Amorphis
Tales From a Thousand Lakes

The very recent release of Amorphis' latest work "Eclipse" and its absence from the list of reviews gives me the opportunity to talk about the album through which I discovered the Finnish band, namely, the work that has become the monument of their entire discography, the one that at the time (1994) made critics shout a miracle to the point that some called it one of the most beautiful metal albums of the past century.

Listening to "Tales From a Thousand Lakes" evoked conflicting and deep emotions that I had never experienced before, not even remotely. The keyboard melodies that contrast with the nasal growls and the cadenced wall (very doom at times) of the guitars recreate a surreal, dreamy, melancholic atmosphere that is difficult to describe and for a long time became the soundtrack of my most reflective, intimate, solitary moments.
In my opinion, it would be reductive, in this case, to make an analytical description song by song of the album. It wouldn't reflect the true value of these 40 minutes of music introduced by the poignant intro of "Thousand Lakes," opening the door to an introspective journey through desolate, epic, icy places, faithfully mirrored by the album's artwork. A hypnotic charm that Amorphis, unfortunately, never reached again due to their continuous line-up changes and the direction of their sound towards more commercial shores. In fact, as I have already mentioned in the Eclipse review, much to my regret, over the years I have become convinced that Amorphis will no longer be able to give me those feelings that I still experience when listening to "The Castaway," "Black Winter Day," "First Doom," or "Drowned Maid."

My advice, therefore, to those intending to purchase the latest "Eclipse" or, in general, are curious to know the band, is to let themselves be captured by the melancholic charm of this "Tales From a Thousand Lakes." Any other consideration, in my opinion, would be superfluous.