Customer Reviews

Far From the Sun

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Far From the Sun is a very good album. The last to feature Pasi Koskinen so the below poster should be happy now. Tomi Joutsen is now the vocalist.

This album is pretty much a straightforward hard rocking folk with lots of nice guitar riffs and keyboards.
the band really cut down on the psychedelic delay drench sound of Am Universe and Tuonela on this album. It has a lot of stand out tracks though Including Planetary Misfortune, Far From the Sun and higher Ground. I described this album when it first come out as having alot of similarties with Elegy because of the numerous middle eastern passages but It has no death metal vocals at all.

I do think Pasi is a good singer but had better performances on everything earlier released by Amorphis. Elegy, Tuonela, Am Universe.

This has all of the trademark Amorphis riffing and is a great listen. I was just about to say I like their new album more but as I popped this disc in its hard to change my mind. Its very good.

With each release Amorphis continues to grow in both a musical and creative manner. "Far From The Sun" is the newest proof of this as with this CD the band has given us something very different from their usual or expected fare. As many fans probably know the band takes their name from the word "amorphous" which means something that holds no shape or form. On "Far From The Sun" the group shows just how profound this term can be when applied to a musical sense. It is interesting to see this Finnish act that have been held in such high regard take such a different step with this particular record. On one hand I was very impressed because the music simply flowed across the entire CD. With many other Finnish bands delivering blistering Power Metal nowadays I felt Amorphis was showing that they no longer need to press that course. It's time for them to influence future generation of Metal fans.

While I was impressed with a number of tracks on the record I would have to say that my very favorite track is "Day Of Your Beliefs". As the opener it starts off subtly and then kicks into a solid groove and moody drive as it progresses. There are lots of Deep Purple styled keyboards and a great guitar riff. It was a fine choice for the first track. "Far From The Sun" is present in two versions, one being acoustic and the other electric. The title track gets continued spin in my changer in both of its incarnations. The more rocking numbers would be "Planetary Misfortune" and "Darkrooms" and "Ethereal Solitude" is the best of the couple of slow numbers that appear on the disk. You will find this an equally enjoyable listen when you take the time to do so.

However, there will probably be older Fans of the group who are depressed about this musical change and also the fact that lead singer Pasi Koskinen leaving the group. His replacement is Tomi Joutsen and as someone who already saw him perform I think they will be pleasantly surprised. Don't pass on this CD if you are a fan of the group, or if you enjoy an almost "Trip Rock" sort of sound.

Like most fans of this Finnish band, I first discovered Amorphis by way of Tales From the Thousand Lakes. An excellent album, although I still believe Elegy is their most solid effort. After Elegy, they went through a bit of an evolution, leaning more towards rock and alternative than metal. But Tuonela and Am Universium are still both excellent albums. Far from the Sun is a great album in and of itself. But if you compare it to their past efforts, it is subpar. The opening track "Day of your Beliefs" is excellent all the way through, and there are some definite gems among the album's 15 tracks (I own the enhanced version). However, the music does not seem as emotionally charged as in past albums ("Veil of Sin" and "Shatters WItihin" from Am Universium come to mind). There are some catchy parts in the album, however, and the more you listen to it, the more you discover that this album is actually pretty damn good. But to prevent them from having a follow up album that is a TOTAL disaster, it may be time for Amorphis to re-invent their sound even further to get back some of the luster that their past efforts possess.

i'm a fan of amorphis, from their early stuff to their newer stuff. And i must say that I haven't been dissapitned yet. The production on this cd is amazing, easily their best. It expands on the sound from their last two cds but it adds little more of a metal edge and some even better keyboards. Musically, it's a very diverse cd. It's got metal, folks, electronic, even a little pop I suppose. If your only a fan of early amorphis then you won't like this. If your a fan of their last two releases then you will eat this up.

