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Amorphis - Queen Of Time



8.7 | 920 votes |
Release date: 18 May 2018
Style: Melodic death metal, Folk metal, Progressive metal

Owners:

520 have it
68 want it


01. The Bee
02. Message In The Amber
03. Daughter Of Hate
04. The Golden Elk
05. Wrong Direction
06. Heart Of The Giant
07. We Accursed
08. Grain Of Sand
09. Amongst Stars
10. Pyres On The Coast
11. As Mountains Crumble [bonus]
12. Brother And Sister [bonus]
13. Honeyflow [Japanese bonus]

Top 20 albums of 2018: 1
Top 200 albums of all time: 175
Featured in "Getting Into: Amorphis"

Line-up
Tomi Joutsen - vocals
Santeri Kallio - keyboards
Tomi Koivusaari - guitars
Esa Holopainen - guitars
Jan Rechberger - drums
Olli-Pekka Laine - bass

Session musicians
Matteo Sisti - whistles
Francesco Ferrini - orchestration
Christian Glanzmann - flutes, whistles
Hellscore Choir - choir
The Orphaned Land String Orchestra - orchestra

Guest musicians
Anneke Van Giersbergen - vocals (track 9)
Albert Kuvezin - vocals (track 1)
Noa Gruman - vocals (tracks 1, 2, 4)
René Merkelbach - vocals (track 9)
Pekka Kainulainen - spoken word (track 3)
Jørgen Munkeby - saxophone (track 3)
Affif Merhej - oud (track 4)
André Alvinzi - keyboards (track 1)
Pekko Käppi - jouhikko (track 13)
Akira Takasaki - guitars (track 13)

Additional info
Produced, recorded and mixed by Jens Borgen at Fascination Street Studios during Winter 2017/18.
Mastered by Tony Lindgren at Fascination Street Studios.
Grand piano and hammond organ recorded at Finnvox Studios.
Church organ recorded at Church of Paavali.
Choirs recorded at Bardo Studios.
Additional percussion, fretless bass, vocal doublings and narration recorded at Moon Unit Studios.
Choirs by Hellscore Choir and orchestra by The Orphaned Land String Orchestra.

Staff review by
ScreamingSteelUS
Rating:
9.0
I love it when an album's intro makes me think I'm about to witness the third season of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.

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published 13.05.2018 | Comments (25)

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Comments

Comments: 87   [ 1 ignored ]   Visited by: 2004 users
22.02.2018 - 18:23
Rating: 10
3rdWorld
China was a neat
First time I am not liking a Metastazis' cover. Its not likeable in so many ways.
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23.02.2018 - 17:25
Written by 3rdWorld on 22.02.2018 at 18:23

First time I am not liking a Metastazis' cover. Its not likeable in so many ways.

It looks a little clichee tbh, especially the skull silhouette. But I still dig it. Lots of great cover artwork lately.
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24.02.2018 - 21:45
Rating: 8
musclassia
Staff
I know what my most anticipated album of the year is (unless Tool finally get their shit together)
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01.03.2018 - 13:15
Rating: 10
Therapy?
Yeahsss so stoked for this. Under The Red Cloud was a masterpiece!
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23.03.2018 - 18:05
Rating: 8
CobiWan1993
Secundum Filium
Looking forward to this new album! Love Amorphis.
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Ordinary men hate solitude. But the Master makes use of it, embracing his aloneness, realizing he is one with the whole universe (Lao Tzu).
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11.04.2018 - 05:29
imabigpotato
Hopefully it lives up to the hype!
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14.04.2018 - 20:43
Rating: 9
Passenger
Lost To Apathy
NOT THE BEES! How can these guys make everything sound metal and grand? First song is the most impressive thing I've heard this year so far!
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You don't make up for your sins in church. You do it in the streets. You do it at home. The rest is bullshit and you know it ~ Mean Streets
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16.05.2018 - 10:26
Rating: 9
Risto
Wandering Midget
Most progressive album of the Joutsen era, period. The orchestral elements and choirs are occasionally boldly on top of everything but they definitely didn't overdo it. Helps establish the album's distinct identity compared to their back catalog, alongside the intriguing song structures overall. Prepare for a pleasantly bumpy ride.

