I will try to be the most carefull as I possible can with this review in order not to misplace or cause any misunderstanding to Amorphis, a band I learned to respect. That said, first of all, it is my obligation to warn Amorphis‘s fans that “Borderland” is an album that has to be listened with extreme care because it is a bit different from its previous “Halo“ album. However, I do feel with “Borderland” the band is being pretty coherent with the new path they took. To some extent, “Borderland” starts where “Halo” stopped. The band went further with the references from other musical genres away from Metal music. A little bit further, I would say. While in “Borderland” it was possible to feel the old Amorphis mixed with the new Amorphis, with “Halo” this is not possible. The good side is that it is a brend new band, the bad one is that fans will miss the old one. Well, everything changes as they say; to some extent, I am philosophically inclined to agree.
Again, I advise Amorphis’ fan not to listen to album opener “The Circle” with great expectations because it would be very easy to get disappointed. In terms of comparison, “The Circle” sounded to me as April Wine and Uriah Heep 1980s albums “Animal Grace” and “Abominog” when I heard them for the first time. There were lots of synthesizers, sequencers, and keyboardings that made the songs too artificial, which, however, were new to me that time and to the epoch. To some extent, I changed my mind when I heard the mix Nightwish did in the 1990s with the same elements, however, the feeling here was not the same. I have to say I was shocked. On the other hand, “Bones“ kind of recreates the same mood I saw with “Halo,” that is, a very creative atmosphere of adding new elements to a music that allows this addition. I will not deny it represents a very modern grip of Metal music with the plus of having the old Amorphis‘ features in it with a gluey chorus. “Dancing Shadow“ adds some more distinct elements to the dough. It showcases a certain 1980s Post Punk spirit with the sequenced guitars, however with modern vocals – not all the time. This is the track where I feel “Borderland” commences to go further. I guess it starts to drift away from Amorphis’ musical tradition – a little bit more truth be told. Even so, if the fans take Amorphis’ musical tradition and memory out of the equation, the outcome is palatable and very modern. I guess, very modern is the key to understand Amorphis’ will in this album. The band wanted to sound as modern as they could leaving the past behind. The guitars and the keyboards of “Fog to Fog” enhance this idea. Its Modern Metal approach is too strong not to be noticed. Again, thinking about the track as something off the band’s hook, it gets very good. Or, as a matter of fact, maybe forgetting the biases and thinking as if I am listening to 1990s Nightwish the track gets more interesting. “The Strange,” for instance, just enhances this feeling.
I think I was very careful about what I heard in the album. I guess it would be fair to make the same comparison I did to Celtic Frost “Cold Lake.” If my dear children of the night think this is another band’s album not the good old Amorphis, we might reach an agreement about “Borderland.” It would not be as dramatic as “Cold Lake,” but that’s life the way it is.
Amorphis “Borderland” will be released on September 26th via Reigning Phoenix Music.
Track Listing:
1. The Circle
2. Bones
3. Dancing Shadow
4. Fog to Fog
5. The Strange
6. Tempest
7. Light and Shadow
8. The Lantern
9. Borderland
10. Despair
Watch “Bones” official music video here:
I’m just a lucky guy who has chosen metal to live with for a long time. Metal changed my life for good. It made me more confident and stronger. Metalheads are naturally far away from the mass mediocrity and don’t accept impostures from anybody else. Metal is more than music, it’s a life changing oportunity!