WARKRIME
Get Loose
(No Way)

AMORPHIS
Silent Waters
(Nuclear Blast)

GODHEADSCOPE
A City Out of Sight
(God is Myth)

TUSK
The Resisting Dreamer
(Tortuga)

HYPNOS 69/MONKEY 3
Split
(Rock n Roll Radio)

GENOCIDE
Apocalyptic Visions 

(Van)

HAVOC UNIT
h.IV+

(Vendlus)

MORE REVIEWS

Been a big fan of these Finns for a long long time. For a while though it seemed as if their fire had been extinguished by the sheer kinetic forces of their evolution and the tamed and educated sounds of prog rock. Amorphis started wild and primitive. At the dawn of the death metal age, theirs was one of the most interesting propositions. Their love for Finnland’s folk tales, what sounded like a passion for Iron Maiden and a stubborn adherence to guttural death metal vocals brought the world one of the most underrated extreme metal classics, 1996’s Elegy was effervescent, boiling with brilliant solos, ambitious songwriting and presented one of the most dignified albums that featured both clean and cookie monster singing. Line-up changes followed and by the time 1999’s Tuonela saw the light of day, it was clear Amorphis was stepping out of the plate and was now fully submerged in the cleanliness of progressive rock. Not many bands survive frontman changes. For Amorphis, it seemed as if that changed brought the band back to life.

After original vocalist Pasi Koskinen quit to pursue other musical projects and concentrate in family life, Amorphis went on a quest for a replacement. The chosen one was Sinisthra’s vocalist Tomi Joutsen; a dreaded dude with great capacity for robust clean singing and a lethal growl too. The first result of that union was 2006’s Eclipse and yes it was good. Yes, Amorphis was back not fully on metal mode but clearly, a step backwards towards more brutal territories had been taken. The riffs once again smelled like sulfur and the solos headed skywards, like the venerated tandem of Esa Holopainen and Tomi Koivusaari only could. Silent Waters, Amorphis’ second effort with Joutsen up front, delivers every single time. The first half of the album is especially brilliant; the first four cuts are a potent mix of heavy weights and melodies, a nice balance of brutal growls and confident cleanliness. Towards the middle Silent Waters dips; the songs go softie. You don’t have to be a metal fan to tell they belong to a heavy band though; “Her Alone” was born out of epic metaldom and “Enigma” goes bare and acoustic and eventually the record heads back home, the heavier way. Silent Waters surely is one of the best records this band has ever made.

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