So am I going to take yet another piece of that Amorphis pie? Sure thing

Immunity can be important, we all know this, now more than ever.
I seem to become immune against Amorphis music over recent years.
While Under the Red Cloud put me in a quite heavy fever, Queen of Time left me a little unsettled, but rather mildly.
Their latest album was basically unable to touch me at all.
Now I wonder whether this is a favorable immunity or not -- and where it comes from, is it aging, was it those Covid vaccinations...?

Written by AndreMarcos on 12.02.2022 at 20:46

Another year, another amorphis album that goes right over my head. I really wish that i could experience this "masterpiece", as many of you do, but unfortunately for me i guess i just dont get amorphis music.
Well maybe next album, i'll finally get it ... or maybe it's just not for me.

Same here. I haven't felt anything listening to Amorphis since Silver Bride. And that was mostly because I got to learn about Kalevala...

Written by SebaRaven36 on 12.02.2022 at 15:57

This album is really tremendously solid, every song I found fantastic, these are the albums that never get boring and you always listen to them in their entirety.
highly recommended

Cuervo Raven, after +10 listens I can say the same. Incredible. I just hope everyone will find the patience to discover it's true value. Masterpiece.

I saw someone post a link somewhere to the Japanese bonus song, The River Song - I'm listening to it now and tbh I think it would've been a really interesting addition to the album

i realy like this one. i am not sure its better quen of time or not but i like it.

Listened a couple times so far and it is really good, but it does feel like a bit of a step down from Circle, Red Cloud and The Bee. Probably that "stripped down" sound they went for on this one doesn't sit as well with me. I'll definitely be giving it some more listens this week, so hopefully it's a grower like I keep hearing

Only one thing I really don't like on this one is clean vocals, it sounds way too clean...
However the music and growls sounds good and quite old school in may parts, I'd say

On my third spin so far
Oh, many songs sounds a bit same in some parts.

UPDATE: however it is a really good album!

OOookkk… so, after some spins, this is what I think about this album.

It's just fine, that's all. It's a solid Amorphis album, which is kinda good, since they're very consistent in it. They work like well oiled machine with almost the same lineup they started this band.
I fell into them with “Under The Red Cloud”, which for me is just perfect album (with Joutsen on vocals). “Queen of Time” was a kind of letdown for me. Sure, they experimented more with a sound, but – oh irony - QoT had this “cloudy” sound, in a wrong way. I got no idea how to explain it, but comparing to UtRC it's less sharp and shaped for me. So when they announced “Halo”, I had hopes. First single – ok. Second – a bit better. They abandoned oriental sounds from QoT and focused more on melodic instead. But…there's something missing here, and I am not really sure what is it.

Melodies? Yes, these are present, but I can't recall anything apart from the singles. Production? Good, as always. Songwriting – well, it was always good. But still, I feel like it's a bit pushed. Foremost, I thought that "Hey, they had a lot of time because of lockdowns, enough time to polish something!". Yet, they did something just good. Recently, we can see members activity in different bands. Sinhistra, Abhorrence, Silver lake. I have some kind of feeling, that they're trying to keep the momentum, but after all these years they simply can't. I am not saying that this is the end of the Amorphis, but I am afraid that this is the downhill for them right now. They will release a new album in a two or three years from now and this will be the deciding point. If it's gonna be "just ok", like this one, then, well - I'll miss them.

Great album from start to finish. These guys really know how to compose memorable songs \m/

Not quite Queen of Time, but it's very solid and enjoyable album.

I loved the Moon, definitely Amorphis pulled off as they always do releasing at least one song per album that absolutely bombs and pulls new listeners into their music.

Overall it's a good mix of old and new Amorphis but something is missing to hit home as some of the last albums have, still good just imo not as good as the last two albums.

