Amorphis
Tuonela

THE REVIEW

The destination of a journey, the endpoint of a path: this is what "Tuonela" represents for Amorphis. Initially born as a purely death metal band, their artistic growth saw them gradually abandon their original genre until reaching the fourth album, which stands as the summa of Amorphis' thought.

From the entry of singer Pasi Koskinen in the previous "Elegy," the seventies progressive twist had become compelling. In "Tuonela," the band decides to fully leverage his warm voice to strip away all the rough edges of their identity and seek a much more rock-oriented dimension. Thus, death metal becomes merely a memory, as the growl in "Greed" is certainly not enough to bring it into play.

So, what remains of the Finns' DNA? Everything else.

The doom matrix, a more or less latent influence characterizing almost all Finnish death bands, becomes the backbone on which the songs grow. They are much more linear in structure, aiming to captivate and enchant thanks to the folk component, never over-the-top, yet always well-present and inseparable from the psychedelia, which instead becomes a fundamental component and allows the group to take the definitive leap forward to shake off the shadowy past. For those accustomed to songs like "Black Winter Day" or "My Kantele," the almost stoner vibe of "Morning Star" or the super catchy chorus of "Divinity" represent a sharp break from what came before, but in reality, if one doesn't stop at superficiality, it becomes clear that it isn’t like that at all.

You find yourself facing a mature group, fully aware of their own value, finally able to express their essence without resorting to force, without giving in to anger, to get as close as possible to perfection. And listening to the album, you can feel that the goal has been achieved, that every moment conveys the right emotions.

However, it is known that these moments of peace and serenity don't last long; in fact, the desire to experiment further will lead the band to lose its bearings partly from the next "Am Universum."

Sooner or later the sun always starts to set, so we have no choice but to console ourselves by listening to "Summer’s End."