Thursday 8 November 2018

Album Review: AMORPHIS - Queen of Time

Amorphis - Queen of Time

01. The Bee
02. Message In The Amber
03. Daughter Of Hate
04. The Golden Elk
05. Wrong Direction
06. Heart Of The Giant
07. We Accursed
08. Grain Of Sand
09. Amongst Stars
10. Pyres On The Coast
11. As Mountains Crumble (Bonus Track)
12. Brother And Sister (Bonus Track)


Amorphis is one of those bands whose name I'd heard of long ago, but I'd never listened to them. I know a number of people who have spoken very highly of this new album, Queen Of Time, so I thought I'd give it a spin. 

As I'm unfamiliar with their previous material, I can't comment on any musical progression, but there are certainly a number of different styles on here that Amorphis have weaved together with ease. Queen Of Time is like a melting pot of Prog Metal, Folk Metal, Power Metal, and even a hint of Gothic Metal. 

Opener The Bee begins with some 80's sounding keys reminiscent of Iron Maiden's Moonchild, followed by some dramatic strings, and then brings in a contrasting mix of Death Metal vocals and melodic clean singing. It's heavy, epic, and powerful, and most of all it's actually really good. I wasn't sure that I was going to be into this record, but The Bee totally won me over.

Message In The Amber gallops along with a Folk Metal vibe that Nightwish would be proud of, before descending into some dark Progressive Metal. Amorphis are able to tap into all of these genres effortlessly, and create music that is cohesive, as well as varied. They also don't shy away from huge, melodic choruses either. The singles Wrong Direction and Amongst Stars are masterpieces, and demonstrate how Amorphis can create commercial music without compromising musical technicality or integrity. If anything, these songs are particularly good examples of great song writing in Metal.

Queen Of Time is an excellent record, and I'll certainly be checking out Amorphis' back-catalogue as a result of it.

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