Written by Muinaiset on 14.02.2022 at 03:37

Listened a couple times so far and it is really good, but it does feel like a bit of a step down from Circle, Red Cloud and The Bee. Probably that "stripped down" sound they went for on this one doesn't sit as well with me. I'll definitely be giving it some more listens this week, so hopefully it's a grower like I keep hearing

Agreed this is how I felt very much listening to it, wasn't quite hitting home but was good.

I've listened through enough now to get a better sense of the album and I've A/B'ed it with both UtRC and QoT and I think it holds its own against both. Where Halo really stands out is in the chemistry between Jan, Oppu, and Tomi K.. The rhythm work is top notch throughout and I feel the pulse of these songs more strongly. Jan is really dynamic and Tomi and Oppu lock in on different parts so the songs breathe. Oppu didn't have quite as much space in the last album with all of the orchestral bits and guest musicians filling the soundscape.

I also think the second half of the album is more consistent than QoT, which seemed to fall off a bit as it went on. Not sure if Halo equals UtRC, but it comes pretty close and I think the mix is better balanced for getting all of the contributions.

And it's damn good to get a Tomi K. contribution again. I missed his songwriting on QoT.

Amorphis with another banger of an album. 2018's "Queen of time" didn't quite do it for me , following the greatness of "Under the Red Cloud" from 2015.

"Halo" sees Amorphis firing on all cylinders and back in form. 2022 is off to a tremendous start for me with Saxon and Amorphis releases. This Album is a real grower and by my 4th listen I was completely won over.

Wonderful

Very good, bordering excellent, album. It is inferior to several post Eclipse albums, but has some very strong moments. The keys are a true strength--- presenting a variety of signature sounds featured by this band over the years. The final track (My Name Is Night) is fantastic. Amorphis are true professionals of consistent high quality.

Good, not great

This is an album that grows on you upon subsequent listens. I find myself enjoying this record more and more with each listen. Well worth the wait and another outstanding addition to the Amorphis catalog.

Not bad, but also not very good. Not a single memorable track for me.
Queen of Time is still their best album to date for me, with Under the Red Cloud a close second.

Grew on me a lot. It's pretty awesome. Nothing mind-blowing, and arguably the weakest of their last three records, but still great stuff. Amorphis are truly an incredible band. Still the best thing I've heard this year

I've always liked Amorphis, they've been one of my favorite metal bands that "normal metal people listen to," ie relatively accessible metal. They have great songwriting, but this album feels particularly meh to me. Nothing really stands out, it's safe, and well.... boring imo

Written by chomskeet on 11.03.2022 at 00:09

I've always liked Amorphis, they've been one of my favorite metal bands that "normal metal people listen to," ie relatively accessible metal. They have great songwriting, but this album feels particularly meh to me. Nothing really stands out, it's safe, and well.... boring imo

Right? It's just "correct", sounds like stripped down "Under The Red Cloud".

It's 7 or 8, not sure. Feels like they've been doing the same album in the last three records.

Under the Red Cloud - 9/10
Queen of Time - 8/10
Halo - 7/10
I prefer not to expect another album from Amorphis in this fashion. Let them take more time and find another masterpiece like UTRC. I wouldn't say Halo is a bad album but surely it did not grow on me as expected.

The previous three albums from Amorphis has been absolutely stellar, so it seems that a miss was rather inevitable. Well, Amorphis doesn't really do that. Instead, we got album which is more comparable to "Beginning of Times" than their previous 3 releases. It's really good music, the writing is great, performance is top notch and the production is better than ever. However, this album is a victim of the bands own success and unfortunately its not as strong or unique as many of their previous releases. The album fails to really establish a strong standout track and the further you get into the album the more it feels like you've heard everything before from the band. As a result, the back-half of the album can feel much weaker than the front half.

Hightlights: On The Dark Waters, The Moon, Seven Roads Come Together, The Wolf

Written by metalbrat on 21.03.2022 at 17:18

Under the Red Cloud - 9/10
Queen of Time - 8/10
Halo - 7/10
I prefer not to expect another album from Amorphis in this fashion. Let them take more time and find another masterpiece like UTRC. I wouldn't say Halo is a bad album but surely it did not grow on me as expected.

