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Features, PiercingMetal Says

Amorphis Announces New Album “Halo” On Atomic Fire Records

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The Press Release:
Rock and metal music have always been a haven for those who have bigger stories to tell; who have grander emotions to convey. For more than thirty years, Finnish figureheads AMORPHIS have done their best to carve their very own niche in heartfelt yet aggressive, melancholic yet soothing tunes. On Halo, their staggering fourteenth studio effort, the Finns underline their trailblazing status as one of the most original, culturally relevant, and rewarding acts ever to emerge from the land of the thousand lakes.

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Halo will be released on February 11th, 2022 on Atomic Fire Records.
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Features, Tours and Festivals

Nightwish Reveals Updated 2021 European Tour Dates

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Let’s face it. Nowadays the words “cancelled”, postponed” and “rescheduled” are an almost hourly part of the discussion with many artists and entertainment prospects forced to use them. This brings me to the latest information from the mighty Nightwish who have moved some European dates a little farther ahead than was originally planned.

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The Statement:
Some of you already saw this coming but due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic we are forced to move our European tour dates to late 2021. Previously purchased tickets will remain valid for all rescheduled dates. On top of this, we were able to announce a new date in Dublin, Ireland! 🇮🇪 This will be the second time in Nightwish history that we will play here! AMORPHIS will be our Special Guests on this tour with support by TURMION KÄTILÖT.
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Features, Tours and Festivals

Amorphis Announces “Tales From The Thousand Lakes” Tour

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Winter sure feels like its closing up since we’ve not gotten any super duper cold and that makes it almost amusing that a crushing group from the generally very cold Finland announces their return to our shores for a lengthy tour. Check it out.

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The Press Release:
Finnish melancholic progressive metal band, AMORPHIS, are proud to announce they will be hitting the road in celebration of their legendary 1994 release Tales From The Thousand Lakes. Each night the classic album will be played in its entirety. The 38-date trek will launch on September 11th with 3 shows at the Kingsland in Brooklyn before making stops in Worcester, West Hollywood and Atlanta before concluding in Hartford at The Webster Theater on October 26th! Joining the band are ENTOMBED AD and NERVOSA.
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Features, Tours and Festivals

Amorphis Lines Out 2017 North American Return With Swallow The Sun

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The concert tour announcements never seem to stop do they? Oh I’m not complaining at all because there is nothing I like more than checking out a Metal show with some friends. With that being said, this recent announcement by the mighty Amorphis was welcome news. Add to this the inclusion of Swallow The Sun and I say “sign me up”. Check out the press release below and I’ll return with some thoughts at the close.

The Press Release:
The masters of melancholic progressive metal, AMORPHIS, will return to North America next March/April for a long overdue headlining tour. Support will come from fellow Fin’s and melodic doom/death merchants SWALLOW THE SUN. The band will also appear on select dates with thrash legends OVERKILL and Egyptian themed technical death metal champions NILE.

“It’s been a long time since we toured in North America and Canada,” comments guitarist Esa Holopainen. “To be honest, way too long and at some point we thought we might never be back. In show business, things are not that simple and no matter how much AMORPHIS would like to tour, or play shows in different territories, usually it just doesn’t make sense.
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Music, Reviews

“Silent Waters” by Amorphis

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Artist: Amorphis
Title: “Silent Waters”
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Release Date: 9/11/2007
Genre: Progressive Dark Metal
Rating: 4.5/5

When Amorphis released “Eclipse” back in 2006 they pretty much silenced the pundits who had felt that the band was now over given that long time singer Pasi Koskinen had decided to move on. If they wisely remained on board and helped to spread the new gospel of Metal being preached by the band with singer Tomi Joutsen firmly in place, then the Metal community could continue to move forward in positive fashion and all would be as it should. This state of mind is important because with the bands newest release “Silent Waters”, the journey and tales that were begun on “Eclipse” continue on and grow darker with each step that is taken. The album tells the tale of the Kalevala hero Lemminkainen and the album is nothing less than stunning as it draws you in from the moment it begins with “Weaving The Incantation”. The great thing about the bands newest member Joutsen is that he is singing with both dark and clean vocals which in the end present an incredible dynamic in the material. The return to this aspect of singing was a good move based on this style not only being so prevalent in Metal today, but more so in the fact that Joutsen very simply excels at both of them and ups the bands game in terms of powerful delivery. As the album gets more underway with “The Servant” the listener is treated to a driving number that demonstrates there will be little time to rest with this one if it starts out this strong. The title track comes next and while heavy is a little more solemn in its tone as the hero of the recording sings of his lost son. “Towards And Against” keeps the momentum building and there is so much in the way of melody and vocal changes that one would think the band had a number of different vocalists as opposed to the one. The band has not lost their skillful ability at crafting a solid batch of tunes and if one pays close attention they will find how good all of the albums tracks work with each other. It’s no wonder they had been referred to as such an influence upon the Metal scene for such a long time.
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