The Progressive Metal Thread

Amorphis - Under the Red Cloud

Genres: Prog Metal, Melo-Death Metal, Prog Death Metal

98

I quite like everything I've heard from Amorphis but haven't really kept track of them since they dropped the death metal component of their sound in the late 1990's.  I did check out "Under the Red Cloud" when it was a Metal Academy feature release though & it wasn't a bad listen. I'd still take the more deathly "The Karelian Isthmus" over it but I have to admit that I slightly prefer "Under the Red Cloud" to "Tales From the Thousand Lakes" & the "Black Winter Day" E.P. these days.

I quite like everything I've heard from Amorphis but haven't really kept track of them since they dropped the death metal component of their sound in the late 1990's.  I did check out "Under the Red Cloud" when it was a Metal Academy feature release though & it wasn't a bad listen. I'd still take the more deathly "The Karelian Isthmus" over it but I have to admit that I slightly prefer "Under the Red Cloud" to "Tales From the Thousand Lakes" & the "Black Winter Day" E.P. these days.

I've always liked Tales from the Thousand Lakes, having a strong sense of melody and genre-playfulness, but it seemed less fleshed out than some later releases, and not as well produced, so I never gave it above an 85.

Dream Theater - "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence" (2002)

It's kinda strange that I hadn't given Dream Theater's sixth full-length studio album (a double album in fact) a run before now when you consider how highly I regarded Boston's progressive metal masters during the late 1990's but that's the way that things have fallen so I decided to fill that gap over the last few days. "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence" is generally considered to be a solid release that fails to reach the lofty heights that Dream Theater had previously scaled yet does nothing to take anything away from their legacy either & I've found myself agreeing with that sentiment this week. These two records rarely see the quality dipping below an acceptable level with only the cheesy symphonic piece "i. Overture" failing to offer me any enjoyment. I will suggest that the tracklisting is fairly top heavy though as most of the gold can be found on the first disk with the lengthy title track being more mildly enjoyable than it is essential. "The Great Debate" is an absolute masterclass in progressive metal while the more stripped back balladry that takes place early on is also very impressive. Guitarist John Petrucci (my favourite guitarist ever) is once again the standout performer with his solos invariably seeing me picking my jaw up off the floor. In terms of the overall package, I think 2003's "Train of Thought" is of a similar standard to this release but neither come close to matching earlier classics like "When Dream and Day Unite", "Images & Words" or "Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory". They do compare well with 1994's "Awake" though & I'd take any of those three over 2005's "Octavarium" which saw the band taking a further step down in my opinion.

For fans of Symphony X, Rush & Liquid Tension Experiment.

4/5

Gojira - "The Link" (2003)

I think the 2003 sophomore album from these Frenchmen is probably the least impressive release I've heard from them to tell you the truth (Note: I'm still yet to experience 2021's "Fortitude" album), although I was still very close to awarding it an additional half-star as Gojira are undoubtedly a class act. "The Link" just lacks the genuine highlights required to get it there & the tracklisting fades a bit over the last few tracks in my opinion. It's a highly complex record in terms of rhythm & is way more of a progressive metal album than it is a death metal one. In fact, I'm gonna suggest that a death metal primary is misguided here actually as the majority of "The Link" simply doesn't feel like death metal. The groove metal influence that Gojira are known for is definitely evident though. There's some very solid stuff on this record. I just don't think there's enough to make it essential listening.

For fans of Meshuggah, Mastodon & Strapping Young Lad.

3.5/5

Holocaust - "Hypnosis of Birds" (1992)

I hadn't heard the third full-length from this Scottish NWOBHM act before but this week's experience with 1992's "Hypnosis of Birds" has been unanimously positive as well as quite surprising. You see, I wasn't much of a fan of Holocaust's 1981 debut album "The Nightcomers" which is by far their most well-known release. It was a very basic, rough-&-ready heavy metal affair that's light-years away from the sophisticated & quite technical progressive metal we find here. There are some hints of Holocaust's roots to be found here & there (see the first half of the opening title track or the re-recording of the band's signature piece "The Small Hours" which Metallica covered on their 1987 "Garage Days Re-Revisited" E.P.) but, for the most part, Holocaust have moved on creatively with only guitarist John Mortimer remaining from the lineup that delivered the debut. Mortimer also handles the vocals this time which are admittedly nothing special. It's the instrumentation that's the real win here with some of this material reminding me a lot of more popular progressive metal artists like Mastodon, Devin Townsend or Dream Theater. Unfortunately, there are no genuine classic of offer but the quality is consistently strong enough to make "Hypnosis of Birds" a great listen nonetheless, even if the production is a little rougher than you'd generally expect from a prog record. This is definitely my new favourite Holocaust release, over-taking the fairly underground 1980 "Heavy Metal Mania" E.P. which I quite like. And by the way, please ignore the RYM tagging which includes Avant-Garde Metal & Heavy Metal, neither of which are relevant.

For fans of Voivod, Anacrusis & The Thought Industry.

