Elegy

Usually when a band changes their style and sound from one extreme to another, a few guarantees will take place. The first of which is that the majority of the existing fanbase will complain, cry, object, and show general benevolence towards the new direction of said band. The second of these certainties is that the inability of these people to let things go will prevail, decades into the future with a "this band haven't been metal since 1994!" bemoan, usually void of context and without anyone stating otherwise.

There is a lesser third as well - that the majority of fans come around to supporting the decision eventually, and the band also continues down the new route having made a wise decision to play to their strengths. This is the bosom in which Amorphis comfortably nestle, a surprise to no one that's followed their trajectory thus far; in which three albums are performed in differing metal styles - alluding to the true amorphousness that the band name devotes itself to.

The growls are almost all removed, giving Pasi a chance to showcase a more progressive, hard rock / soft metal clean technique. The melodic death tropes are streamlined to something allowing for more technical and varied compositions, unclipping the wings that prevented the group from forging their own inspirations into a varied collection of songs that can embody a much wider spectrum of metal and rock.

Knowing their audience and transformation, the album opens with "Better Unborn" - a heavier number which slowly dials down the material, allowing listeners already accustomed to be slowly eased in to the style change - an intelligent, self-aware decision which many bands sadly lack in present day 2024. This track opens with a bass guitar and sitar harmonizing together, while the drums slowly bring the track to life. A catchy riff initiates the main body of the song, and Pasi performs a growling technique to further cement a bridge that seamlessly links both and old. The chorus segues into a clean vocal, which is delivered absolutely finely. It is my opinion that Pasi has a better clean vocal than a harsh (although experiences with both "Far From the Sun" and later black metal project "Ajattara" may be considered exclusions to this rule).

"Elegy" is a bit of a headache to deep dive into, as the tracks can either be consider among the finest the band ever wrote, or just good, approaching great. "Better Unborn" and "Against Widows" remain favourites in the bands live sets to this very day; remaining the oldest constant songs in heavy rotation. Sure, they occasionally perform tracks from "Karelian Isthmus" and the very archaic "Disment of Soul" demo with airings of the track "Vulgar Necrolatry", written when certain members were in Abhorrence and carried over to the rich Amorphis catalogue, but I digress.

With these two tracks aside, this album holds two more keys to truly unlocking and understanding the Amorphis experience. The most important of which is the absolutely timeless "My Kantele". For many, this is the bands signature song, and it's exceptionally easy to see why. Citing Wikipedia, the song is a traditional Finnish song from the 1840 collection Kanteletar, sung by Loituma. The tale talks about the mythical history of the Kantele - the stringed national instrument of Finland. There is also an acoustic version of the track which is absolutely stunning to behold - Pasi's growled verses tempered down to something more becoming of the gentle sound of the instrument. The main motif of the song is well known for it's unusual progression and signature, and the acoustic version gives more life to this.

The other track that is well worth talking about is the heavier "Cares" - a faster paced banger that could have fit in on the earlier albums. There is also a middle eight section that is quite bouncy and adds an Eastern folky sound to the song. I defy anyone to not smile and tap their feet at this bit! As an added measure, the song also has a section that almost goes into Techno territory, before weaving in an excellent guitar solo.

"Elegy" marks a period of great change, within a period of great change. It's the second "era" of the band, and the only album in this era, as immediately after this, they jump into a softer, even more progressive direction, which lasted until Pasi departed in 2004. As an anomaly in the bands catalogue, one could fully expect, as I did, for this to be an outlier in the discography. I was surprised on revision to find that this ranks quite comfortably within the top albums that Amorphis produced.

The Summary

Amorphis switched from a melodic death style to a progressive metal approach on this record, surprising most everyone with a tantalizingly deep collection of hymns and hooks from both inside and outside of their native Finland. "Elegy" succeeds where many bands fail, in that it is able to play to its strength and read the collective audience correctly to fuse and deliver a well-melded and deeply detailed genre shift. Three of the songs on this record remain live favourites, almost thirty years later, long after the band parted way with Pasi and moved on from this period and sound. The clever nod to Finnish history and mini-lesson found within the hallowed sounds of "My Kantele" is an all-time top Amorphis moment. "Elegy" is simply an experience you need to take in actively, and is far from well served just being listened to as a background album.

Sell me this Album

I don't think anyone that has any passion for metal can pick this up and not appreciate some of the songs on it. For the heavier, more extreme minded, "Cares", "Better Unborn" and "Against Widows" carry enough of the bands earlier techniques to not cut off the cord entirely. For those that don't mind a bit of lore of folk influence, "My Kantele" is a flawless pick that is probably one of the best songs of its kind in any genre.

For those of you that like metal in general, or especially those that like progressive metal, this album is not just a must-hear, but it is a must-own, and easily remains the most ambitious experiment that Amorphis ever attempted, and to the most highest standards of success.

Once one looks back at the 90’s, it’s easy to identify certain patterns that were part of the (at the time, at least) uncertain decade. While plenty of bands started out as their most extreme, they would quickly move on with the times; sometimes doing so until they found their trademark sound. In Amorphis’ case, I can’t help but think of a band that waved goodbye to their death metal roots way too early. The transitional Tales from the Thousand Lakes isn’t quite a classic – let alone enjoyable to me, but does feature some comical value at least. Elegy is quite something else; a mess of an album that only makes me wonder what these Finns were thinking.

Elegy may feature many ideas, but this has to be one of the most confusing albums that I can think of. Calling it progressive rock or metal isn’t really saying much; you’ve got the prominent folky flavor that Amorphis introduced earlier (if you thought that the hilarious leads of Tales from the Thousand Lakes were pretentious, you’ll have a worse time here), plenty of thoughtless guitar noodling and flat chugging riffs and I suppose some more hooks to keep one’s attention and yet, nothing really matches. More often, the guitars sound so lifeless that they make the ‘heavier’ parts of the record sound brilliant in comparison; by the time that you’ll encounter the Maiden-gone-to-waste take of ‘On Rich and Poor’, Elegy doesn’t seem too much of a disaster anymore. Sure, it’s an ‘exotic’ and sweetened example of melodic death metal that’s ear candy at best, but since the clean vocals are kept to a minimum and the guitars are doing something slightly more interesting, it's better than most of the songs on the record.

