Few bands in the Metal realm have achieved the very difficult task of creating a distinctive and unique sound, whilst mixing and matching a big list of sounds and musical influences in their music. Amorphis is one of those few bands. With a style that is famously hard to pin down to a single subgenre, the band has successfully crafted a sound that is obviously theirs, even if Death, Melo-Death, Prog, Power, Folk, Gothic, or even Classic Heavy Metal elements are present in most of their songs to some degree. This has made them one of the most captivating and original bands for more than 30 years now. They are the true kings of what I like to simple call ‘Melodic Metal’, and they have been one of my favourite bands for a while now. Before today, I had seen them live twice, but not for a long while, so I was very excited to catch their Sydney set.
Liberty Hall was an interesting choice for a venue. I have a love/hate relationship with it. I always feel it a bit too soulless and cold (literally freezing), but at the same time, every band I have seen there, has had an amazing sound. I arrived early to catch the only support band of the night, who were Melbourne’s very own The Eternal. I had never listened to this band till last week, and I was positively surprised with their stuff. It is literally up my alley in almost every way. At exactly 7.50 pm they popped up on stage and delivered a super solid and surprisingly long (50 min) set that left me wondering how I had never heard of these guys before. They came onstage with an ominous and atmospheric intro, that quickly turned into a chunky and proper heavy song, with frontman and axeman Mark’s soothing vocals joining in soon after. Immediately I noticed how good these guys were at creating catchy melodies and beautiful atmospheres, and that quality remained a constant throughout their set. Their 2nd song had a clear Gothic Rock vibe that reminded me of those early 2000’s Finnish bands like To/Die/For or Charon. Great stuff all round again. This band has released 8 albums, and they’ve been around for some 20 years, and it shows, because every song they played showed a masterful degree of song-writing ability and musical skill that left many of us astounded. Great melodies everywhere, thick atmospheres, tasteful guitar leads and fantastic vocal duties were the norm for The Eternal’s full set. Special mention goes to their 3rd last song, a long and epic song that took us in many different directions, and felt like a true sonic journey (in the most positive of ways). From crushingly heavy riffs, to soaring choruses, to amazing solos. My favourite track of their set for sure. The Eternal proved to be a fantastic choice to open the night.
After a swift changeover, the lights went out at Liberty Hall, and the first notes of Amorphis’ music became evident. The band emerged in a roar with the fantastic ‘Bones’, one of the singles of their new album ‘Borderland’. This song is a great set-opener, crushing riffs and Tomi Joutsen’s insanely good gutturals thrown into our faces from the first few seconds, and one of the band’s most memorable and earwormy choruses from recent albums. From the 1st song, it was evident that Amorphis are still in prime shape, releasing quality material and touring everywhere. Another new song – ‘Light and Shadow’ – followed, with its Power Metal-influenced leads, and then some of those syncopated clean guitar riffs that have now become one of the band’s most characteristic sounds. This song is great too, and is one of those rare cases where I find the verses to be more catchy than the chorus. Opening with 2 new songs is a bit of a challenge, and they pulled it off successfully, but we all knew that some fan-service was due as well. This came in the shape of ‘Silver Bride’, one of the band’s most cherished and popular songs, and ‘Wrong Direction’ another one of those that have quickly become ‘new classics’ for the band. After that, we were treated to one of the band’s heaviest and fastest songs with ‘Death of a King’, one that makes use of a lot of phrygian scales and eastern-sounding elements, which has also become a staple in several of Amorphis’ songs. After ‘Fog to Fog’, the band went proper old-school, bringing some of their early 90s classics in the shape of ‘The Castaway’. Back then, the band sounded different, with a more classic Death-Doom sound, one that many old-school fans still miss, but that thankfully the band doesn’t forget in their concerts. Some other newer classics like ‘Sampo’, or ‘The Moon’ followed, and they were fantastic. Especially ‘The Moon’, with it Prog-infused melodies, intricate rhythms, and massive chorus. Amorphis really feels at home playing these type of songs.
I want to make a special emphasis on how amazing of a singer Tomi Joutsen is. I honestly consider him the best Metal singers active today. His cleans are majestic and beautiful, and his gutturals are crushing and full-bodied, but his ability to switch between both styles in a split second is truly admirable. The last time I saw him live some 15 years ago, he still had those body-length dreadlocks, and although he is in this 50s now, the man still moves like a madman and sings like an angel. All the band are amazing musicians and great songwriters, but I cannot deny I’m a Tomi fanboy.
Towards the end of their set, the band played their immortal classic (and one of the most well-respected Metal songs ever) ‘Black Winter Day’, from their fantastic 1994 ‘Tales from the Thousand Lakes’ album. This song is nothing short of a classic, and the fans know it. Everybody was totally engaged with the band while it was being played. The mood changed swiftly to ‘Dancing Shadow’, another new song that feels more jolly. ‘House of Sleep’ then came along, with its 2000’s Gothic Rock vibes, and had everybody smiling and singing along those infectious chorus lines. Recently I’ve seen a few bands drop the social convention of the ‘Encore’ in their shows, but Amorphis still honours it. They left the stage for a couple of minutes while the music-thirsty crowd called for more, when the long and ominous intro of ‘The Bee’ started playing. I know this song was their opening song for ages, and it is easy to see why. The intro is perfect for the band to slowly emerge onstage, as the backing music slowly gets more and more intense, until is finishes its crescendo and the full band explodes in the insanely good riff that gives ‘The Bee’ its identity and strength. This is definitely one of my favourite songs from them, and it is a perfect example of what modern Amorphis sounds like. From the deep growls, to the Prog-infused riffs, to the anthemic chorus and the beautiful instrumental passages.
After a very solid 90 minute set, Amorphis left the stage, leaving us wanting even more, but eager to see them return to our shores sooner rather than later. Last night, Amorphis gave a masterclass in Melodic Metal, and left solid evidence as to why they are still one of the most respected bands in the Metal circuit, releasing quality album after quality album.
written by Roman Ibarra & Photos by Daniel Farr – Farski Photography
Amorphis
The Eternal