4/5

Amorphis - Elegy (1996)

I finally broke the writers block on this one from years ago to continue one of The Infinite challenge lists, and it ended up being just as unfocused as I thought it would be. Definitely not one of my succinct reviews, Elegy just requires a lot of background to understand why it sounds the way it does and why that's such a big deal. Sadly I still can't quite get behind this album, and I still can't quite give a simple answer as to why, but hopefully the ramblings in the review paint a little bit of a picture as to where I'm coming from. This is one of those instances where I know I'm in the minority, but I can't get my ears to hear what everyone else is hearing when it comes to all the elements of this admittedly complex album. I did end up bumping my score up a half a point from before, though, as I found myself a bit less taken aback by the songwriting as I remember.

( 3 / 5 )

Full Review: 

I’d consider myself a big fan of Amorphis for a long time now, after I originally discovered the band in 2015 with the incredible Under the Red Cloud. Obviously Amorphis’ career and legacy started way before this as they are one of the most consistent and prolific bands on the Progressive side of Death Metal, and 1996’s Elegy was a massive turning point in that career. With the release of their 15th album Borderlands in 2025 it’s no secret that Amorphis have found the sound that they are comfortable with, seemingly content to release similar albums for the past 20 or so years. However, that wasn’t always the case as the band went through rapid changes and evolutions in the 1990’s, morphing from a doom and gloom Death Metal band on The Karelian Isthmus into exactly what a listener of today would expect on Tuonela. Within this stretch, Elegy stands as a strange transitional piece that distinctly pushes the envelope of Amorphis’ sound in a way that they most likely never will attempt again, given their track record. 

I was a very seasoned Amorphis listener before checking out Elegy, or any of their earlier material honestly. My listening rotation consisted of Skyforger and beyond for years and my curiosity was never piqued enough to go back to their humble beginnings. Because of this, I ended up listening to Tales From The Thousand Lakes and Elegy basically back to back, and it was a bit shocking. I was instantly drawn into Tales… because it was a heavier and dirtier version of the Amorphis that I had loved for years. Elegy then proceeded to blindside me with a fully Progressive Metal album that I still find very strange, no matter how many times I come back to it. It feels consistently and faintly familiar as a bunch of the tropes that are present in their later albums are here in full force, like the folky melodies layered on top of double bass and chugging rhythms as well as the oriental-like minor scales utilized on the opening “Better Unborn”. Despite these familiarities, this album continues to stump me as the whole thing feels a bit too wonky as Amorphis commits to a whole lot of ideas that don’t end up being cohesive for me. 

Even though it’s been a little while since my first time through this album, I still remember being taken aback by the vocals in general. Amorphis’ current vocalist Tomi Joutsen doesn’t join the band until their 2006 effort Eclipse, so harshes are done by rhythm guitarist Tomi Koivusaari as they were in Tales… along with cleans done by newcomer Pasi Koskinen. While I think Koivusaari’s groveling, early Death Metal vocals work well on their first two albums given the darker and heavier tones, having the same delivery on an album with a brighter, borderline psychedelic tone is uncanny to me. It can feel at home on tracks like “On Rich and Poor”, but the fact that it’s so one-note completely derails tracks like “Against Widows”, especially when combined with Koskinen’s expressive, almost gothic deliveries throughout the album. Maybe it’s because I grew up with Joutsen’s masterful middle-ground between harshes and cleans, but the two extremes of the vocalists on Elegy really take me out of the whole experience. For whatever reason, both vocalists just fall flat for me throughout and, in turn, makes the album a strange experience for me to sit through no matter how many revisits I give it. 

The addition of scratchy, 70’s prog guitars and the electronic noodlings is what gives Elegy it’s unique character as all these elements are intertwined with wisps of Amorphis’ normal riffing, which would become synonymous with their modern style. There’s a notable amount of parts being crammed into each track, with the lead guitar work being especially impressive in tracks like “Cares”, but sometimes these interesting parts are difficult to decipher due to being pushed back in the mix. There’s also a few very strange grooves that are attempted that really don’t land throughout the album, like the main melody in “Against Widows” or the incredibly alternative radio rock coded synths of “The Orphan” alongside Koskinen’s cleans. With Amorphis trying so many different things in this album, it’s almost a shock when a more straightforward track like “On Rich And Poor” comes on, to the point where I think it doesn’t quite fit with what Elegy is attempting. 

I think I’m the one who’s simply confused on what Elegy is trying to do. It’s strange, because this album should be exactly what I’d be looking for as a fan of the band that has been beaten down by so many similar sounding albums. Objectively, Elegy is a fascinating and truly creative album that is still unique to this day with its blend of so many opposing influences. Gravelly harsh vocals amidst glittery synths, melodic folk passages atop Death Metal inspired chugs, and a distinctive atmosphere that jumps between gloomy gothic and bright psychedelia offers so much to explore, but those parts never manage to coalesce for me. In many ways, this album is Amorphis’ most important album due to how many ideas they tried before turning into a band that refuses to stray from their established sound. There are moments in the back half on “Elegy” or “Relief” where I think the creativeness of this album still shines, but Elegy remains a puzzle I personally can’t piece together.

Elegy is my second favorite Amorphis album, and I think it manages to steer into various genres both unpredictably and naturally.

I believe “Elegy” is probably my favourite Amorphis record.