Amorphis

Halo

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Genre: Melodic Death Metal.
Released: 11/02/2022
Via Atomic Fire

Album Review: Amorphis – Halo

Amorphis are one of the stand out names in the melodic death metal scene of recent years so it’s understandable that fans have been chomping at the bit to hear their new album ‘Halo’. The Finnish metallers will be hoping for similar success to their 2018 release ‘Queen Of Time’ so without further adieu, here are my thoughts on Amorphis’ ‘Halo’.

Setting the mood for the album, ‘Northwards’ opens with an elegant string passage that slowly morphs into a heavy, melodic journey. The low tones produced from gutturals make a nice contrast to the higher pitched rhythms being played on the guitar. The smooth transitions between clean and harsh vocals make the song such a joy to listen to and the music itself is full of charisma. Following on from that is the track ‘On The Dark Waters’ which is more of the same. A solid instrumental that highlight’s the bands knack for mixing heavy with melodic matched with a compelling lyrical story.

Not to be outdone, ‘The Moon’ kicks off with a wonderful melodic guitar section that really leaves an impression on the listener. As for the rest of the song, it’s a decent entry into the album. There isn’t much besides the intro that really hooked me on this track however I wouldn’t skip it if it was on. On the other hand, ‘Windmane’ has quite a unique sound to it. Harsh gutturals mixed with a more aggressive backing track makes for quite exciting listening. Filtering in more subtle melodies just gives the song a bit more depth and I have to admit, I really enjoyed listening to this number.

Unfortunately, the album takes a bit of a downturn for me here. ‘A New Land’ comes across as a bit generic. The song doesn’t really do anything new and it’s one of the least memorable tracks on the album while ‘When The Gods Came’ seem’s to get lost in itself and feels like two songs that have been spliced together at times. Thankfully, ‘Seven Roads Come Together’ is a more enjoyable time. The melodic work on the guitars really carry the song as they allow the song to flow nicely without much resistance.

Continuing down the album and ‘War’ is up next. This song has some great moments such as it’s chugging riffs but the percussion is what really stood out for me on this one. Each snare hit is impactful and I couldn’t help but tap along to it’s contagious beat. The same can’t unfortunately be said for ‘Halo’. This song just kinda went in one ear and out the other for me. Probably the weakest entry on the album, the song itself just feels flat and lacks any real character.

As the album draws to a close, ‘The Wolf’ does a decent job at bringing the album back on track. The gutturals really pierce the music at times and the guitar work is quite simply stunning throughout this number. Finishing the album off is ‘My Name Is Night’ which is completely different from the rest of the record. Alone, the song is elegant and quite impressive from a music standpoint however, i can’t help but feel it’s an odd fit for the record. A much more subtle and soft feel is given off from the predominantly clean track and I feel it’s quite an abrupt end to the album.

I have to say, I am a little disappointed in this release. The album has its moments however, when I reflect on what I’ve listened to the low’s seem to outweigh the highs quite a bit. Amorphis are usually so consistent when it comes to releasing new music however this, for me, has to be a low point in their discography.