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Amorphis > Far from the Sun > 2004, CD, Nuclear Blast (Reissue, Reloaded edition) > Reviews > grimdoom
Amorphis - Far from the Sun

Far from something but still good. - 80%

grimdoom, April 29th, 2016
Written based on this version: 2004, CD, Nuclear Blast (Reissue, Reloaded edition)

This was the last truly amorphous album by Amrophis. All their material after this sounds the same as they've seemingly become content to make the same album plus or minus the degree of heaviness, respectively, over and over.

True to their moniker and ever evolving sound, Amorphis quietly released the followup to 2001's 'Am Universum' with something completely different. This album is fairly far removed from the progressive darkwave ambiance of its predecessor with a return to a more straight forward hard rock sound. The bands modern trademarks, like the Deep Purple 70's styled keyboard's, are still in full swing here.

Still doom at its core, this modern Amorphis plugs along with mid-tempo tunes in the most up tempo and generally happy way. Something not typically heard from the Finish sextet.

This was an odd album after 'Am Universum's largely alien sound. It was and is a great album, but how do you followup with something so different? You do so by doing the exact opposite. This is a simplistic, non-layered rock album. It's very approachable. The tracks on here are clean enough in content and production to fit on any modern rock radio station and yet just stylized enough to still be considered vaguely underground.

Pasi's vocals are cleaner and generally more melodic than the previous records. The whisper tracks that littered 'Am Universum' are very present here too. The guitars are dirtier and louder in the mix. The bass and drums are more or less what we've come to expect. The keyboards too, however, they're not as overbearing.

The music, as stated above, is very happy, epic and adventurous. This is a good album to put on when taking a long road trip. Sadly, this isn't nearly as heavy as 'Eclipse', but the song writing itself is great.

This album wasn't pushed too hard by EMI either, and maybe that's why this album isn't as liked or well known. It's a great addition to the bands catalog and it has aged rather well. Like most of the bands early releases it's not something you can listen to once and decide you love or hate it. You'll need to listen to it a few times to really appreciate it.