Amorphis
Circle
Nuclear Blast
2013
I was quite longing for this album cuz’ Amorphis used to be a very beloved band to me even from the mid-90s time. I can easily remember how I got the blue vinyl of “Tales…” back in the day and how impressed I was by this band. With “Elegy” their “evolution” took over and that meant the end of the brutal vocals and the heavier parts of the band. Not to be unfair, both “Elegy” & “Am Universum” were very good albums... even though the band changed after them.
To my surprise “Shades of Gray” which opens the album, has some “brutal vocals” and honestly I didn’t expect that at all. Sometimes you’ve gotta honor your roots if you wanna progress and come up with something tasteful. But is this the case here? Hmmm, unluckily not! I was hoping much after the first tune but no, not whatsoever. Expect for “Nightbird’s Song”, “Enchanted by the Moon” & “Dead Man’s Shoes” which they also feature some brutal vocals, the rest of the songs are moving in the band’s identical style. The problem here ain’t the brutal vocals… the album could have been better without them. It’s all about the melodies, the inspiration and the band’s creativity. Nothing has changed. The still have the very same music formula they followed in every album in the 00s. The production is awesome by the way.
To my surprise “Shades of Gray” which opens the album, has some “brutal vocals” and honestly I didn’t expect that at all. Sometimes you’ve gotta honor your roots if you wanna progress and come up with something tasteful. But is this the case here? Hmmm, unluckily not! I was hoping much after the first tune but no, not whatsoever. Expect for “Nightbird’s Song”, “Enchanted by the Moon” & “Dead Man’s Shoes” which they also feature some brutal vocals, the rest of the songs are moving in the band’s identical style. The problem here ain’t the brutal vocals… the album could have been better without them. It’s all about the melodies, the inspiration and the band’s creativity. Nothing has changed. The still have the very same music formula they followed in every album in the 00s. The production is awesome by the way.
“Circle” is not covering any new musical territories neither contains any tune that stands out. They are all OK more or less but I think they have remained exactly the same for too long and there’s no fun anymore… at least to my end. Sorry, but this is not the band’s best work as some fantasize; it is just a listenable album by a band that could have done things way better. It does contain a few fine tracks but that’s all.