It’s obvious that Amorphis were trying to distance themselves from their earlier self at this point, but I find it amusing that the death metal growls remain present, because they’re hardly appropriate in this context to begin with. My guess is that they didn’t want to disappoint Tomi Koivusaari by cutting him off completely and therefor allowed him to bark in between Pasi’s awful croons. Whereas the clean vocals on Tales from the Thousand Lakes were limited, they’re one of the key ingredients of Elegy and if you can tolerate these with no issue whatsoever, you must be one brave weirdo. Pasi Koskinen reminds me of other nasal abominations who should have never been near a microphone to begin with (think of Niels Duffhues on The Gathering’s Always a Dance and that gothic guy of later-period Sentenced) and with a limited vocal range, this guy even makes Nick Holmes sound like Matt Barlow in comparison. In other words; hearing Pasi sing is the equivalent of watching a one legged smoke addict trying to run a marathon; it’s fun to a certain degree, but just pathetic when you think about it. Even the half-decent moments like ‘The Orphan’ and the title track seem to be decent chilling ballads for a while, but once Pasi decides to open his mouth, there’s no way that I can deal with these tracks anymore.

Even when there are no vocals in sight, you can be assured that the band makes a mess out of things. ‘Relief’ tries to rock your socks off and while it may seem slightly less irritating than the majority of these 'serious' songs, I've heard ballads that rock harder than this bore of a tune. Here’s an idea: next time you write an instrumental, having a talented guitarist who’s capable of creating magic may help, because, again, what's the point of all these annoying guitar licks that have been introduced earlier during the record already? At the same time, no musical ideas seem to be too weird for Amorphis at this point. ‘Cares’ starts with some old been-there-done-that chug / pseudo-exotic lead combination… but quickly becomes disrupted by a DJ beat! Just when I thought that these clowns couldn’t come up with something more embarrassing, they manage to reach a new low. Delightful, isn’t it?

What else is there to say about Elegy? It may be some pleasant to some people, but it certainly isn’t my thing. If you’re after a laugh, then Tales from the Thousand Lakes is worth giving a shot; but Elegy isn’t going to cheer you up a bit!

This review was originally written for antichristmagazine.com

"Elegy" shows how a death metal band can evolve away from the genre with their musical integrity intact. This is an exceptional album that delivers everything their transitional "Tales from the Thousand Lakes" promised. It is a musical tour-de-force of proggy, melodic death/heavy metal and rock. Amorphis threw everything into this one, emerging victorious with an album that was staggering in its adventurousness and variety.

The band was a six-piece by this point. The core trio of Tomi Koivusaari, Esa Holopainen and Olli-Pekka Laine remained. They were joined by a new drummer (Pekka Kasari from the thrash band Stone), whose loose style was a good fit. They hired a proper lead singer to perform the clean-sung vocals (Pasi Koskinen), allowing Koivusaari to concentrate on his occasional (but important) ultra-low death metal growls. New keyboardist Kim Rantala had a subtle, measured, but fun style of playing. This was exactly what the band needed after the bombastic (and irritating) keyboards on the previous album. Rantala also contributed to song-writing (the epic title track being written by him alone). This means that four members of the band wrote songs here.

That spread of contribution leads to a deep record that earns its lengthy run-time (56 minutes). The songs are varied and consistent, such as the rousing heavy metal anthem of "Better Unborn" or in the breakneck melodies in "On Rich and Poor" (which also contains one of the most memorable Amorphis choruses). The band improved on their previous record by integrating the various genres and influences properly. The wah-wah guitar pedal effects and warbling, 70s style keyboards appear often, but nothing sounds intrusive. "Cares" might be the most ambitious example of this integration, since it even includes an electronic dance break that only makes sense when you listen to it.

Despite such variety and exuberance, the album's two best songs are steady and simple. The classic "My Kantele" is the most famous track here. It appears twice, an electric version anchoring the album and an acoustic reprise at the end. The simple chord progression is both epic and soulful, the keyboards run riot underneath, and the verses are soaring. The electric version is stronger, with Koivusaari’s trademark growls harking back to the band’s death metal roots. The title track is the other highlight; a rousing, mournful mid-paced power-ballad based on simple transition between verse and chorus. There is a section in the middle of the song (again, under Koivusaari’s growls) that resembles Ramin Djawadi’s Game of Thrones theme so much that I wonder if Rantala has ever considered pursuing royalties for it.

The only song that doesn’t quite work is "Orphan". It is a decent song in its own right, but feels overwrought and would have been better removed, or placed on the latter half of the album (without stemming the flow between two upbeat numbers). That is my only complaint. This album is so comprehensive and wholesome that Amorphis found it impossible to follow (returning with the less impressive “Tuonela” three years later). It is the culmination of everything Amorphis were capable of, and outclasses the overrated absurdity of "Tales from the Thousand Lakes" with ease. Progressive heavy metal doesn't come much better than this.

‘Elegy’ is a unique and transcendent album, and it is one of those rare releases that can be confidently rated at 100%.

After the Karelian magic of ‘Tales from the Thousand Lakes’, it was clear that Amorphis, like many acts during the mid to late 90s, were interested in developing and expanding their sound beyond their melodically death-like beginnings. ‘Elegy’ sits in a perfect sweet spot, where they have retained the growled vocals and sense of mystical historicity that was so palpable in 'Tales...', yet have also incorporated confident clean vocals across all tracks and more accessible rock-based structures.

Unfortunately, they would come to overshoot on this trajectory towards a somewhat confused rock sound with their next few albums, losing the elements that made them great until 2006’s ‘Eclipse’ comeback. But ‘Elegy’ is where true perfection was reached. It was a fortuitous moment in time.

