Amorphis - Queen Of Time - review
Amorphis - Queen Of Time - review
Tracklist
01. The Bee02. 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]
A review by
ScreamingSteelUS May 13, 2018
Chief among Amorphis's many strengths in songwriting is the maturity of their sound. The blend of light and dark elements, the surge of power without pretension, the crystal-clear melodies, Tomi Joutsen's clarion vocals, the tasteful assimilation of instrumentation and cues from disparate genres - all facets of Amorphis bow towards the light of that which is seemly and beautiful. The complex compositional edifice never nullifies the basic heavy spirit, while the striking guitar riffs and guttural growls never overpower the lush, vivacious melodies; Queen Of Time sounds both fresh and familiar, both serene and electrifying.
Joutsen's folk-singer cleans and the driving rhythms keep the album grounded; the adventurous melodies, whether delivered by flute, saxophone, full orchestra and choir, or conventional lead guitars on an unpredictable streak, bring to Queen Of Time the same inexhaustible wellspring of progressively flavored folk metal, drawing on traditions of the East and West alike, that has fueled much of Amorphis's output this century. "Heart Of The Giant" satisfies the Orphaned Land requirement with its Middle Eastern spirit and energetic groove, followed by the distinctly Finnish "We Accursed"; the repeating riff in "Daughter Of Hate," the flutes of "Message In The Amber," and the lofty chorus of "The Bee" are catchy enough to stick in my head even when I've forgotten my own name.
"Amongst Stars," with its demulcent array of flutes and whistles and the eternally effervescent Anneke van Giersbergen providing guest vocals, makes a strong case for being the album's high point, but with "Daughter Of Hate," "The Bee," and "Heart Of The Giant," it's so difficult to choose just one favorite. It's something of a moot point anyway; who in their right mind would skip a single track on an Amorphis album? By and large, it seems that Queen Of Time follows Under The Red Cloud pound-for-pound. Personally, I'd even rate Queen Of Time just a cut above, but this, too, is a moot point; who in their right mind would skip a single album in Amorphis's discography? After a certain point, I mean.
Chrigel Glanzmann's contributions are even stronger than on Under The Red Cloud, and now Jørgen Munkeby joins the roster of guests with his extraordinarily in-demand saxophone, as well as several guest vocalists. This sound will capture the hearts of everyone who has been following Amorphis closely for the last decade; Queen Of Time is merely one more stunning installment in the seemingly endless victory lap these guys have found themselves in. I feel better about my life when I listen to this album.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 10 |
| Songwriting: | 9 |
| Originality: | 8 |
| Production: | 8 |
Written on 13.05.2018 by
Written on 13.05.2018 by
I enjoy music. Comments
Comments:
25
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Posts: 8702
Eclipse to Under The Red Cloud is a serious contender for the longest yet most consistently satisfying streak of releases I can think of, with UTRC arguably being a late career highpoint. This review is exactly the kind of eager enthusiasm I was hoping for
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Posts: 9126
What nikarg and musclassia said, really. On an unrelated subject Quote: Well, I've got that one for you. Not sure you're into EBM or not, but this copter sound...
---- My Author's Blog (in French)  "You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you" "I've lost too many years now I'm stealing back my soul I am awake"
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Posts: 6711 Written by Darkside Momo on 14.05.2018 at 03:19 It's a bit outside my usual tastes, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't make me want to start singing in Russian, English, and Latin simultaneously.
---- "Earth is small and I hate it" - Lum Invader I'm the Agent of Steel.
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Posts: 9126 Written by ScreamingSteelUS on 14.05.2018 at 04:03 I have the exact same feeling indeed 
---- My Author's Blog (in French) "You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you" "I've lost too many years now I'm stealing back my soul I am awake"
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Posts: 827 Written by nikarg on 14.05.2018 at 04:42 It's not even a thesis, it's a fact.
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Posts: 249
Fuck yeah  , grabbing my copy this Friday!
---- Life is all the pain we endeavour.
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Posts: 48  |
Posts: 48
Another well written review. Thanks for the contribution! I really look forward to listening to Queen Of Time on release day!!! <3
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Posts: 64543
Nice emotional reviev, almost as derroz style, I like it, maybe your best
---- I stand whit Ukraine and Israel. They have right to defend own citizens. Stormtroopers of Death - "Speak English or Die"  I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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Posts: 1208
On my search to add more bands to my favourite list I'm currently giving this album a try now that The Bee is constantly hauting me !  Not quite a coup de coeur yet. Well I left Amorphis a long time ago with Tuonela, but I really want to love this band again. :p
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Posts: 141
The Bee is such a great track. That misdirection with the opening was genius.
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Posts: 9126 Written by s_t_s on 16.05.2018 at 22:28 Well, consider that each album they released with Tomi Joutsen isat least as good as Elegy 
---- My Author's Blog (in French) "You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you" "I've lost too many years now I'm stealing back my soul I am awake"
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Posts: 1208
Will keep on listening but seemingly they went their way successfully since I left them by the side of the road.
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Posts: 48  |
Posts: 48
Just purchased the album in FLAC 48/24 format. I haven't been able to listen through the entire album, but so far, so good. I'll add more after a few good listens. In my opinion, Amorphis is one of the most consistently outstanding bands of the day, and this release so far seems to be following that trend. Interestingly, since I've had this album, I've listed to it almost every day. It has that sound that makes me keep coming back. I've listed through the entirety of the album trying to identify the great from the good tracks, but as I listen, I find that I really like all of the tracks. My favorites are the first five, especially, Daughter of Hate. That's an absolutely superb song. The Golden Elk is also excellent. But not a single "throw away" track. I'll be listening to this one for years to come. Take a listen in high resolution audio with high res headphones. It adds a whole new dimension to the album.
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Posts: 673
A passionate opinion with genuine merit. I too have been enamoured by this band since Eclipse. I may be compelled to tick that production rating up by 1 Santeri Kallio on keyboards is a true hero of this band. Imagine their sound over the past 20 years without him. Damn!
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Posts: 241
I have listened to about half of it on YouTube while waiting impatiently for my CD to arrive... I love it. It's not as good a Red Cloud, but it's damn close...and I may yet change my opinion. There was some discussion a while (2015) back about making a lifetime achievement award. I think this is both deserved and appropriate for Amorphis. They may actually be the greatest band in existence (in my oh-so-humble opinion).
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"I feel better about my life when I listen to this album" as well. Probably their best release with Tomi Joutsen.
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Is it possible for this band to sound even better with each album? This is a motherfucking masterpiece. I rated it at 10 and it's just my first listening....I can become even more fixated onto it trough the next ones. It's very likely, this one is gonna continue playing loud on my ears all the way to 2019 I "wish" I had something negative to say about Queen of Time. Only thing that comes to my mind is: How are they ever going to surpass this one? Then again, "Under a Red Cloud" was the previous one....and they did it even better this time.
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Posts: 94  |
Posts: 94
Im glad they went to Örebro, Sweden for their previous album and got pushed by producer Jens Bogren to finally go more aggressive and go with more growling vocals. This is even better than Under the Red Cloud and their best since Tales From The Thousand Lakes. Everything inbetween is just way too "rock-y" for me.
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