Amorphis | Artist

Amorphis is a Finnish heavy metal band founded 1990 in Helsinki by Jan Rechberger (drums), Tomi Koivusaari (Guitar, vocals), and Esa Holopainen (guitar) in 1990. Initially, the band was a death metal act, but on later albums they evolved into playing other genres, including progressive metal, and folk metal. The present day line-up includes the three founders plus ex-Barren Earth bassist Olli-Pekka Laine, Verenpisara keyboardist Santeri Kallio, and vocalist Tomi Joitsen from bands Sinisthra and The Candles Burming Blue. Jan Rechberger and Esa Holopainen had earlier played in thrash metal band Violent Solution, but with that band's dissolution they decided to continue working with each other to form their own death metal band, Amorphis. The band's debut album resulted from a demo recorded by Tomi Koivusaari's previous band Abhorrence, which scored Amorphis a deal with Relapse Records. Since Abhorrence was no longer active, they sent their own demo in the return mail and were signed to a worldwide recording deal. Soon after getting signed, they released their death metal debut The Karelian Isthmus in 1992. Their second studio album, Tales From the Thousand Lakes, a concept album based on the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala. This 1994 release, while still rooted in death metal, was their first step toward a new direction as melodic clean vocals were added, provided by Ville Tuomi. Tales from the Thousand Lakes won the band a fan base thanks to its innovative sound and fusion of death metal with traditional folk, psychedelia, and progressive elements. This album went on to influence the signature Amorphis sound. The band has gone on to release 15 studio albums to-date, plus two excellent live albums, An Evening With Friends at Huvila (2017) and Live at Helsinki Ice Hall (2021). Standout studio albums include Tales From the Thousand Lakes (1994), Elegy (1996), Skyforger (2009), and Under the Red Cloud (2015). Esa Holopained also released the excellent solo album Silver Lake in 2021, featuring a who's who of Nordic metal artists as contributors. Amorphis frequently use the Kalavala, the epic poem of Finland, as a source for their fantasy themed lyrics, underpinning their melodic death metal sound.

Artist Website: amorphis.net

Featured Albums: Amorphis

Related Artists: Esa Holopainen