The live premiere of "Shades of Gray" (which still went by its working title back then) is still up on Youtube. Those who are after variety in harsh vocals may want to pay attention to the second verse, though the bass drum drowns them a bit.

Yeah, that song really does sound otherworldy good. Joutsen's vocal capabilities always blow me away; during that first verse, especially, he sounds like a fucking Karelian war god unleashed upon the mortal world. When I saw them live in 2010 I was so surprised to see that he stands about five foot nothing tall. Yeah, I also recall hearing an interview from him recently in which he said he had experimented with some different vocal techniques which he'd never done before.

That's a great fucking song.

If that's any indication of what the other tracks sound like then this album should be great.

I haven't listened to Elegy in ages, but I'm quite sure Better Unborn had Koskinen doing the growling.

Nope, it's Koivusaari who does the growled first verse. He performed trade-off vocals with Pasi live until 1997. Here's an old clip of Better Unborn live (comes on after Cares): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKwqFYZ5M1o

Koivusaari didn't perform vocals again until he guested on Moonsorrow's monolithic Tulimyrsky EP in 2008.

A very exciting new interview with Esa Holopainen: http://www.decibelmagazine.com/featured ... terviewed/

Highlights include (through Holopainen's surprisingly broken English)





He seems to hesitate in advertising the new album as a 'back-to-the-roots' endeavor, but the fact they're looking to Tales... and Elegy for inspiration really excites me. The live video of the new song really does sound to me like a modern interpretation of the Elegy sound, and I'm really interested to find out if that's representative of the whole album. I also liked this bit:

Thanks for posting the interview, Razakel. I am definitely getting good vibes from this album. I want a single really badly now!

I prefer Joutsen era over Koskinen. Joutsen is a stupendous vocalist, the way he does the variations I'd rate him above most other vocalists of similar style. The artwork of the album is very intriguing. If the album turns out anything like their first outing with Joutsen which is 'Eclipse' I'd be highly satisfied.

Maybe Circle means Full Circle, one could only hope haha.

In that sense, I really felt that Eclipse was aptly titled since it seemed to merge Amorphis' melodic/eclectic 'death' metal past with their softer, progressive tendencies of the late '90s/early '00s.

The first single, Hopeless Days, was supposedly played on a Finnish radio station this morning. I wasn't able to listen to it, but it's officially released tomorrow so I'm excited about that. According to comments on their last.fm page, it's heavier than your average Amorphis single, but doesn't feature growls. I don't know of anyone who recorded it, so I guess we'll have to wait until tomorrow to listen.

You can listen to a minute preview of the track here: http://www.7digital.com/artist/amorphis ... eless-days

Nothing real different about it, unfortunately.

It does sound a little bit heavier, but bear in mind it's the single. "You I Need" was the single off The Beginning of Times and was quite different from the rest of the album. Anyway, I think it sounds good.

Heh, sample wasn't all the interesting, but I'm still intrigued to listen to the whole song. It's true that Amorphis singles are pretty much the least representative songs on the album.

The new single is pretty damn good. Definitely a bit of change in direction from their last four releases. Almost seems like it has a Judgement-era Anathema vibe to it, the verses at least... Maybe it's just me. Nonetheless, cannot wait for the rest of this album.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdKt1aw4 ... e=youtu.be

After several listens I'm really digging this. It definitely doesn't sound like a typical Amorphis single, and I'm really liking the thick guitar sound. Really makes me want to hear a heavier track off the album; I hope they release another one soon. By the way, I just love the solo at 3:52, it's such an Amorphis moment. Favourite part of the song.

Ugh, I am not liking that new song...Tomi's vocals sound thin and almost whiny. The instrumentation is great, but the song is so vocal-centric it's hard to ignore. On the other hand, that live song is awesome.

EDIT: Never mind, Hopeless Days is growing on me already. Still, I'm not liking how his voice trails off on the last word of almost every line in the verse.

It isn't one of Joutsen's better vocal performances, although the chorus is really good.

Definitely heavier than a lot they've done. The synths remind me of Tales From the Thousand Lakes in parts mixed with Tagtgren influence.

heard this new track a few hours ago, still had the chorus in my head a bit afterwards. joutsen-amorphis is good in that it's solid, but their lack of anything new is starting to kinda bore me. say what you will about tuonela and am universum, but at least they were experimenting. this will sound ridiculous, but i kinda wish they'd stop re-writing tales from the thousand lakes now. haha.

Huh? When have they ever re-written Tales from the Thousand Lakes?

Haha, exactly what I thought. Sometimes the misconceptions this band causes to people are pretty damn funny.

