Amorphis
Eclipse

One night many years ago, late at night, I accidentally stumbled upon the clip of "Black Winter Day" by a Finnish combo, unknown to me, named Amorphis. The surreal images of the video and the melancholic and sinister atmospheres of the song immediately captivated me. The song in question was taken from the album "Tales From The Thousand Lakes", a concept based on the Kalevala, a collection of legends of the Finnish peoples that constitutes their national epic poem.
Since then, despite the excellent "Elegy", Amorphis, unfortunately, has not given me the same emotions, due to the continuous lineup splits (recently singer Pasi Koskinen was replaced by Tomi Joutsen, singer on "Eclipse") and the various contaminations and style changes present in their discography. The latest "Eclipse" is no exception, although it must be said that it shows a band on a marked rise compared to the latest (unworthy) releases.

The album is full of influences from different genres, from electronics to folk, from '70s atmospheres to Celtic music, so much so that it would be incorrect to define Amorphis as a metal band. It starts with "Two Moons", characterized by the sound of synthesizers accompanying a wall of guitars. It continues with "House of Sleep", a song in which the melody of the piano, expertly played by the keyboardist Santeri Kallio, stands out. "Leave Scars" is truly intriguing, opened by an arpeggio with a vaguely ethnic flavor that paves the way for the reappearance after years of the growl of the new singer (just hinted at, to tell the truth). "Born from Fire" is anonymous and in full Amorphis style of recent times, followed by "Under A Soil And Black Stone" where the synthesizers take the lead. Aggressive "Perkele (The God Of Fire)" shows the band grappling with a song in the "Elegy" style, characterized by the alternation of growl (this time more incisive) and clean vocals in the choruses. Another decent song is "The Smoke", simple and direct. On the other hand, "Shame Flash" is quite boring and repetitive. "Brother Moon" represents, in my opinion, the peak of the album, a successful song that sees Amorphis dealing with epic-flavored sounds. We return to the Amorphis style of the latest works with the final "Empty Opening", without infamy and without praise.

In conclusion, this album, in my opinion, deserves overall a passing grade for a band, however, that if it had maintained certain levels (and despite the excellent sales, especially of "Elegy") would surely have become one of the most representative forces in the European scene.