The singles are singles for a reason, but both are still very solid tracks. One small complaint for me is that Wrong Direction could work a bit better at a different spot.
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16.05.2018 - 18:47
Rating: 9
Rubitoooo
Written by Risto on 16.05.2018 at 10:26

One small complaint for me is that Wrong Direction could work a bit better at a different spot.

Yup, the things lacking in this song, I think they did it well in all the other tracks
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Album Release day (May 18, 2018)
18.05.2018 - 10:05
tiny dog ghosts
Oh my god it's so fucking good. I can't believe they topped Red Cloud
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18.05.2018 - 10:08
Third and last track have clear similarities with Tales, we accursed with elegy, as other solos. Amazing album quite different then Under the red cloud, maybe more progressive and complex, all in all a piece of art.
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18.05.2018 - 13:15
Rating: 8
musclassia
Staff
Not sure I've enjoyed a new release this much since Under The Red Cloud (well, maybe Mariner perhaps). Pretty much what I was hoping for - a continuation of their established sound with additional new elements or tweaks to their approach to distinguish from past records. The orchestral and choral elements add a new flavour to some of the songs, and the slightly proggier approach lets these songs offer something new. Looking forward to getting more acquainted with these songs
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18.05.2018 - 13:45
Rating: 8
For me the album is overproduced. Too much choirs, too much orchestras. Too much bombast, like Blind Guardian did on later albums.
Why i give nevertheless 8 points? Because it is still a good album of excellent musicians that i enjoy. Still some very good songs on it, but some weaker too.
But overall less bombast would have been better for the album.
It can absolutely not hold the very high level of "Under The Red Cloud" and for me it is a weaker album in the Tomi Joutsen-vocal-era.

Really good metal album, but Amorphis were better many times...
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18.05.2018 - 14:03
Rating: 9
Sword_Chant
Well, I really enjoyed Under The Red Cloud to the point it was 10/10 throughout. Imo I don't think this matches it in terms of how 'big' and epic of an album as that sounded, but this is only thoughts on my first listen and maybe this one is a grower. I personally feel the middle part dips a little and there are more filler parts in this album to UTRC, but QoT still has many epic segments. Take song 1 and 2 for example, as standalone songs they are fantastic, and the album tbh goes off to an epic start. But then I feel the rest of the album isn't quite up to par with songs 1-3. It's still a very strong album though, one of the best of 2018 for sure.
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18.05.2018 - 15:26
Rating: 10
jfAkerfeldt
They exceeded their previous album ... incredible album. Sounds really good. It has very Prog, Folk, heavy passages ... amazing... I believe this album going to one of best 2018 albums.
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18.05.2018 - 15:29
Rating: 10
jfAkerfeldt
Pyres on the coast is F*cking amazing song. I returned to Tales from the thousand lakes, Elegy era.
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18.05.2018 - 15:55
Rating: 8
musclassia
Staff
Written by Sword_Chant on 18.05.2018 at 14:03

Well, I really enjoyed Under The Red Cloud to the point it was 10/10 throughout. Imo I don't think this matches it in terms of how 'big' and epic of an album as that sounded, but this is only thoughts on my first listen and maybe this one is a grower. I personally feel the middle part dips a little and there are more filler parts in this album to UTRC, but QoT still has many epic segments. Take song 1 and 2 for example, as standalone songs they are fantastic, and the album tbh goes off to an epic start. But then I feel the rest of the album isn't quite up to par with songs 1-3. It's still a very strong album though, one of the best of 2018 for sure.

