After the release of Halo in 2022,
Amorphis returned with Borderland.
From the very first listen, it’s clear that the band
has refined its unique identity, blending melodic
death metal with progressive folk textures.
The result is an album that feels both mature,
with the wisdom of decades, and fresh,
with a strong openness to new ideas.
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The album opens with soaring melodies and
dense layers of guitars, while Tomi Joutsen’s vocals
shift seamlessly from warm, clean tones to
harsh growls. Tracks like The Circle and
Bones stand out with their memorable choruses,
supported by Esa Holopainen’s guitars and
Santeri Kallio’s keyboards, which create a
rich atmospheric backdrop.
Bones is riff-driven and ready to erupt in a
live setting, while Dancing Shadow brings a more
rhythmic and fluid flow. The Strange adds a darker,
more progressive twist to the record,
demonstrating the balance between
heaviness and melody that Amorphis
continues to master.
Opening with a misty atmosphere, Fog to Fog
evolves into a dark journey with layered guitars
and heavy, slow-paced drums. Light and Shadow,
on the other hand, thrives on contrast, weaving
between acoustic passages and heavy sections
to unite the band’s poetic and powerful sides.
Meanwhile, Tempest and The Lantern balance
cathedral-like expansiveness with introspective
moments. The title track Borderland serves
as the album’s emotional and dramatic centerpiece,
with production that renders the guitars sharp yet rich,
and the drums powerful without overwhelming the details.
The closing track, Despair, brings the
record to a ceremonial end, with slow-building arrangements and multi-layered
vocals leaving a majestic impression.
Borderland encapsulates Amorphis’s thirty-
plus-year journey without leaning on nostalgia,
standing as a shining late-career triumph
that proves the band remains determined
to explore new horizons.