What I find so special about both ‘Tales from the Thousand Lakes’ and ‘Elegy’ is the use of traditional lyrics from the Finnish folklore anthology books ‘The Kalevala’ and the ‘Kanteletar’. Before they have even struck a note they were on to a winning concept, as the medieval lives of those in the far north and their daily experiences were brought to life. I have since purchased ‘The Kalevala’ and it’s a wealth of folk-history and mythology and a true treasure to the Finnish nation.

The lyrics across ‘Elegy’ provide a window into this long-forgotten world, and it was greatly disappointing when the band eschewed these texts in favour of their own lyrics. Pekka Kainulainen would, from ‘Silent Waters’, instil a degree of this magical folklore with his poetry, but ultimately something would be lost, making 'Elegy' all the more valuable.

Sonically, 'Elegy' is a delight to listen to. The production is powerful and and suitably clear, allowing the compositions to breathe, and yet there is a sense of character to it that has been lost in today's overly polished productions. The soulful keyboard heavy melodies work perfectly with the guitars, combining to create a melancholic and dark atmosphere, entirely suitable for the lyrical subject matter. Yet there is a lightness here, too. There are moments of shining brightness.

The first track ‘Better Unborn’ is one of the all-time great opening tracks in metal. It begins with a slowly rising keyboard swell. The exotic sitar sets the scene before the band launches into a main riff that is melodic and epic. The clean vocals of the chorus are emotive engaging. The end of the track utilises the power of repetition to build a crescendo, with layers of melodies carrying the listener far beyond the here and now – it’s a stunning work of musical art.

‘The Orphan’ is a soulful and emotive slower track, while ‘On Rich and Poor’ and ‘Song of the Troubled One’ are energetic and infectious earworms. ‘Weeper on the Shore’ begins with lushly strummed acoustic guitars and contains huge keyboard led melodies, particularly in the bridge, with beautiful lyrics of lost love. The title track is another epic, with its grief-filled chorus proclaiming “Beneath the grass my treasure, under the sand my sweet one”. Perhaps the masterpiece of the entire album is ‘My Kantele’, a slow but heavy track that contains a glorious combination of a folky main riff and a powerfully emotive verse and chorus structure. An acoustic version of this song ends the album on a melancholic folk note.

The inclusion of Pasi Koskinen as a full time member on clean vocals was a masterstroke, offsetting Tomi Koivusaari’s deep growls with an emotion that takes the Amorphis sound to the next level. This would unfortunately be the final album where Koivusaari would contribute growled vocals, and it would be something that I would miss greatly, despite Tomi Joutsen resurrecting them to stunning effect when he joined later on. Pasi and Tomi K bring the fantastic lyrics to life.

Album artwork is stunning, and the booklet continues the theme of the circle patterns throughout in a brilliantly effective package.

‘Elegy’ is a masterpiece. Its combination of folky melodicism with a dark fatalism ensures a listening experience of pure escapism, yet one that is profoundly moving and meaningful due to its connection to European history. It certainly opened my eyes to what was possible in music back in 1996 and it remains their pinnacle achievement. Essential.

Perfection is hard to come by in music. More often than not, I refer to a certain aspect of an album being as close to perfection as it gets. In case of Amorphis’ third album ‘Elegy’, its atmosphere is just about as perfect as it gets. ‘Elegy’ was the second album on which Amorphis showed a massive stylistic change and it would not be the last, but it does say something that the signature sound they currently have is not too far removed from what can be heard on ‘Elegy’. It is simply an excellent work of melancholic Finnish metal.

In a way, it is odd that ‘Elegy’ is my favorite Amorphis album, as the band would become much better later on. Current singer Tomi Joutsen is vastly superior to both the throaty grunts of rhythm guitarist Tomi Koivusaari and the Hetfield-esque cleans of Pasi Koskinen, Santeri Kallio has a significantly more melodic style than ‘Elegy’ keyboard player Kim Rantala… Basically the only band member who is already close to the massive heights he would soon reach is lead guitarist Esa Holopainen, one of the most tasteful guitarists in rock and metal. And yet, everything on ‘Elegy’ is as it should be.

First off, the lack of vocal prowess does not hurt the music at all. Koskinen is the right fit for the melancholy expressed in the lyrics – all English translations of the poems in the ‘Kanteletar’, a collection of traditional Finnish songs and poems – and Koivusaari is buried in the mix. Besides, if I had to estimate, less than 25 percent of the album actually has vocals. ‘Elegy’ is the record that most clearly displays the influence that their fellow countrymen Kingston Wall had on Amorphis: it’s extremely jam-heavy, giving Holopainen plenty of room to excel, and the band opts to let the ideas unfold slowly rather than cramming their songs full of them.

Additionally, the eastern mysticism in Kingston Wall’s music is prominent on some of the Holopainen-penned songs, the incredible opener ‘Better Unborn’ in particular. That song deserves an award anyway. It’s easy to come up with something self-pitying for that set of lyrics, but Amorphis made something extremely powerful out of it, kind of like a Scandinavian metal interpretation of Led Zeppelin’s later works. ‘Song Of The Troubled One’ has a similar vibe, though notably more northern European. The twin guitar harmony laden ‘Against Widows’ is more propulsive, as is ‘On Rich And Poor’, which contains some incredible rhythm guitar work. The surprisingly good instrumental ‘Relief’ brings all the elements together.

Even when the band adopts a more laid-back approach, it sounds amazing. The climactic title track and the unbelievably gorgeous album highlight ‘My Kantele’ have some prominent Pink Floyd-isms, albeit with much more powerful rhythm guitar work. But really, only those who prefer Amorphis as a full-on death metal band might not find anything to like on ‘Elegy’, but I sincerely doubt if they ever were. The consistently melancholic tone is what largely makes ‘Elegy’ so amazing, but the unusually large amount of jamming helps too, plus the fact that Holopainen and Koivusaari hardly ever play in unison. A fairly unique album, even within Amorphis’ discography, that still sounds as fresh today as when I first heard it.

