{"id":65466,"date":"2018-05-18T00:00:09","date_gmt":"2018-05-17T23:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=65466"},"modified":"2021-11-08T20:04:16","modified_gmt":"2021-11-08T20:04:16","slug":"news-amorphis-release-13th-studio-album-queen-of-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/news-amorphis-release-13th-studio-album-queen-of-time\/","title":{"rendered":"AMORPHIS Release 13th Studio Album \u2018Queen Of Time\u2019 (May 18th, 2018) | News @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

AMORPHIS Release 13th Studio Album \u2018Queen Of Time\u2019<\/strong><\/span>
\nMay 18th, 2018<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Helsinki, Finland-based progressive metal group Amorphis issued 13th full-length studio album Queen Of Time<\/em> on May 18th, 2018 through Nuclear Blast Records.<\/p>\n

The outing was produced by Jens Bogren, once again. <\/p>\n

Guitarist Esa Holopainen commented: \u201cI guess Queen Of Time<\/em> turned out as a massive surprise to all of us. During the rehearsing and pre-production we didn\u2019t have any idea that Jens had this huge picture inside of his head about the landscape of the album. It\u2019s a very natural continuation to Under The Red Cloud<\/em> but with steroids. The songs are more aggressive but there\u2019s more dynamics, harmonies and orchestral arrangements present. The result is Amorphis as something you\u2019ve never heard before! Essentially, working with Jens worked really well. As a person he is very similar to us – we share the same kind of weird humor and we all like to work hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Queen Of Time<\/em> marks the first occasion that lyricist Pekka Kainulainen can be heard on an Amorphis album, having contributed a speech in Finnish.<\/p>\n

Discussing the lyrical theme Kainulainen said: \u201cCultures rise, flourish, and are destroyed. The story of man is the story of searching, finding, and forgetting. A single spark can set the world afire, a single idea can give birth to a new culture. The greatest can stagnate into insignificance, the smallest can hold the power for change. The lyrics on this album are distant echoes of ancient forest peoples, from a time when meaning was proportioned by the cosmic forces that govern birth and death. If the connection was lost, they sought for a strand of knowledge, found a new direction, and a new age began.\u201d<\/p>\n

The album also features founding bass player Olli-Pekka \u201cOppu\u201d Laine, who appears on an Amorphis album for the first time since 1999\u2019s Tuonela<\/em>. Laine left the band in the spring of 2000, but returned to the fold following the departure of Niclas Etel\u00e4vuori in April 2017. <\/p>\n

\u201cTo be honest, \u2018Oppu\u2019 was the only guy we could imagine being in Amorphis,\u201d revealed Esa Holopainen. \u201cIt was funny – when we started to play our first shows together again last summer it all felt so familiar. He was involved with arranging songs and he also even brought some new songs to the table… really good ones, too!\u201d<\/p>\n

Oppu added: \u201cEven though the last year with Amorphis has been exciting, nostalgic and fun, it\u2019s also been truly comfortable to be with the guys again. As a clich\u00e9d expression, it\u2019s been like returning home from a lengthy odyssey. After 18 years, it feels like we are picking up where we left off from the good ol\u2019 days! I’m really looking forward for the upcoming tour.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe new album itself is a really strong package, the only hard thing will be picking which songs to play live! It\u2019s safe to say we are set to pull off some killer shows over the next few years. After that, I\u2019m predicting a long and fruitful career for the band in its current form.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dutch singer Anneke van Giersbergen (Vuur \/ ex-The Gathering) provides guest vocals on the track \u2018Amongst Stars\u2019, while Shining (Norway) frontman J\u00f8rgen Munkeby contributes saxophone on the song \u2018Daughter Of Hate\u2019.<\/p>\n

Cover artwork was created by French artist Jean \u201cValnoir\u201d Simoulin from Metastazis.<\/p>\n

The track listing is as follows;<\/p>\n

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01. \u2018The Bee\u2019
\n02. \u2018Message In The Amber\u2019
\n03. \u2018Daughter Of Hate\u2019 (feat. J\u00f8rgen Munkeby)
\n04. \u2018The Golden Elk\u2019
\n05. \u2018Wrong Direction\u2019
\n06. \u2018Heart Of The Giant\u2019
\n07. \u2018We Accursed\u2019
\n08. \u2018Grain Of Sand\u2019
\n09. \u2018Amongst Stars\u2019 (feat. Anneke van Giersbergen)
\n10. \u2018Pyres On The Coast\u2019
\n11. \u2018As Mountains Crumble\u2019 *
\n12. \u2018Brother And Sister\u2019 *<\/p>\n

* digipak CD, 2LP, and mail order edition bonus tracks<\/p>\n

Amorphis\u2019 line-up is as follows;<\/p>\n

Tomi Joutsen (vocals)
\nEsa Holopainen (lead guitar)
\nTomi Koivusaari (rhythm guitar)
\nOlli-Pekka \u201cOppu\u201d Laine (bass)
\nJan Rechberger (drums)
\nSanteri Kallio (keyboards)<\/p>\n

The track \u2018Brother And Sister\u2019 was issued as a limited edition (666 copies) shaped vinyl picture disc single on January 29th, 2021. The B-side features the song \u2018As Mountains Crumble\u2019.<\/p>\n

Speaking about the release, keyboard player Santeri Kallio said: \u201cTwo great songs from the Queen Of Time<\/em> sessions on vinyl which is great. The atmospheric \u2018Brother And Sister\u2019 and majestic prog-driven \u2018As Mountains Crumble\u2019 were also good candidates for the album\u2019s track list, but in the final run ended up as album bonus tracks to give a special edge to different releases. With this release it is great to see these songs get the attention they deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n

Music videos were filmed for the tracks \u2018Wrong Direction\u2019 and \u2018Amongst Stars\u2019. In addition, official lyric videos were created for the songs \u2018The Bee\u2019 and \u2018Brother And Sister\u2019. All four clips can be viewed below.<\/p>\n

Twelfth studio record Under The Red Cloud<\/em> was released<\/a> in September 2015 via Nuclear Blast.<\/p>\n

Promotional photograph by Lars Johnson.<\/em><\/p>\n