AMORPHIS – “MAGIC & MAYHEM – TALES FROM THE EARLY YEARS”
NUCLEAR BLAST (2010)

Metal Church - The Present Wasteland

Twenty years as an active band, Finnish Folk Metal outfit Amorphis have achieved many impressive things, but for the average metal fan their absolute highlight has always been the release of their second studio album, the now legendary “Tales From The Thousand Lakes”. Why? Simply because it was the first time that any extreme metal band dared to incorporate folk elements to such an enormous extent and still managed to make them sound exciting enough for the overwhelming majority of metal fans and press throughout the world. And that brings us to the question; why would any band choose to attempt to re-record material from their first three albums, knowing damn well that most of their loyal fans would most likely criticize them heavily for such an effort?

Well the answer to that question lies in the fact that Amorphis are not just another band! Rather than trying to modernize their early 90s material by totally changing their shape and form, pretty much what Exodus ands Destruction did in similar attempts, Esa Holopainen (guitars) and co followed a totally different route! Yes, it is true that some of the parts were re-worked to fit the needs and capabilities of the band’s current line up and yes, the sound is indeed more modern and powerful that the one achieved in their first three albums whose material is included in “Magic & Mayhem…”. What these guys have achieved, however, is to retain the mood and character of the thirteen compositions on offer while making them sound more modern and powerful – fitting for a twenty first century audience! Cool stuff? You bet!

It is not at all surprising that the majority of the compositions included in this collection album originate from “Tales From The Thousand Lakes”, starting with keyboard driven opening track “Magic And Mayhem”. What I was indeed pleased to see more early 90s guitar driven material such as “Vulgar Nectrolatry” and “Exile Of The Sons”, both of which were beautifully supported by 70s sounding background keyboard tunes. The same oriental influenced guitar themes that helped “Into Hiding” and “Black Winter Day” stand out as Amorphis classics the first time round worked their magic once again here and the same applies for all those ‘soft’ melodies that are clearly audible in tracks like “On Rich And Poor” and “Against Widows”, both originally featured in the band’s 1996 release “Elegy”. The three songs that really stand out in my opinion are the oriental sounding and vocally driven “The Castaway”, the epic riffed “Song Of The Troubled One” as well as folk influenced gem “My Kantele”. Finally, if you choose to invest in the limited edition CD you will get the chance to listen to an interesting cover of the Doors classic “Light My Fire”.

To be very honest with you, my initial reaction towards this release was one of real scepticism, as I am generally against re-recordings of material whatever the justifications for making such an attempt might be. The fact of the mater is, though, that Amorphis have done such a good job in “Magic And Mayhem – Tales From The Early Years” that any inhibitions I had were lost right after the first full spin of this album was done and dusted. I strongly believe that this release will not simply appeal to the fans of the band’s current Joutsen-fronted line up but also to people like me who have been following the band’s career from the very beginning. This Helsinki-based sextet has been on a roll for quite some time now and I am happy to report that there is no end in sight!

John Stefanis

Rating: **** (4.0/5.0)

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