Recommended tracks: ‘Better Unborn’, ‘My Kantele’, ‘On Rich And Poor’, ‘Relief’

Originally written for my Kevy Metal weblog

Amorphis is without a doubt one of the most influential metal bands of the 90s, and they are easily my pick for the best Finnish metal outfit of all times. They were among the first to change extreme metal's paradigm that kept late 80s bands pushing the boundaries of extremity more and more, by reincorporating a sense of melody, catchiness, and… well, plain beauty, into metal. Ugliness mixed with beauty, way before Epica and other similar acts came to existence. Arising from the Scandinavian death metal scene, these Finns weren't afraid to change the game, and their solid if rudimentary death metal soon evolved into a proto-prog/melodic variant, at a time where probably the only distant comparisons would be American bands Death and Cynic, sharing some traits with them, but also featuring pretty original elements that sat them apart; their pride for their Finnish heritage and love for traditional folk aesthetics. Those were always present, as noticeable in the lyrics of “Misery Path” from 1991's Amorphis single, but progressively took greater presence and became more evident with their fantastic 1994 sophomore album Tales from the Thousand Lakes.

“Progressive” might be the key word here, a word that strikes fear into the hearts of the most conservative tough-guy metalheads out there, but a usually welcomed term for those who enjoy other branches of rock music, just like Amorphis does. Elegy, the Finns third LP, proved to move further into the progressive metal realm, arguably surpassing its predecessor in quality, without discarding the death metal sound entirely. Tomi Koivusaari's death grunts are a force to be reckoned with, although this would be the last record in which they'll appear prominently. New member Pasi Koskinen contributed right away in reshaping Amorphis sound (as the band's moniker suited them perfectly) with recognizable clean vocals that stood midpoint between alternative rock and folk singing. Along with Koskinen's voice, one of the more characteristic elements in Elegy are the varied and lush keyboard sounds by one-time member Kim Rantala (also an accordionist), employing surging symphonic keys, 70s-like moog, 80s synths, organs, piano, and even his 90s techno DJ side briefly during “Cares”. This variety and prominence of the keys sat Amorphis apart, as most metal bands had been using keyboards as an ambient background provider, rather than a main ingredient for the creation of a signature sound. After Rantala left, Amorphis would fortunately maintain this trait in all their subsequent releases and with their future keyboardists.

As for the more traditional metal instruments, are all top-notch, as expected with this excellent band and this excellent record. Koivusaari and Esa Holopainen's guitar arsenal is also quite varied and poignant, providing quality heavy metal riffs, concise and passionate rocking soloing, rich intertwining melodies, and warm acoustics that contrast with the grief-laden lyrics once again plucked from the fertile tree of Finnish folklore. The rhythmic section is more adventurous this time around, Olli-Pekka Laine's bass lines combining perfectly with Pekka Kasari's drumming in a fluid and also varied display of techniques, and while the pair wasn't as flashy as other prog metal rhythmic duos of the time, like Primus', Tool's or Dream Theater's, taking a backseat to the lead instruments, their performance adds great flavor to the disc, and there's just no margin of improvement to be thought of in this department. I think the duo shines most during the amazing instrumental “Relief”, one of the proggier tunes of the release. All musical pieces in this masterful masterwork join together like a perfect puzzle and are evenly balanced and given presence with a suitable deluxe production and mixing. All the tracks are outstanding, but personal favorites include “Against Widows”, “On Rich and Poor”, the title-track, the already mentioned instrumental composition and the acoustic reprise of “My Kantele”.

Elegy arrived at a perfect time to cement Finland as a potent force for creative metal capable of reaching all the world's shores, with Amorphis as the spearheading act, joined by Sentenced, Waltari, Beherit, Impaled Nazarene, and in the following years Apocalyptica, Nightwish, Children of Bodom and Ensiferum among others. At the same time, Amorphis ultimate masterpiece contributed greatly to the development of progressive metal, and extreme progressive metal in particular, along with Opeth's debut and Death's 90s output. Yet somehow, it seems to me this chef d'oeuvre isn't recognized as strongly as it should be, nor given enough credit for the blueprint of the sophisticated Amorphis sound they would use in most of their posterior works, including their more alt. rock/final Koskinen years epoch, but especially during their much lauded current Tomi Joutsen era, that owes much to this hell of a release and constitutes its primary source of inspiration.

Even if this third album of Amorphis is one of my less favourite ones of the band, it's still a highly interesting and unique record that one must see as a transitional album between the early works in the vein of experimental and atmospheric death metal and the later progressive and melodic metal trend. Let's underline that every album Amorphis made got at least an eighty percent rating from me which isn't the case for any other band I know. This speaks for a high quality and brilliant constance over two decades.

On this album, one hears a lot of unsual instruments a long time before the so called folk metal genre truly gained popularity. There are electric sitars, accordions and tambourines mixed with mystic lyrics about traditional tales. But one can't reduce this record as a simple folk metal album as there is a strong and absorbing progressive and sometimes even psychedelic touch in each song. The origins of atmospheric death metal have only remained in fragments and clean vocals now domiante the songs but those heavier passages are welcome changes in style to wake you up from those hypnotizing voodoo incantations.

"Better unborn" is already a courageous opener and something completely usual that unites almost everything Amorphis does on the entire record. Asian folklore and psychedelic passages are interrupted by angry growls and hypnotizing clean vocals. If you like this opener, you will easily adore the entire record.

