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Amorphis > Far from the Sun > Reviews > OzzyApu
Amorphis - Far from the Sun

Far From Good - 31%

OzzyApu, April 26th, 2013

This has got as much excitement as taking a big inhale and slowly exhaling it. It wants to be chill and laidback, but ends up sounding supremely uninspired as it churns out one rock tune after another. It's got the Amorphis twist of eastern influences and the proggy traits that's come to vary each song, but without the same spark that spawned hits like "Alone" and "Divinity". What the hell? Even Pasi's grainy singing has lost practically all the soul that it once had. Look no further than the album's single, "Evil Inside," and the completely banal, apathetic performance from the entire band - especially Pasi. This is and will always be a major disappointment in Amorphis' career.

Songs like the title track, "Mourning Soil," and "God Of Deception" are probably the only three songs on here that have something going for them. There's identity, variation, Esa's slick leads, groovy bass, and hooks with purpose. Each could have been written better than they are, but for Far From The Sun's status quo I think I'll take what I can get. These three are a few (relatively speaking) gems on a rock album that doesn't know how to rock. More importantly, it doesn't know how to be good. Keep things going with riffs, catchy leads, some appropriate drum fills (for fuck's sake, you guys got Rechberger back!), and some vigor. This album's got very few of any of that, and that includes the aforementioned good songs.

The band seemed to get caught up with sounding like a lounge-guided act. That completely leaves out the vast scope that made an album like Am Universum sound monolithic. Seriously, the production's good and all - fat bass, proper mixing, dry tone - but there's hardly any substance or lasting value. Most importantly, there's barely any atmosphere to it! As much as "Killing Goodness" sounds like Queens Of The Stone Age in the riffing, it's got no matching personality or essence to make it stand on its own. Nice leads, but that alone isn't the potency behind a great song. Then again, it's better than can be said about the rest of the songs on here.

Seriously, skip this album as if it never existed. Not hearing this album at all would mean missing nothing as far as the secrets of the god damn cosmos is concerned (a few nice leads here and there, but let's be real). In fact, believing that the band went from Am Universum to Eclipse would be the more rational thought process. The songwriting fell apart badly with this one, like with the "Day Of Your Beliefs" and "Higher Ground" sticking to cool harmonies but wrapping it in mediocrity. Just consider Pasi ending his run on a high note with Am Universum and the world will feel like a better place.