Precisely!

A mediocre effort from a good band. Poorly composed, with little thought into what ideas to include and how long to dwell on them. A collection of B-sides that haven't made it on past records?

Shortly put Amorphis's Halo lacks balance. Too many unconnected (by key perhaps, though they change it too often) themes thrown into the bunch.
The themes don't seem last long enough and are abandoned mid-flight for a new idea. It's a frustrating listen when a theme you have been about to unravel is lost for something else unconnected.

Take the opening theme from track one. It sort of develops into a guitar sounding theme. Then comes the disappointment when an utterly unconnected part comes in.
Take the Therion-like choir in the same track. It's a surprise to hear those, but how long does Amorphis dwell on it? There are many other examples of not doing justice to a good theme.

In contrast, the themes that Amorphis chooses to reprise are typical Amorphis grade and nothing short of unmemorable.

The new elements they include aren't exactly new either, reminiscent of 1970s inspired prog; mellotron, high's eq'ed, compressed vocals sung over what sounds like phone, Opeth-esque arpeggios etc. Whenever a band does a teaser of new ideas on their albums, I keep asking myself if they do so for the sake of testing their fans or genuinely want those.

Plagued by too many key changes in one song, Halo suffers from overuse of very cliched harmonic minor scale runs several times. This is the thing you do when good musicians, progressively inclined, can't come up with a better way to connect two parts (speaking as an amateur that recognises some elements here and there) but wouldn't we expect more from a band like Amorphis?

Nothing on this album feels memorable. Overall, it feels like a commercial effort suited to fit the tastes of progressive music fans looking to hear the usual scale runs, the usual key changes.

I have enjoyed their previous albums, some less some more, but this is the epitome of what is wrong with cliched progressive music. Queen of Time was more balanced and less cliched.

Pursing this direction runs the risk of being put on the spot and cliches pointed out.

A great commercial progressive album. Its fans will enjoy it but haven't we heard all this before on better composed efforts?
To me, Halo just feels like this is their bet where the money is nowadays. Perhaps in an era of social media and a plague of short attention span one way to get their listener's wallets is to pursue incessant key theme changes, coupled with other progressive cliches? Sprinkle that with a few new ideas and make sure not to dwell on any? I wonder if it will really earn Amorphis more spins (or rather track plays) in the streaming services.

I don't suppose this album will enjoy too many spins after the novelty runs out. It feels a bit like a disposable effort, perhaps in fitting with the times. Or assuming it's catered to a wealthier audience that enjoys a poorly planned composition, disguised as a progressive album?

Or maybe I'm wrong, this is the best effort you get when people don't rehearse too much (or not at all, and then do poor composition in the studio) to filter out ideas that just don't work in the long run on a record?

I personally admire bands that have the guts to disband, or cease to release new albums, or its members go on to form new projects when they have nothing new to offer or their music isn't genuine but merely commercially driven. The same can be said of bands with label commitments like a release schedule, which runs on the opposite end of artistry. Releasing albums fairly regularly as a way to earn a living for a band like Amorphis may work but seems a bit dubious to me; one the one hand you may have talent, but on the other, you may get stuck in uninspired craftsmanship, which may lead one to release it quickly but without the initial flair in their song writing that bands start off with. It well be where Amorphis are with this album these days.

For a band like Amorphis, despite its professional production, this album earns a 4 (BAD) from me, in recognition of their potential to do more.

I am a big fan of Amorphis for decades now and this is the first time I actually dislike an album of them. This is a band that managed to extent their sound (and on purpose I avoid the word "evolve") with success until now. They managed to fit different elements in a melodeath/folk basis creating a trademark sound that changed between albums. The reason this was successful was the songwriting. The great melodies and the simple yet effective song compositions. I stand on this because "Halo" was the first album that it was poorly composed. For the professional standards of a 30 year old band this is strange and we need to stand on it. I am really afraid for the future...