Out of this structure, there are still some more experiments to find on this record. "Cares" mixes hard rock guitar solos with electronical passages and technoid influences and could be the official follow up of the brilliant "Magic and mayhem" from the previous masterpiece. "Song of the troubled one" includes decent but epic orchestra passages a long time before neoclassical power metal and symphonic metal emerged and the band proves that they are once again very visionary. The complexe title track "Elegy" introduces some really smooth and soft notes and surprises with a dreamy piano introduction. "Relief" is dominated by amazing keyboard effects and a truly inspiring and deeply relaxing instrumental track. The true highlight of the album and its catchiest tune comes along in the end and that's the acoustic reprise of "My Kantele" where the instrument of the same name and chilling acoustic guitars create a magic atmosphere that is underlined by an amazing and hypnotizing vocal performance. Both versions of the song are completely different and show the high range of technical skills Amorphis can use.

This album has a very unique style and approach but presents many enjoyable little experiments within a constantly equal song and style structure that is presented in the first couple of songs. The further the album gets, the more absorbing, detailed and courageous it turns out to be. The only true reason why I gave this album is a lower rating is the brilliance of the entire Amorphis back catalogue and the fact that the songs in here request multiple tries and are not as catchy and easy to digest as the songs on the previous record and not yet as absorbing and profound as they would be on the two upcoming albums. Sometimes, there is an overflow and it's difficult then to open up your mind for such an album that demands a lot of concentration. Nevertheless, this record should without the glimpse of a doubt be in the collection of any open minded metal fan.

Another album, another sound, another cast member, and all of it work. I can remember a time when I wasn’t a huge fan of this because of the awkward instruments and trance-inducing resonance assaulting me upon my first few listens. It was a time when the drama of the day was making through a hard day with a bunch of morons in my way… much like now. I was already introduced and hooked on early Amorphis with The Karelian Isthmus and Tales From The Thousand Lakes, but this album required a shift in my outlook on Amorphis and metal in order to enjoy (easier done than said, actually). No big transformation was required on my part, but Amorphis took the bet and gambled their career on this album. In the end, everything more or less worked out in their favor, and Elegy leaves a special mark on Amorphis’ career that kept the band fresh and gave me a couple favorite songs to cherish.

Koivusaari, my favorite member of the band to this day, takes a backing role for most of the album to give the (at the time) new singer, Pasi Koskinen, the forefront. Koivusaari gets in his awesome, calm growls on practically all the songs on the album (exclusions being “The Orphan”, “Relief”, and the acoustic version of “My Kantele”). Koivusaari’s exhaled growling style has just enough bite to them while their abundance on Elegy is always arranged in perfect places to match with the main riff or melody. There are some trades between Koivusaari and Koskinen, but ultimately Koivusaari’s doing his bit while Koskinen wails with his lurid cleans that may put some people off at first. He sounded like some teenager trying to do his best to overcome his accent while speaking English, but having warmed up to them over the months when I first heard them, they add to the charm of this elaborate album. While the album doesn’t do away with Koivusaari’s contributions on vocals, at heart the transition and compositions favor Koskinen’s capabilities (some of them harsher than usual).

Wish-washy guitars, hulking bass, a keyboard overhaul, dual vocalists, exotic instruments, and a mystifying atmosphere take the band into a totally different realm. The riffs behind the vocals pack more or less the same punch as before, but priority lies in the melody and vocals. Every song has a driving riff or bit that’s instantly recognizable, yet it remains varied and guided to bring out the most in every instrument. Both versions of “My Kantele” distinguish themselves with classy folk and Middle Eastern fervor, while “On Rich And Poor” and the instrumental “Relief” (among others) are the heavier tracks that burst without holding anything back. The variation isn’t bogged down by confusion, a lackluster approach, or poor transitions, as one might assume with such a list of diverse tracks. The techniques by the band members and the core group’s writing style maintain the objectives of Elegy. Constantly present and worthy of praise is the nautical / spacey leads by Holopainen, which interweaves and soars above and beyond the coarse tones of Koivusaari’s riffs. Holopainen is usually backed by Rantala’s effervescent keyboard lines; don’t mistake this for a keyboard-driven album, though.

I’d recommend this any second of any day of any week of any month of the year to someone getting into Amorphis. By the time I heard of Amorphis, Koskinen was still barely in the band, so hearing this hit home a little more than being another album by one of the first metal bands I got heavily into. The twisted mood, precise drumming, murky bass and so do their part in helping make this album a keeper. Two tracks that stick with me as favorite from Elegy are the two build-up monsters, “Better Unborn” and the title track, which both kill in melody, riffs, and vocals that display this album’s unmatched uniqueness and unusual nature. This was just the beginning in Amorphis’ evolution, representative of the band’s name and personality, into the entity they are today.

After transforming the surly roots of The Karelian Isthmus into the dreary, downtrodden mystique of Tales from the Thousand Lakes, one had to ponder just what Amorphis would do to top themselves. It hardly seemed possible, and yet in 1996, they produced one of the most impressive offerings I have ever heard within the loose confines that comprise the metal genre... transcending that genre, in fact, into a myriad of possibilities that marks one of the most fascinating metamorphoses I have heard from a musical entity. Clearly the band had a deep love for not only the folklore of their nation, but a wealth of older musical influences from afar...a passion betrayed by the use of the moog on the previous album. But this is taken to new heights with Elegy...a masterwork of inescapable, diverse songwriting upon which every song is un fucking real, timeless and memorable, and strangely uplifting, though the echoes of the bands doomed past still poke their ugly, haunting noses through the mix.

Elegy is flawless, beautiful, and more complex than you might expect. Even my least favorite track on the album (which, coincidentally, would become its \'single\' EP namesake) is brilliant. You could randomly select a dozen other, stagnant death metal bands from the mid 90s and pick their brains for weeks and they would not come up with something this impressive. And it all starts with the acquisition of Pasi Koskinen, whose nasal but infectious tones work in both clean and aggressive growling formats, married well to both reference Koivusaari\'s previous work and direct the band towards a new direction. Yes, the purists got all their panties in a bunch when this album arrived, because the clean vocals were no longer the simple curiosity they explored on Tales of the Thousand Lakes, but a crucial factor in this record\'s effectiveness. While Kim Rantala replaced Kasper Mårtenson here on the keys, organs and accordion, he too manages to streamline the transition.