Yeah, it might take some time to grow, but it's not as immediately astounding as UTRC was, but that album was pretty spectacular. I didn't find this quite as gripping throughout as that one, but I still found a lot to love on first listen, and I suspect with its proggier approach, my opinion may grow once I'm more acquiated with all the songs. As far as Joutsen albums go, I imagine UTRC and TBOT will still be at the top and bottom of my list of preference, but this one can battle with the other 4 for the middle spots
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18.05.2018 - 16:58
Rating: 6
Metren
Dreadrealm
Just Amorphis being Amorphis, so a pretty damn good album, but nothing mindblowing. Better than most of the Joutsen-era albums to be sure, but not quite on UTRC level, that album I felt was an 8/10. I also agree with those that think the orchestrations and choirs don't add anything of value to their sound.
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My one-man project's Bandcamp with free downloads: https://dreadrealm.bandcamp.com/
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18.05.2018 - 20:47
Rating: 8
iMorphball
Haven't fully digested it yet as I've only listened once, but damn this is an excellent album. Didn't dislike a single song. I feel like it might be a tad too long though, but that might just be my short attention span.
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18.05.2018 - 22:42
Rating: 7
FYA
Destroyer
Written by Metren on 18.05.2018 at 16:58

Just Amorphis being Amorphis, so a pretty damn good album, but nothing mindblowing. Better than most of the Joutsen-era albums to be sure, but not quite on UTRC level, that album I felt was an 8/10. I also agree with those that think the orchestrations and choirs don't add anything of value to their sound.

This sums up my opinion on it. Album is well produced, some songs are catchy (but I don't really know what they did to Annekes vocals) but unfortunately, it's not as 'huge' as Red Cloud. Enjoyable.
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19.05.2018 - 00:26
Rating: 9
poison-evie
This album is definitely AOTY worthy. I don't think any previous or upcoming album releases from their peers will come close to Queen Of Time for me. I wasn't sure if I wanted to buy this album, but as soon as I heard Amongst Stars, I smashed that BUY button on nuclear blast and ordered the shirt + CD + poster bundle. In the meantime, I'll have to make due with Spotify's sub par audio quality until my package arrives...And will continue to play the shit out of this album on the app because it's just so damn good <3
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19.05.2018 - 01:17
Rating: 9
fenchik
Another masterpiece...as usual!!!
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19.05.2018 - 02:22
Rating: 9
phanto
Could very well be their best album. Still growing on me, still finding new things.
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19.05.2018 - 19:05
Rating: 8
MeatWolf
The album is very good but still feels like the weakest link in Joutsen era chain. Two issues, 1) the production with extremely weak guitars and underwhelmingly low in the mix growls 2) the overall way too dancy/buoyant mood contrary to epic, grand and lofty mythological mood of every previous record at least ever since Eclipse. Still Amorphis is one of a kind music and the musicianship/songwriting level here is extremely high to give this record dozens of spins.
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20.05.2018 - 05:11
Rating: 9
Tuonelan
Think it took a little over a month before I was familiar enough with UTRC to compare it to Skyforger head to head. Plan on giving this one that long as well before rendering judgment. It deserves to be met on its own terms and not just on reacting to first impressions of the new elements.

I'm not in any way disappointed by this album. It's giving me no reasons to doubt one of my favorite bands. Just not ready to weigh it against any of the other Joutsen era albums.
----
For ages we have wandered
Under the wings of deception
Too long have we been waiting
For the long winter to end
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20.05.2018 - 09:23
Rating: 10
Cassian
I had thought they could not get any better than Under The Red Cloud. And they proved me wrong. I was so wrong.
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20.05.2018 - 19:21
Some jerks rating this album below 5... Great way to promote metal... A magnificent album, that maybe will give inspiration for the new generations, so rare this days, and the fuckers trying to ruin it.
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20.05.2018 - 19:54
Rating: 9
Risto
Wandering Midget
Written by TeodorescuTraian on 20.05.2018 at 19:21

Some jerks rating this album below 5... Great way to promote metal... A magnificent album, that maybe will give inspiration for the new generations, so rare this days, and the fuckers trying to ruin it.

Just keep in mind this site will deal with rating wars, be it blatant 1's or 10's.
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20.05.2018 - 21:10
Rating: 9
WorpeX
Made of Metal
There is only one band that I go out of my way to make sure I get the album on release week for, and its Amorphis. Yet again, they don't disappoint me! I'm absolutely loving Message in Amber right now but there isn't one song I don't like on this record.
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21.05.2018 - 04:35
Rating: 8
DeathMetal
Pretty gooooood.
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