After a series of fantastic releases that have graced the last few years, it’s hard to see what Amorphis have left to offer…we review their latest effort ‘Under The Red Cloud‘ to see what’s left in the tank!
[tracklist]
01. Under The Red Cloud
02. The Four Wise Ones
03. Bad Blood
04. The Skull
05. Death Of A King
06. Sacrifice
07. Dark Path
08. Enemy At The Gates
09. Tree Of Ages
10. White Night
[/tracklist]
[details]
[record_label]Nuclear Blast[/record_label]
[release_date]4th September 2015[/release_date]
[/details]
Amorphis have been around a long time, and you wouldn’t know it unless you are an old fan, but this band has had a significant impact on the shaping of the melodic metal genre with the release of the ‘Tales from a Thousand Lakes‘ album. Each release since has quietly proven that Amorphis are pulling the puppet strings of influence on your favourite melodic metal bands. The recent releases have seen 2 decades of evolution take heed in the musicianship of the band with 2013’s ‘Circle‘ being nothing short of brilliant, however seemingly exhausting the bands musical creativity. The latest release, ‘Under The Red Cloud‘ is a true test of musical resilience as the band follow-up a plethora of outstanding albums…
The title track opens the album in what has become a typical Amorphis style – piano’s laid over acoustic guitars with folky undertones, a solemn introduction to the album but hardly something to speak for the general sound of the album. A few seconds later that folky riff is thickened into an explosive wall of guitars paving the way for the progressive craft that includes clever lyrics belted by death growls and melodic vocals, and tempo changes that set the pace of the atmosphere the band are providing.
It’s almost instantly astounding how Amorphis own the melodic metal genre with their expert musical forgery, but while the first few tracks are fairly standard creations, it’s when the album strikes ‘The Skull‘ that the truly unique atmosphere begins to emerge. The albums progression begins to lead into a fluid yet aggressive Arabian theme that does a lot for the visual patterns when listening to the album. Not a whole lot of melodic metal sparks thoughts like that, but leave it to Amorphis. ‘Death of a King‘ is a true standout track in this regard making use of Chigrel Glanzmann’s (Eluveitie) folk-instrument talents to provide the underlying melodies into the aggressive riffing and a huge chorus.
Given the number of albums that Amorphis have released it merits giving each album a complex analysis to give a look at what each one offers musically, but another huge feat of ‘Under The Red Cloud‘ is just how accessible it really is. By this we mean fans of all metal genre’s could listen to this and wholeheartedly enjoy it. Tracks like ‘Dark Path‘ are very listenable despite the hidden unique complexities, and one should definitely not be put off by an Amorphis fan attempting to explain their perception, it can get mind-boggling!
Amorphis have made my personal favourite album of theirs since ‘Tales from a Thousand Lakes‘, purely in the fact that they have left me stunned in their ability to create such a bold and highly memorable effort after throwing so much into the releases of the last 5 years. ‘Under The Red Cloud‘ has again proven that Amorphis are the silent titan of melodic metal, and are crowning themselves with gold.
[verdict]Yes[/verdict]
[why]Just when you thought Amorphis couldn’t do any better than ‘Circle’, they have struck gold with ‘Under A Red Cloud’. A well crafted album that is absolutely accessible to the fans of all metal genres.[/why]