\"Better Unborn\" may seem a subtle indoctrination into the moments that await, but in fact it makes for the perfect setting of the stage. The organ-driven tones suddenly sprout a mystic guitar rhythm, and we are treated to a full range of Pasi\'s vocal stylings, impressive in their clarity and brutal potential. The wah-wah of the guitars creates a folk-funk paradise over the scintillating synthesizers, as the bass steadily climbs towards each chorus crash. And then, the elfin dance that is \"Against Widows\" begins, humppa-like bass lines flogging each graceful step before the track explodes into a glorious surge of melody and grunting, followed with an insanely awesome verse. The heights to which this track ascends are barely containable within the human heart, as it simultaneously pulls at the strings of joy and sorrow. \"The Orphan\" offers you a breather, as a proggish synth rings out over the flanged, soothing acoustics, and Pasi turns in the best clean vocal performance of his career, as he belts out the gorgeous narrative of birds: \'The dove\'s heart is cold as it pecks the village rick/But I\'m colder still as I drink the icy water\'. When the track hits the 2:40 mark, it creates a percussive low end below the writhing guitar melody and sweltering choir synth, before the bluesy conclusion of the bridge.

As if to apologize for the sultry nature of the previous track, \"On Rich and Poor\" simply explodes directly onto the map, with a series of leaden melodies so fucking brilliant that they send shivers up my spine. If you cannot feel that melody after :20, then I really question whether your ears work, because it\'s one of the most stunning guitar lines I\'ve ever heard, a powerful charge that seamlessly bears the weight of the growling vocal. Speaking of stunning, the way the dual bridge melody at 2:00 transforms back into that original tour de force will steal your breath away. \"My Kantele\" follows, and you likely all know this one, an electric ballad with enough swagger to tap your mug, horn, or lady once, twice, thrice until sodden or spent. I prefer this heavier version of the song, but if somehow can\'t stand the grunting on this track, you will be taken care of later. \"Cares\" is another scorcher, with a slamming chug rhythm that undercuts its looping, amazing melody in a way reminiscent of late 80s King Diamond. Alas, the synths are once again an escalating, incredible presence, and the rhythm created alongside the growling at :50 is another of those spine-chillers. The song takes some very interesting turns, with glimmering, astral polka and even surviving a brief techno fill as it soars to its mountainous summit and searing, funky lead.

\'Drag my cares away, carry off my griefs
For no horse can draw, no iron-shod jerk
Without the shaft-bow shaking off
The cares of this skinny one, the sorrows of this black bird\'

Lyrics and music do not often work together this well, do they? Again, Amorphis are able to transform an ancient script into a series of relevant diatribes that conjure not only history, but scenery and emotion that almost any listenere can relate to. \"Song of the Troubled One\" allows Rantals some room to work his various synth sounds into another tribute to majesty, as the funky guitars return behind a burning lead, and the band once again crafts one of the greatest melodies in the history of metal music after 2:00. Yeah. I don\'t even believe in angels, but I have to admit shit like this could only be written by such divine agents, because it is just that pretty. \"Weeper on the Shore\" is another folksy, flowing ballad, complete with growling, circular swinging synth lines, and a fucking killer melody shared between synth and axe at 1:00. \"Elegy\" itself is the dopest creation this side of the galaxy, with a mesmerizing piano pattern that gracefully ascends to its climactic, doomed mid-section, well worth the 7+ minutes of the composition. Now when I say doom, I mean 3:15 of \"Elegy\" is what DOOM should fucking sound like. Eternal, crushing like the weight of a thousand suns as they lower you into your casket with careful, burning hands. This is excellence on par with the best of anything Candlemass or Paradise Lost have ever written.

This is actually the climax of the album, but Amorphis still have a few goodies in mind for you, beginning with the Hawkwind-like space-folk psychedelics of the instrumental \"Relief\", and then the acoustic vocal version of \"My Kantele\". It goes without saying that both are extremely sound, and while I myself might favor the heavier vocals with \"My Kantele\", I am sure there are a great many in the audience that prefer its mellow counterpart. And thus, we have arrived at the end of nearly an hour of balanced, unflinching, unforgettable songwriting. It must be time to press repeat!

Elegy is like a vortex where psychedelia, history and melodic death metal were fused into an expression so natural that you wonder how its components were ever separate to begin with. Every note is so carefully gathered into its overarching rhythm, that with a fine-tooth I could not comb over this album and find a single awkward selection. Certainly this is not the type of album we had grown accustomed to by the year of 1996, and while it\'s not the only career defining masterpiece of this year (Samael\'s pendulous, cosmic, drum machined masterpiece Passage is comparable), its originality, grace and grasp of superb, memorable craftsmanship has given me 15 straight years of enjoyment with no signs of ever ending. Yes, I still shiver when I think of how much impact this album had on me as I entered the third decade of my life, and I still blush when sharing it with someone new for the first time. It\'s like taking someone\'s virginity...they have heard music before, but not quite like this, and you need to ease them in to. Unless you like it rough, then just blast \"On Rich and Poor\" in their face until they relent their bad taste.

Highlights: In the 60s, man landed on the Moon. In the 70s...um, disco?! In the 80s, The Wall came down. In the 90s, Amorphis listened to disco, then wrote Elegy, and then even the Moon was worshipping it. Buy a copy for yourself, and every person you know.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

In 1996 Amorphis decided to ditch their dark death Metal roots and explore new territory, pulling out the very interesting Elegy. While the death/doom influences are still present, they are mixed with a new exploration of progressive, melodic rock and folk territories - with mixed success. The music on Elegy has a great melodic sensibility and light feel; the massive presence of the Moog synth, a permanent clean vocalist and use of unconventional (for a Metal band) instruments (electric sitar, classical piano, accordion) all contribute to this. Due to the progressive influences the songwriting is very complex for the band, with each song lacking an obvious verse/chorus structure and many alternating passages.

