For over thirty years, Finnish melodic metal troupe Amorphis have carved out a name for themselves as one of the most vibrant groups of storytellers in the metal scene. Their latest album effort, “Halo”, is described by the band as a “lively and touching beauty”, melancholic, and metal.
The journey begins with an atmospheric opening and interweaving guitars that quickly reach their crescendo into a hard-hitting verse. The band are unrelenting in showcasing their ability to expertly weave between styles of playing – from melodic choruses and solos to heavy, growled, syncopated verse sections. It is this versatility that, perhaps, has contributed to the band’s longevity.
Throughout its hour-long odyssey, Halo effectively conjures up fantastical imagery in the mind’s eye of frozen landscapes, epic adventures, and heroic deeds. Like a Howard Shore-inspired Lord of the Rings soundtrack gone metal, “Halo” takes listeners on a journey through light and shadow with breathtaking dynamic and apt storytelling that any lover of fantasy is sure to appreciate. Musically, it hits hard with force in places, whilst remaining melodic enough to be accessible to a wider audience outside the realms of solely heavy metal.
Part of the reason behind this fantastical approach to the genre that the band takes with this new album, is that the lyrics to the songs themselves are partially constructed from translations of archaic Finnish epic poetry collected and compiled together around two hundred years ago. The band, with their Kalevala (the Finnish word for this epic poetry) expert Pekka Kainulainen, take these traditional stories and themes and reshape them in a fresh way for a modern audience; putting them to the soundtrack of metal that is at times melancholic, at times atmospheric, and at times bright and optimistic. It is a system that works, and gives the songs that the group writes as Amorphis a sense of some deeper timeless feel; as if the band themselves are simply messengers passing along something that was already there; taking elements of their own heritage and folklore and showcasing them for the world.
In short, Halo is a worthy addition to Amorphis’ discography. Three decades into their musical career, Amorphis still continue to captivate audiences with their craft of interweaving storytelling with heavy music in a way that is both respectful to their traditions and heritage whilst simultaneously providing something fresh, new, and unique. With Halo, the band provide an album that showcases profound musicality as well as making a bold effort at going so far beyond that.