Not the typical radio single since this song is a grower, really liking it now after a few listens. I agree the vocal performance isn't the best he's done, but it's OK (not as produced vox as on earlier work with Hietala).

After a few spins, I actually really like the single. In a way, it is way heavier riff-wise than what I expected (compared with Silver Bride and You I Need - the previous singles - for instance), but also, in a way, it is really catchy and emotional. The guitars sound thicker than on the few previous albums, but the synth also really shines through and brings the atmosphere to a new level and I can actually second whoever mentioned the Judgement-era Anathema vibes, in a way. Even though the verses don't feature the best Joutsen-performance, the chorus is a winner IMO, along with the solo and the leads a bit before and after the 5 minute mark which really sound Amorphis-like, as it were.

All in all, I think it is a really well constructed song, balancing between nice atmospheric and emotional soundscapes (the verses), catchiness (the choruses) as well as heaviness (the riffage and the tone), sounding fresh but still Amorphis-like.

They might bounce back with this album (been bored of them the past two albums for the most part), but I guess we'll need to hear the full album. I'm looking forward to the growl-heavy songs and/or faster songs or songs with more focus on crushing rhytms, as even this song has a really solid guitar sound, so it might work out really well.

Yeah, there's a cute, heavy riff. And I agree the guitar tone and keys are well placed in the mix.

But I find that song quite fucking boring, even after several spins. This is one of the albums I am most looking forward to this year so I am greatly disappointed, but since metal bands are notoriously clueless when it comes to choosing singles, I'm gonna hope the rest of the album is a lot better than this.

Wow, I wasn't expecting gigantic opening riff. Really took me by surprise, and the synths also started out as really fucking bombastic. Nice first impression. I agree that Joutsen's vocals could be better here though, even if the chorus is quite good. Still, I think the album will have better stuff than this.

The verse really sounds like Anathema circa Judgment. Interesting song, actually. I'd say it's very different from the Eclipse style.

This sounds like it could be way better than their last album. The Beginning of Time was kind of limp-wristed, and this sounds a lot better than most of the album. Especially good considering it's a single. Some growls would have really helped, though.

well the guitar is certainly meatier but otherwise its not that different.

That was a great song. Admittedly 3:25 and on is what makes this song. Of course, everything before was integral to building it up, but this still leaves me with high expectations for the rest of the album.

Here's a great live video of Hopeless Days which made its live premier last night in Sweden: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSVb1zPIgNM

Sounds even heavier live, I really like it. Also, if anyone knows where I can get Tomi Joutsen's Xysma belt buckle, I really need it.

It is a unique piece, but the guy who made it does take custom orders. So you could get it made again maybe.

His website and Where he talks about his Amorphis pieces.

Holy shit man, thanks so much! I actually googled around looking for that a while ago and was confused when nothing came up. Damn, that bronze belt buckle of the old Amorphis logo is also glorious. I bet they'd cost an arm and a leg, though, since the guy seems to makes them from scratch.

Here's the final studio report, which happens to be the most revealing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66DHBCnY ... e=youtu.be

The first sample is Shades of Gray and sounds like all kinds of awesome. Whoa, Joutsen sounds beastly in that one. The second sample towards the end is from Nightbird's Song which sounds really surprising and unlike anything I've heard from Amorphis in the past. Really, really excited about this!

Yeah, for sure. Not that I'm one to know really, but his other works, in his gallery, look fantastically well made and designed. Whatever he charges is likely well deserved, doubly for the unique items. If I had the money and interest I'd probably look into getting something actually.

Ok, finally... Shades of Gray has been released and it's exactly what everyone wants to hear. Seriously, this is one of the best Amorphis songs they've ever done. When your fanboyism has reached my caliber, it's truly impossible to pick a single favourite song, but at this very second I can without hesitation call this the best song of the Joutsen era. It's also his best vocal performance, which is an enormous statement in its own right.

Behold: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zt9_xAiYQJ8

^Great song. Hopeless Days and this one are some of the best Amorphis songs I've heard. I'm eagerly anticipating this album.

Looking forward to this release. Shades of Grey is an excellent track. No doubt that Amorphis is still a great band since their early death metal year till now. Talented folks!

"Shades of Grey" rules. I'm a huge Amorphis fan and it surprised me. Loving how it flows and its memorability.

Haven't followed this band in ages. Actually Elegy is latest I got from them. It's a very catchy album, but still something is missing from it. Maybe 'soul' or something similar. Never been able to fully appreciate it. Now this new song got me really excited. I have to check those Joutsen -era albums. The little I've heard has been quite good stuff.

This album would be so awesome.