - Rock scientists
22. Jonas Game - ADHD
23. TALK 6
24. Linus Larsson & John Roger Olsson - In the shadow
25. Idiot Kid - Go to sleep
26. Mats Öberg - Cool water - på Den Gyldene Freden
27. TALK 7
28. Pascal - Längtar efter dig
29. The Bear Quartet - I would be poor
30. Peloton - Aranburu
31. Royal Downfall - Lightning strikes twice
32. TALK 8
33. Made In Sweden - Winter's a bummer
34. Erik Enocksson - The state the sea left me in
35. Asha Ali - Coward heart
36. TALK 9
37. A-ha - Celice
Christopher Porter was kind enough to pass along his full, unedited interview with Norwegian artist Sinikka Langeland for your reading pleasure - check it out!
As you may or may not be aware, one of the things I like best about Scandinavian music is the way that folk traditions are kept alive in modern times. Whether it's acts like Hedningarna or Detektivbyrån playing folk tunes using home-built instruments and electronics, Enslaved exploring their viking roots, Amorphis using the Kalevala for lyrical inspiration or Jan Johansson borrowing folk melodies for jazz (much in the same way that Sinikka does), there's a vast, rich musical heritage that's constantly being reinvigorated in new and interesting ways.
The latest Amorphis album "Silent waters" (as posted about here) can now be streamed in its entirety at this location: http://www.mp3.com/artist/amorphis/summary/?tag=download;play
The playlist for this week's radio show:
01. Laakso - Worst case scenario
02. TALK 1
03. Superfamily - I want my money back
04. The Bear Quartet - Ask me don't axe me
05. Ståålfågel - Små gröna män
06. TALK 2
07. Printer - Satisfaction (radio edit)
08. NEI - New morning
09. Paper - Out of it into it
10. Darkthrone - Canadian metal
11. TALK 3
12. Sweatmaster - Animal
13. Bloodbath - Buried by the dead
14. Moneybrother - Guess who's gonna get some tonight
15. TALK 4
16. The Perishers - Victorious
17. The Skull Defekts - Unholy drums are singing
18. Hell On Wheels - Alexander
19. TALK 5
20. Karin Ström - Ordlös
21. Kompjotr Eplektrika - Skulldrummantra
22. Scraps of Tape - How your heart gets thrown
23. TALK 6
24. Brainbombs - Stinking memory
25. M:40 - Brännmärkt
26. Logh - Bring on the ether
27. TALK 7
28. CS Nielsen - Happy
29. Amorphis - Weaving the incantation
30. Juvelen - Hanna
31. TALK 8
32. Killerchaps - Equally dumb
33. Dinosau - Derr lady
34. Knugen Faller - Inte som ni
35. TALK 9
36. The Kissaway Trail - La la song
37. Pg.Lost - Yes I am
38. Suburban Kids with Biblical Names - Marry me
39. TALK 10
40. Don Juan Dracula - Take me home
The playlist for my radio show this week:
01. Paper - My life is going under
02. TALK 1
03. Mr. Suitcase - You don't smile anymore
04. Camouflage - Violetta du
05. Majessic Dreams - Black out
06. TALK 2
07. Amorphis - Towards and against
08. Beyond Dawn - Among the sedatives
09. Don't Be A Stranger - Perfect problem
10. TALK 3
11. Totalitär - Nej vi ska inte ha nåt
12. Miss Li - I'm glad I'm not a proud American
13. Tiger Lou - A lucky escape
14. Oskar Schönning - Fraid
15. TALK 4
16. Karsten Pflum - Draworder
17. Anna Ternheim - Lovers dream
18. Front and the Factory Lies Beneath - Drown in misery
19. TALK 5
20. Midaircondo - Could you please stop
21. Pg.lost - Yes I am
22. The Perishers - Carefree
23. TALK 6
24. Pistol Disco - Upside down
25. Nasum - The system has failed again
26. Sweatmaster - Mystery
27. The Second Band - The modern age
28. Träd, Gräs och Stenar - In kommer gösta
29. TALK 7
30. Ultralyd - Low waist
31. Ambulance - Forever friends
32. The Social Services - Up in arms
33. TALK 8
34. Barra Head - Overseas
35. Sivert Høyem - Exiles
36. Viola - Imaginary times
37. TALK 9
38. Kornstad - Turkey, Texas
I stopped paying attention to Amorphis soon after 1996's "Elegy". The follow-up EP "My kantele" was excellent, but the next album "Tuonela" was weak and the next one, "Am universum", was even worse. I figured, along with most folks, that the band had peaked and was slowly winding down. Considering that both 1994's "Tales from the thousand lakes" and the aforementioned "Elegy" are held by many to be landmark releases, that's a career to be proud of. So I was surprised when I started to see glowing reviews of the new record "Silent waters" and I figured I should investigate. I fully expected to hear a band pathetically trying to revisit their glory days, but let me tell you - I was blown away from the get-go. Not only is the heaviness back in full-effect, but the band is playing with renewed vigor, no doubt inspired in part by the recent addition of frontman Tomi Joutsen. An overwhelming number of modern metalcore bands try to incorporate death-growls and clean singing, something that Amorphis pioneered, and once again they show the world the way it's meant to be done. Tomi's performance is powerful and full of nuance - he hits the highs and lows with equal force and fury. The band, too, steps up to match him. As I said, the music is potently heavy, something you hear from the very first note. And listen for the 70s space-rock breaks as well, those too are performed with suitable vigor. So yeah, not just an impressive return to form, but an astonishingly great record. Very recommended.
Amorphis - Weaving the incantation
Lodge Doom