Band:	Amorphis
Album:	Circle
Style:	Melodic death metal, Folk metal, Progressive metal
Release date:	April 2013

01. Shades Of Gray
02. Mission
03. The Wanderer
04. Narrow Path
05. Hopeless Days
06. Nightbird's Song
07. Into The Abyss
08. Enchanted By The Moon
09. A New Day
10. Dead Man's Dream [Box set bonus] [American Deluxe Edition Bonus]
11. New Song [Japanese bonus]
12. My Future [Vinyl bonus]

[American Deluxe Edition Bonus DVD]
01. The Making Of "Circle"
02. Nightbird's Song [video]

Finland's Amorphis have mutated from a cherished 90s death/doom act into a new wave of heavy metal type of phenomenon in the early 2000s. Having successfully redefined their sound with albums such as Eclipse and Silent Waters, the band journeyed through time with two more releases made of the same cloth with Skyforger and The Beginning of Times. Now facing the challenge to either continue on the same path or deviate to a different sound, will the band make the right decision? All the answers can be found in the release of one of this year's most anticipated albums entitled Circle.

As usual their music is a nice convergence of styles, which encompasses elements of folk, doom, black, you name it. But despite borrowing from diversified sources, the core of their sound remains heavy metal. In a world that is all shades of grey, the band followed a narrow path to success. The mission was to not fall into the abyss of oblivion. If you ask me, mission accomplished. Sure, these songs are essentially more pumped-up versions of what Amorphis has been putting out there for the last few years. They harbor darker melodies and overall more growls than we are used to from Tomi Joutsen. However the rest is pretty much more of the same.

But when all is said and done, Circle is a more rounded album than both its predecessors. It feels more like the proud inheritor of Silent Waters without being its twin. The killer songs nicely fall into place right in the middle of the album, which manage to give the whole experience a second life when one thinks nothing more exciting is going to happen.

Now the various editions available are confusing as hell in terms of bonus tracks. My favorite one is "Illusion", which features a nice hint of a throwback to the 70s tone not dissimilar to what Spiritual Beggars have been bringing to the table.

Circle is not that much different from what Amorphis have being doing for the last decade or so. Yet even after the original excitement has waned, I still find myself going back to this album for more. It is definitely a step in the right direction they managed to take without overhauling their sound.