In 2015, the Finnish national treasure, AMORPHIS, released an album that I picked up at the record store simply because of its cover art. Okay, I was quite familiar with the band’s music already, having been so since the mid-1990s or so. However, I usually check out the music first, even from my favorite bands, before opting to purchase an album. The cover art for this beautiful beast, “Under the Red Cloud,” released on September 4, 2015, via Nuclear Blast, oozes the National Romantic feel, or Karelianism, typically associated with Finnish painters such as Akseli Gallen-Kallela and others. What makes it even more remarkable is the fact that the cover art doesn’t even depict anything in particular, but is rather comprised of somewhat arabesque ornaments. Of course, given the band’s affinity with the Finnish national epic, Kalevala, this artwork prompted me almost immediately to reflect on the band’s 1990s grandeur – y’know, “Tales from the Thousand Lakes” (1994), “Elegy” (1996), and “My Kantele” (1997). It was a no-brainer to grab this gem and head for the checkout without so much as an afterthought – and I was not disappointed. While this album does take on where the previous album “Circle” (2013) left off, it does cast more than a few sideways glances into the band’s glorious past, too. The band’s trademark melodicism and melancholy are pretty much intact, despite the album’s slightly heavier approach. After even a preliminary spin with the album, you will soon notice that this selection sounds pleasantly familiar, if you are in any way acquainted with the band’s music, yet it unfolds to be a richly nuanced affair just as well. “Under the Red Cloud” was also the first part of a trilogy, with the complementary installments, “Queen of Time” (2018) and “Halo” (2022), adding exciting new chapters to the band’s mythology (not based on Kalevala this time, though).
As the title track opens the album with a piano motif that harkens back to some of those folk-inspired AMORPHIS classics from the 1990s, you know right away that this is going to be a good journey. The band went through a “prog enlightenment” of sorts quite early on in their career, with Finnish bands such as the folk legends, PIIRPAUKE, and the psychedelic juggernaut, KINGSTON WALL, providing ample inspiration, and it has surely cast a long and beautiful shadow over their discography. You can spot traces of these on this endeavor, too. The notes of oriental psychedelia are most prominent in the single, “Death of a King,” which features folksy flutes and whistles, courtesy of Chrigel Glanzmann of ELUVEITIE, as well as ex-OPETH and current SOEN drummer Martin Lopez on percussion. “Enemy at the Gates” is another song boasting delicious Middle-Eastern vibes. Folk influences are scattered more evenly over the selection, although “The Skull” comes off as a particularly enchanting affair with its leanings toward the band’s “Elegy” era sound.
It would be a cliché to say that AMORPHIS had aged like fine wine up to this point, because, let’s be honest about it, they hadn’t. The band’s songwriting had evolved to a level of consistent greatness already when this album came out, so it would do more justice to them to say that the band’s sound had matured like quality whiskey. Befittingly, these ruffians and the Helsinki Distilling Company launched the limited-edition AMORPHIS whiskey this summer. The description of that fine beverage would fit this album as well, as it is characterized as being a multi-layered and deep flavor… with notes of sweetness… and spicy aftertaste. Vocalist Tomi Joutsen shines with his versatile powerhouse vocals; the clean vocals sound pristine as ever, and so do the growls, which are prominently brought front and center in this selection. The band had just celebrated the 20th anniversary of their haunting debut with a tour, so maybe something had rubbed off from there? (Not that we minded!) The aftertaste, while not necessarily best described as spicy, sure lingers with a somewhat heart-churning bite. The thing is, a few of the songs feature Aleah Stanbridge‘s vocals – and the closer (on the standard issue), “White Nights,” sounds particularly haunting now that we know she was to pass away only a year later.
In conclusion, it was not a small feat that the band’s 12th studio album turned out to be one of their most cohesive and consistently magnificent efforts to date. Moreover, it bridged the aesthetic of their old classics and their new direction in nothing short of a spectacular manner. Plus, it debunked the myth that you cannot judge a book by its cover – because, sometimes, you can, and it will pay off.
Written by Jani Lehtinen
Tracklist
- Under the Red Cloud
- The Four Wise Ones
- Bad Blood
- The Skull
- Death of a King
- Sacrifice
- Dark Path
- Enemy at the Gates
- Tree of Ages
- White Night
- Come the Spring (bonus track on the digipak edition)
- Winter’s Sleep (bonus track on the digipak edition)
Lineup
Esa Holopainen – lead guitars
Tomi Joutsen – vocals
Niclas Etelävuori – bass
Tomi Koivusaari – rhythm guitars
Santeri Kallio – keyboards
Jan Rechberger – drums
Label
Nuclear Blast