Many of the emotions present on Elegy dwell in the familiar darkness of their early works, but an equal amount are a lot brighter. The album’s name can be interpreted as relevant to the dark aspect of the album, but there is a feeling of re-awakening (not necessarily hope) prevalent – as the death of someone close has made you realise the truth about your relationship with that person (good or bad). The song that captures this mix of emotion and atmosphere best is the phenomenal ‘My Kantele’; the lyrics detail how music exists purely to express sorrow (the classic Finnish instrument, the kantele’s ‘strings gathered from torments and its pegs from other ills’) yet the music has a positive, almost uplifting feel, like the joy of one confiding in the sheer beauty of music itself. The lines ‘so it will not play, will not rejoice at all/music will not play to please’ are very powerful, making it clear Amorphis consider music as an expression of the artist’s personal emotion and not made for the specific enjoyment of an audience. There is also quite a religious feel throughout the album (the serious nature of the riffing, the organ backing it and inexorable lyrics),
giving it an obvious epic overtone.

The songwriting on this album is greatly diverse and interesting, but so much so it borders on directionless and confusion throughout parts of the record. The aforementioned songs’ lack of structure leads to brilliance as the acoustic reprise of ‘My Kantele’ seemingly evolves as it goes along, making the songwriting feel incredibly natural and subsequently, memorable. Unfortunately opener ‘Better Unborn’, despite its amazing intro/build-up, is six minutes of dreary repetition which becomes hard to listen to. Amorphis’ main strength as songwriters has always been the mellifluous guitar (and often keyboard) melodies they write. This album contains the largest amount of these melodies they’ve done on a single album, resulting in two things: tons of awesome, catchy melodies (‘Song Of The Troubled One’ is prime melodic Death); oversaturation of these melodies. The key changes (the same melody being played slightly differently), while sounding cool at first eventually become tiresome in ‘On Rich And Poor’ and ‘Against Widows’. The diversity of the songs itself is once again hit and miss; ‘The Orphan’ is a melodic and relaxing tune yet has a crushing doom section giving the listener a pleasant surprise, while the disco break in ‘Cares’ is too out of field, even with the song’s genius folk instrumentation and synth against the crushing heaviness.

It’s clear Tomi Koivusaari was losing his voice at the point of recording this – his growls on Elegy lack the rough Death Metal growl edge they should have, and have a weird layering effect on them making them sound less powerful. All is not lost however; they are still brutal and deliver the necessary dark atmosphere. His impassioned performance on the title track is something to behold; conjuring all the brutality and pain his voice can muster, the screams of ‘Long evenings full of longing...and all times the bitterest’ are moving and epic. Pasi Koskinen’s clean vocals are simply very hit and miss. At times his singing is okay but the vocal melody written sounds awkward (see ‘Against Widows’) and other times his voice sounds bland and not melodic enough to carry a song (‘On Rich And Poor’/’Weeper On The Shore’). He does show he has potential to be a good vocalist; his performances on ‘My Kantele’ and ‘The Orphan’ (the latter featuring just him) are fantastic with his fitting vocal style and strong deliverance of melody.

Individual instruments do little to shine here as Amorphis plays as a collective unit, but each band member plays well to achieve what the songwriting demands of them. Esa Holopainen’s lead guitar playing, handling most of the melodies, is done with great feel and he shows his versatility with the electric sitar in ‘Better Unborn’ and a dissonant solo in ‘Song Of The Troubled One’. Tomi Koivusaari’s rhythm guitar pumps out the necessary heaviness and is largely responsible for the doom parts of the album, yet he can also do some skilful leads shown in the orgasmic harmonies in the finale of ‘My Kantele’. The synth does a fantastic job of creating atmosphere as well as leading tracks – the sombre piano in the title track is an example of this. The rhythm section is handled solidly – despite a few overly busy fills the drummer maintains a unique groove throughout and the bass plays independent bass lines which help drive the tracks along with the abundance of guitar and keyboard harmonisation around it.

Overall Elegy is a mixed bag. Tracks such as ‘My Kantele’, ‘The Orphan’ and ‘Elegy’ show why Amorphis are so influential, writing some of the best Metal out there, and the album is an incredibly unique listen. Sadly lots of the album is weighed down by a lack of direction, inconsistent vocals and a few bad songwriting ideas. As a nice meeting point between two eras of Amorphis (progressive rock and death/doom) this comes recommended.

I tried to like this one, I really did. So many people have told me how great Elegy is, but I'm just not really feeling it. Amorphis' third effort is, yet again, another transitional effort in a career of transitional efforts, and mostly it just makes me want to turn it off. Amorphis never really seemed to want to be a metal band anyway, with only the very early material being out-and-out metal at all, so it comes as no surprise after the watery Tales from the Thousand Lakes that they decided to strip even more of the metallic elements from their sound. That isn't a bad thing in itself, but it is when you consider the fact that there aren't really any good songs on this album at all, only decent ones.

The basic sound is lightweight, fluffy melodic rock with annoying synthesizers and horrible grunge vocals. Seriously, who thought hiring this guy was a good idea? He doesn't even play any other instruments, he had just been hired to sing and nothing else. His voice is dry, reedy and limited, and it isn't good at all for the style of music these guys are shooting for. The riffs here are really quite bland and dry themselves, leaving most of the focus to the keyboard melodies, which are, quite frankly, annoying. I'm sorry, I just don't like these melodies at all. They're well played, but they don't do anything for me, being both too saccharine and too grating for my tastes. Maybe I'd like this better if I was a fan of stuff like Pink Floyd, but even then I doubt it, because Floyd usually managed better material than this.

I guess if I had to pick standouts, they'd be the seven minute title track or the half-ballad "The Orphan," but even those songs are not superb by any means, merely being "listenable." I just can't get that excited about this one. Elegy is not a terrible album, and it isn't even really bad, but when you get down to it, all this is is a merely competent album bogged down by annoying, overly sweet melodies and bad, bad vocals, and I can't recommend it.

