Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nice transition, April 1, 1999
By A Customer
This has got to be one of the best records of the year. The songs are great, best when the lyrics are read. The lyrics to "Summers End" and "Nightfall" are very talented. Musically, the record is very diverse, their sound is exclusively Amorphis but similar at times to Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Ambient, Oriental, The Doors, Jethro Tull, Deep Purple and a bit of Grunge. I've listened to Amorphis since 1992(The Karelian Isthmus). I can tell they're really comfortable with this sound. All the elements from the past have come together to find Tuonela a reflection of the "Real Amorphis." The keyboard player and Sakari Kukko are awesome. Production is louder and more sonic/dynamic than ever. Of course, if all you listen to is metal you probably won't dig this record. It's rock and damn good rock at that. If you only like the old Amorphis, you might buy it for "Greed" which is in the vein of a melodic(and better produced)Karelian Isthmus. Unfortunately, there are plenty of people out there, like the "2 stars" on this ratings board, who refuse to leave the underground. The appropriate response is: that's not what music is all about. When a band is together 10 years they sell out when they don't change. Amorphis changes, and does so successfully. I'd recommend the album to anyone who is a music fan.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rewards listening again and again, May 1, 1999
By A Customer
You won't discover everything there is to love about this album on the first listen--it takes a little time. The lyrics--this time wrriten by singer Pasi, instead of lifted from folk poetry--are good; thought-provoking, mysterious, and very individual. They take a while to sink in. I was worried that Amorphis might lose some of their traditional color when they switched back to writing their own lyrics, but they say their own things with all the strange phrasing and twists of words that have always made their lyrics seem out of the ordinary. The music tends toward atmospheric wash, rather than simple crisp riffs, but the songs are still very memorable. The opening track, "The Way", is very catchy and you will be singing along with choruses on most songs. The flute on "Rusty Moon" is phenomenal. Dvinity stomps through its verses then opens wide in the bridge--you will definitely yell along on this one.With regard to the vocals--Pasi doesn't have the gutsiest, most powerful voice imaginable, but he has a lot of control and very individual phrasing, and he puts a lot of passion into each of his words. It ends up communicating more than the relatively monotone growls on previous albums--not that I didn't love those too; in fact, when "Greed" comes up on this album I'm totally psyched for something gutteral. But this is like having a whole new dimension. How does it compare with "Tales from the Thousand Lakes"? Apples and oranges. But you can love them both. This is a masterpiece, recommended 100%.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
astonishingly original, March 13, 2003
Relapse records: the home of ridiculous, boundary pushing grindcore and sonic extremity. Amorphis hardly qualify as extreme, but boundaries they do push... Tuonela is a logical progression for Finland's finest metal export. In fact, it barely resembles metal at all, a transition furthered with Am Universum. Instead, Amorphis weave abstract keyboard and organ playing with pyschedelic guitars and the occasional power chord. Tuonela is lush, organic and beautiful... imagine cruising through the desert at night, tripping on Peyote. This is the soundtrack.
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