Reviews list for Amorphis - Elegy (1996)

The Uncanny Puzzle

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.

Immediately after the highly melodic, beautifully different but not-so-heavy Tales from the Thousand Lakes, Amorphis realized that for them to stand out, they needed to be different.  This time, they expanded on their sound and took on a few different directions.  Their finally truly death album, Elegy, would see them becoming the prog metal band they're known for being, and of course this would set the band up as one of the essentials of that genre.  This is the finally truly death metal album we got, and even then it bridges the boundaries very bravely, so be prepared.

With Tales, Amorphis took a folksy route, capturing some old mythical vibes in the format of a death metal album.  Like that album, however, this band needs a little work in the heaviness department, as the drumming feels very weak and the lighthearted melodies overpower the extremity.  Unlike the last album, however, this takes folk influence to a much more surreal level, going into Arabic territory to create both desert vibes and adventurous cinematic touches.  Some of these psychedelic solos are very cool, and because of the Arabic vibes the folk metal influences bring in, they feel perfectly natural, adding to the unique behavior of this album.  We'll even have touches of prog electronic mingled in with our psychedelic solos on the third track, The Orphan.  Never would've seen a death metal act take a couple notes from Tangerine Dream, would you?  And thankfully, we do have a couple of heavier songs mixed in with this incredibly diverse bag of tricks, ones that never falter on the Arabic melodies.  Cares even gets pretty funky, and even has a short EDM mid-lude that fits the tone and presence of the song perfectly.

Now normally I would criticize a death metal band for feeling too commercial, even a melodeath band.  But Amorphis makes it work here because they've become a prog band with a plethora of influences that flow together with perfect consistency, like a good sangria and all its ingredients.  If only this album were heavier, I'd rank it among the ten greatest prog and or death metal albums I've ever heard, much like my feelings for the movie Southern Comfort and its lack of character development getting in the way of a top 10 slot on my movies list.  Elegy in an album that proves that Amorphis can pretty much do anything... except for be heavy enough to stand with heavier melodeath bands.

Immensely courageous and adventurous album that remains accessible and engaging throughout

Some albums are always going to struggle to match expectations. Amorphis’ Tales From the Thousand Lakes was such a wonderful album, filled to the brim with exquisite melodies and magical atmosphere. I must have listened to it hundreds of times before these Finnish maestros finally got around to recording a follow-up. The problem was that I (at the time) wanted more of the same and Amorphis were simply not willing to repeat the formula, no matter how successful. My first listen to Elegy was one filled with confusion, if not outright disappointment. The band had shifted their sound away from the doom tinged melodic death metal of Tales From the Thousand Lakes into far more experimental and progressive territory. The line-up had also gone through some changes, with Pekka Kasari replacing Jan Rechberger behind the drum kit and Kim Rantala taking over keyboards from Kasper Mårtenson, but the biggest addition was Pasi Koskinen joining the band as a second vocalist, adding his clean vocals to Tomi’s growls. These changes would take some getting used to, and every listen would chip away at the disappointment until I could finally appreciate Elegy for what it is. Another wonderful, adventurous album that demands multiple listens to really appreciate.

Despite how different Elegy is to its predecessor, there’s strangely never any doubt that you’re listening to Amorphis. The band continued their thematic obsession with Finnish folklore, with Elegy being inspired by the Kanteletar, which is a book of poems based on ancient Finnish traditions. Just as with Tales From the Thousand Lakes which was based on the Finnish national pole book Kalevala, this results in some fairly cutesy lyrics that somehow work within the context of the music, despite their strange descriptions and stories. The melodies often take on a similar tone to past recordings, although they are now surrounded by a whole range of audacious musicianship. The standard metallic instruments are seamlessly combined with unusual implements such as the tambourine, the electric sitar and the accordion with the result being an endlessly surprising and unique experience. I will never understand how this band can inject so much curiosity and experimentation and make it sound entirely natural, yet Elegy displays this quality in abundance. Check out Cares to hear melodic death metal, complete with death growls and nice leads, suddenly inject a polka bass line that transforms into blatant dance music (I’m talking glow sticks here), before returning to its origins, all without losing its way. It’s brilliant and ludicrous in equal quantities!

As much as Elegy grew on me after the initial disappointment to the point where I now love it, I still look back far more fondly on the consistent qualities of Tales From the Thousand Lakes, and am much more likely to reach for that album given the choice. With the sort of uninhibited creativity on show throughout this album comes a price I’m afraid. I’ve already mentioned that the band mix numerous elements into each track and still make it appear natural, but this does start to play on personal tastes at some point. It may be the dance section or the polka part, or it could be the death growls or the 70s sounding organ or any of the multitudes of elements, but one or two of them are likely to clash with your personal preferences. It’s the sort of album where the listener needs to leave all preconceptions at the front door before committing to the journey and just experience it. But while Elegy may come across as a challenging album, it’s still a surprisingly accessible one, and one that rewards the listener with its endless details and inimitable spirit. Highlight tracks for me are Against Widows, On Rich and Poor, My Kantele and the awesomely moving title track.