Being a fan of the more recent melodic direction of the band (since Tuonela), I was extremely pleased upon my first listen to this album, and with each subsequent listen I like it more and more. "Day Of Your Beliefs" is perhaps my favorite Amorphis song so far from any album. While this album is not quite as strong overall as Am Universum, it is a worthy successor. The title track is also excellent, as well as "Evil Inside" and "Ethereal Solitude". "Killing Goodness" provides a "Children of the Grave" (Sabbath) type vibe, which is always good! Go to their website and order the CD single for "Evil Inside" to get two more bonus tracks; "Shining Turns To Gray" and "Follow Me Into The Fire". Great stuff. Bravo!

as an Amorphis fan from evrything from the self titled debut demo lp to the recent album, I can honestly say this is not their best work. It is not bad, but seems almost like they are running out of ideas. Some of the songs have good feel and can stick in your head (evil inside, day of your beliefs), while others are just flat and even unoriginal (check out the Phantom of the Opera, Pink Floyd - Echoes riff in Smithereens). Ethereal Solitude has a nice flow to it. Album highlights are Higher Ground, Day Of Your Beliefs and Planetary Misfortune, though once again not anything really new. Overall, it is a good album, but nothing to rush out and buy, especially at the current price for the import. If you are new to the band and want to hear the best, buy Tales From The Thousand Lakes Or their masterpiece Elegy. Though if you love old school death meatl, The Karelian Isthmus and Privilege of Evil are awesome, despite what others referred to as "utter crap". They are a different Amorphis but good in their own way. Classic stuff with small hints of the great things to come. Enjoy one of the best, and most gifted bands to grace the metal scene over the last 15 years.

ok so everybody that reviews this album loves the music. but hates the vocals. what's wrong with you people? is this your first amorphis cd? have you never heard of them before? I guess not since they have had this singer for years now, this is his fourth (and final) album with them. If the music is so good, if you love it so much, why can't you give it more stars? whatever


anyway, this has a lot more of a metal sound than their last album and in some places it sounds like something you would hear from elegy. Good drummer, nothing too complicated but it gets your head thumpin along. Good riffs, solid riffs, not too heavy but with just the right amount of edge to it to go along with the awesome melodies. Tracks 4, 5, and 6 are weak. 4 and 5 being OK with 6 being extremely bad in a bad way. But the rest of the album (before and after these tracks) totally rocks, the amorphis we all have grown to love. And if you get the US version, you get 5 bonus tracks which are very very good.

2003's Far From the Sun was the sixth studio album by Finnish death-turned-progressive metal band Amorphis, and since it was the final album to feature "clean" vocalist Pasi Koskinen, it marks an end of an era for the band.

Amorphis took a sharp turn away from their death metal roots when Koskinen joined the band, and Far From the Sun is about as far removed from the band's early style as possible. Starting with Elegy (my favorite Amorphis album) the band moved in a more progressive, almost psychedelic direction, and by this album they barely qualified as metal at all. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing, since Amorphis did this kind of Pink Floyd-ish atmospheric hard rock very well, and the songs still had some real heaviness. Metal or not, Far From the Sun has some fantastic songs, including the leadoff track "Day of Your Beliefs" (one of my favorite Amorphis songs ever), "Evil Inside" and the folk-influenced title track. The combination of heaviness, melody, regional influences and Koskinen's vocals just resonates with me.

Far From the Sun seems to be the least loved album of Amorphis's career, especially by old school fans. I love the album for what it is though, even though I admit that the band came back reenergized in a big way with the Koskinen-less follow-up Eclipse, which was undeniably more of a metal album. Still, Far From the Sun is a very good album that most Amorphis fans should be able to appreciate.

Edition Notes: The US version of Far From the Sun is a "fully loaded" version of the album. It comes in a nice embossed slipcase and features five bonus tracks, including the Japanese b-side "Darkrooms" and an acoustic version of "Far From the Sun." There's also a video clip of "Evil Inside." With all these extras, I didn't think twice about replacing the import version I bought earlier.

The album Far From The Sun by Amorphis is worth every penny! This album is so melodic, yet so metal, all at the same time. I have been a fan of Amorphis for ... about 5 years now, and this, I have to say, IS worth buying! I give kudos to the band for making it! If you like progressive metal, to just metal or whatever, buy this! you wont be disappointed!

This isnt a bad album to listen to;it's just not as good as their later albums or their previous ones for that matter:"lite" one could say,with clean vocals.It's still worth a spin,but not worth paying over the odds for.I will damn it with that dreaded phrase "radio friendly".The trouble is that it all sounds a bit repetitious;not that it's unpleasant to listen to.Is it my imagination or does the second half sound better than the first?Higher Ground is a quite a good track what with its Mideastern instrumental intro.In their two most recent albums,Eclipse and Silent Waters,they have morphed back to their roots;but have still retained the mainstream sound of FFTS somewhat, which is the perfect combination,to my mind.Note:They have some awesome videos available on the net.No prizes for guessing which site! You [T]choose.