Album Review: Amorphis - Halo

For as much as we talk about how things haven't changed much at all over the last twenty years, there are a few places where it absolutely has. In recent years, the wave of bands who were mixing death metal and clean singing has faded away. Some of them have slowed down, while others have abandoned one side of their initial mix, and the new bands replacing them sound much more modern. So when we're talking about the classic brand of the sound, we should be thankful Amorphis is still doing their thing, since they not only have done it as well as anyone, but they are also the classiest of them all. Their recent output has been a mature and nuanced sound that mines both death metal and prog, building something quite interesting.

I was rather fond of "Under The Red Cloud", but I was mildly disappointed "Queen Of Time" tilted a bit in a direction I didn't particularly want to go. It was expertly done, I won't deny, but I came into this album hoping for something that would lean a bit more into the somber beauty of their sound.

Finishing the trilogy with those albums I just mentioned, "Halo" strips the production back a bit for a rougher, more aggressive sound. The guitars buzz with hints of the original Swedish death metal tone, giving the album a nervous energy that smears a layer of makeup over the most beautiful moments in the songs. Compared to the previous records, this one comes across colder, dirtier, and a bit more alive because of it.

"On The Dark Water" is everything great about Amorphis, blending harsh death metal verses with a propulsive chorus that serves as the light casting that darkness, much as the album cover is a clash of those two sides. In both cases, they come together to highlight the strengths of each side, knowing they are more effective for having the other. The sweeping melody of "The Moon" is beautiful, and it hits harder coming out of death metal sections that sound like old Edge Of Sanity. Tomi Joutsen's vocal cords have to open up to make that shift, and that mirrors the song itself. It's fantastic stuff, and no one else in music is doing this style better than Amorphis, when they hit their marks. "The Moon" is so good, it could easily end up one of the best songs of the year.

About hitting those marks; after those two standout tracks, you might think the rest of the album can't measure up. That was my impression on my first listen, but I absorbed more and more of the songs with each pass through them. The singles are the immediate songs that grab your attention, and the rest of the album requires a bit more patience to fully unfurl. When it does, you realize the benefits of patience, as the album develops layers that pay off in different ways.

Even if the album never again reaches the heights of it's opening salvo, by the time "Seven Roads Come Together" and "War" arrive, the record has settled into a comfortable groove. The band doesn't push the boundaries as much, but they deliver song after song that do exactly what they need to. If I thought "Queen Of Time" sometimes veered a bit too far from their melodic strengths, "Halo" pulls the wheel back to the center, and has the band pointed straight ahead.

"Halo" is the album I wanted Amorphis to make, the album that finds the right balance between the light and dark, the angry and emotional, the ugly and beautiful. Amorphis are as respected as anyone, and an album like this explains why. Amorphis are still at the top of their game, and "Halo" is as good as they get. We have our first true contender to be the album of the year.