Originally written for http://www.metalcrypt.com

At this point in Amorphis’ career, it’s safe to leave the term ‘death metal’ behind when describing them, and start pondering upon what the hell genre they’re playing. Actually, the best way to listen to Amorphis is to not even consider genre; clearly something they don’t take into consideration, as they’ve never been confined to one style for too long. It seems that this band just aim to create original and solid music, which is more or less, what they’ve always done.

Before recording Elegy, Amorphis made a very intelligent decision; recruiting sixth full-time member, Pasi Koskinen, to handle the duty of clean vocals, which are much more prominent on this release than past ones. In fact, Pasi and Tomi (harsh vocals) share the duties at about an even rate. Pasi was just what Amorphis needed to take the quantum leap from their death metal roots to their progressive future. In this sense, Elegy is a transition of sorts, but certainly its own entity.

The songs are not based on guitar riffs like its predecessors, or even the guitar-driven Tuonela after it, but are made entirely of melody. These melodies constantly vary, from the catchy eastern-sounding opener, Better Unborn, to the sheer beauty of My Kantele, to the excellent acoustic strumming of Weeper on the Shore, the musicianship is topnotch. Don’t worry, if you were in love with riffs from Tales From the Thousand Lakes, there’s still a potent atmosphere to be discovered here. Amorphis didn’t forget their old tricks, which is apparent to listening to a song like My Kantele. This truly is a masterpiece. The clean intro will mesmerize you in a matter of seconds, leading you into a catchy verse and then throwing in a clean chorus to make this a true classic. Just to milk this song for everything it’s worth, Amorphis have also included an acoustic version at the end of the album. Thanks! Other than this, Amorphis pull out new tricks such as the seven-plus minute progressive endeavour that is the title track. All of the instruments come together beautifully on this track, and Pasi’s singing is a great highlight.

Although this album is more easy to get into than Tales From The Thousand Lakes, I see Elegy as an album built up of stand-out songs, rather than a single, flowing essence. It’s not that Elegy doesn’t have adequate flow, it’s just that the atmosphere conveyed throughout the album is not quite as captivating as its forerunner. Other than this, there’s not much room for improvement here. One aspect that I usually try to ignore is the utterly bizarre techno interlude in Cares. The song breaks off from metal to branch into a dance section reminiscent of a boss battle in an old arcade game. It’s not that I don’t love retro video game music, it’s just that when placed in the middle of an Amorphis album, it comes off as quite awkward.

It truly amazes me that Amorphis can so drastically change their sound with each release, but always be successful in what they do. Another surprising aspect about this album, is the fact that the cover art was done by the famed Necrolord, the only Amorphis album he has provided art for. I highly recommend this album for anyone looking for a diverse, and consistently enjoyable listen.

What are you going to do after you release one of the most monumental death metal albums of the 90’s and achieve worldwide recognition and fame? Well, if you’re Amorphis, one thing you’re NOT going to do is rest on your laurels.

“Tales of a Thousand Lakes” was released to much fanfare in 1994, and the whole world saw that Amorphis are on cutting edge of death metal. But in 1996, Amorphis have shocked many when they released “Elegy” – an album that strays pretty far from death metal (as if “Tales…” didn’t already) and ventures into folk and progressive depths where very few brutal death metallers have been before. On this album, they are influenced by Yes, Genesis and Gentle Giant, along with death metal. The resulting mix is hard to believe.

The first and most visible change is, of course, the addition of permanent “clean” vocalist Pasi Koskinen. On most of the songs, Tomi growls and Pasi sings, creating an incredible duet. In fact, Tomi’s growls are pretty much the only thing left of original death metal Amorphis! The music is simply breathtaking. Call it folk, atmospheric, progressive rock, the result will stay the same – Amorphis grew in leaps and bounds on this album both as composers and musicians. The atmosphere is sad… moody… depressing…. and then in a sudden invisible change the music becomes uplifting and joyous. Such is the first masterpiece song on this album – “The Orphan”. Plodding along, the song paints a gloomy picture that is an incredible listen, especially if your mood wasn’t great to begin with. But then the metal guitars join in and the music slowly gains tempo, and ends in a heartening, inspiring crescendo that brings hope to the completely depressed listener. This is not death metal, this is not even strictly heavy metal – it’s way beyond the firm borders of the genre and into the stratosphere of incredible genius.

“On Rich and Poor” adds to the complete blur of the genres, as it easily changes tempo and goes from fast and heavy rhythms and deathly growls to quirky folk melodies. “My Kantele” is a first epic number, a folk song presented here in two versions: acoustic and electric. Acoustic features singing by Pasi and electric growling by Tomi. To my metal heart, electric version is much more original and interesting, but many people prefer the first one.

Just when you thought you couldn’t be surprised any more, “Cares” throws this notion out of the window as it introduces a quick probe into another genre of music, that wasn’t even hinted at in previous songs. I’ll leave it up to the reader to find out what am I talking about when you do buy the album, but the song had me giggling in joy after I heard it for the first time.

“Weeper on the Shore” starts out as an fully acoustic folk song, with only Pasi singing, but Tomi and the heaviness quickly joins in with an ugly, brutal death metal in the refrain. The song sounds like a fight between the two forces, with an incredible guitar solo caught in between.

But Amorphis have saved the greatest for last. The title track, “Elegy”, transcends all the notions on this album, takes all the influences, throws them into a boiling pot, and serves us the most delicious dish in the world. Starting out as a folk dirge, with Pasi mourning the death of his beloved, the song morphs into a full-fledged progressive anthem of doom and despair. Tomi conjures the deepest growls and rasps out of his throat, as the song’s character descends deeper into abyss of misery, accompanied by the flying, screaming guitars playing an awesome solo – a fitting masterpiece to end this album.

Highs: Every single song!

Lows: NONE.

Final Verdict: I could rant for hours and hours how amazing this album is, and I hope I accomplished my goal of making you buy this album with this short review. “Elegy” is completely flawless, genre-breaking masterwork.