Amorphis-The Beginning of Times (2011)

Today I am looking at an album that I gave a lukewarm reception to immediately upon its release.  This album is the latest by Finnish band Amorphis. 

Amorphis formed in 1990 and has since slowly changed sound style.  I was a big fan of the band from their previous releases, "Eclipse" and "Skyforger".  When I first heard back in 2011 that Amorphis would be releasing a new album, I was excited.  After I heard the first track released my excitement was dimmed.  I still have not purchased their latest record, "The Beginning of Times," but decided today that I would give it the closer look it deserves.

Often compared to Opeth, Amorphis plays strongly melodic metal leaning to the progressive end of the spectrum.  The sound is chunky and somewhat rooted in Finnish folklore, with driving lead guitars dueling ahead of the heavy riffing.  This style is indicative of much of Amorphis' latest work.  What really defines this band, however, is the vocal work of Tomi Joutsen.  Joutsen performs all of the band's vocals, flawlessly shifting from uplifting clean singing to guttural roars.  Few metal vocalists can pull off this feat as well as Joutsen. 

The two songs I have heard from "The Beginning of Times" contrast.  You I Need focuses on more somber, reflective material, whereas My Enemy starts off with deep growls before shifting into the glorious cleans.  Both songs are progressive and memorably melodic.  This is a disc I may add to my ever-growing list of albums to purchase.  It somehow slipped through the cracks in 2011, but Amorphis is still perhaps one of the best metal bands to ever originate from Finland, and this is a country that churns out high numbers of metal bands per capita. 

If you are into metal with progressive and melodic roots, you may want to check out Amorphis if you have not yet.  Here are the two tracks I have heard.  Thanks for reading and enjoy!

Between the Buried and Me-The Parallax II review

There is something exhilarating about listening to music that's both unpredictable and comfortable.  You think you know what kind of music a band likes to perform and they add just enough style, flair, and substance to keep listeners entertained for hours.  Such is the experience I just on the maiden spin of Between the Buried and Me's brand new album "The Parallax II: Future Sequence."

This album has been highly anticipated since just after part I of "The Parallax" was released as an EP in 2010.  That disc hinted at what was to come and showed great progress from the band.  Its three tracks totaled more than 30 minutes of music. "The Parallax II" gives us nine tracks worth well over an hour of great tunes.

Nothing on this disc is your standard fare from melodic-tech-prog metal which is refreshing in many ways.  First, what I hinted about earlier is that the band string together complex melodies that do not rob the music of its soul, making for an unpredictable listening experience. Just when you think you have a track figured out as a laid-back melodic piece, or a neck-breaking shred metal song (or vice versa), the track reveals more of its true nature by introducing a different style.  This change of pace, which happens often throughout the album, is not so drastic that it snaps your neck and leaves you wondering what the heck just happened, because more or less, you knew it was coming.  The band hints at these moments just enough to warn you.  It takes real skill to pull off this kind of tech.  Luckily BTBAM have skill in spades.

Plentiful jazzy melodies are scattered throughout the album, along with clean, reflective vocals.  The vocal style moves back and forth from cleans to throat-shredding growls often. Once again, these guys deliver talent in the vocal department.  You know instantly who you are listening to because no other vocalist in metal sounds quite like Tommy Giles Rogers.

Another item of note about the music is that the keyboards bring spacey melodies to light just long enough to arouse interest, but not so long as to become overbearing. 

The bass on this album is well-played and easy to pick out from the metal carnage.  It often sounds like a fretless bass, though I could not find any information confirming this.  You have to hear it to understand its place in the music.

"The Parallax II: Future Sequence" was worth the wait.  This is a great album that is a must own for fans of progressive metal in general and for fans of BTBAM.  The track below is available for free download at Soundcloud.  Give it a listen and be impressed.  As always, thanks for reading!

In Mourning-The Weight of Oceans

Hello, readers!  Today I wanted to take a brief look at a new album that came out earlier this year from Sweden's In Mourning. 

Progressive metal rarely suffers from a lack of originality.  Many interesting bands offer a diverse array of progressive-themed metal.  The Weight of Oceans is In Mourning's third album and is an effective followup to Monolith, released in 2010. 

In Mourning's mix consists of heavy, stomping guitar riffs played over a background of progressive-sounding keyboards.  Vocals are mostly in the harsh, roaring category, and fill the foreground of the music with energetic metal vocals.  At a few moments sparsly littered accross the album, the band breaks down into a slow section reminiscent of Opeth's vintage songs, when they introduce warming clean vocals. 

If you are into progressive metal music, you should enjoy In Mourning.  If you don't like metal music at all, you won't like this.  I thoroughly enjoyed Monolith and was excited when The Weight of Oceans came out.  I'm happy to announce that I remain a fan of In Mourning.  The Weight of Oceans floats ashore with 4.6/5 stars.  Take a look at the album's opener, Colossus below.  Enjoy and thank you for reading.