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Rating:
9.5 |
Amorphis - Tales From The Thousand Lakes
12 July 1994
01. Thousand Lakes
02. Into Hiding
03. The Castaway
04. First Doom
05. Black Winter Day
06. Drowned Maid
07. In The Beginning
08. Forgotten Sunrise
09. To Fathers Cabin
10. Magic And Mayhem
11. Folk Of The North [2000 re-release bonus]
12. Moon And Sun [2000 re-release bonus]
13. Moon And Sun Part II: North's Son [2000 re-release bonus]
14. Light My Fire [The Doors cover] [bonus] [2000 re-release bonus]
Amorphis have changed. That's a fact. But in their early days they played death metal of the finest kind. Tales from the Thousand Lakes is THE groundbreaking masterpiece for the Finnish melodic death metal scene. This album had a great influence on bands like Kalmah, Children of Bodom and Norther. It's very atmospheric ? the scenic cover, the apt title, the extraordinary lyrics, and finally, the doomful, melodic, sometimes melancholic music. The guitar parts on this album belong to the best in the genre.
The album's lyrics are based on the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala. This book is in fact a collection of ancient songs, combined and adapted by Elias Lonnrot in 1835. Most of these songs were found in Karelia, a part of Finland/Russia which is bordered in the East by the White Sea. The name of this area also served as the name for Amorphis? first album ?The Karelian Isthmus?.
?First Doom? and ?Forgotten Sunrise? are the two exceptions of the record. Esa Holopainen wrote them, and it's detectable that they were written by him and therefore are not a part of the Kalevala, though they might were inspired by it.
Amorphis? musical influences lie in Finnish folk music, progressive rock of the seventies, and heavy metal. ?Thousand Lakes?, a purely instrumental song, introduces the listener to the band's new, more on keyboards focused, sound.
Three songs from the ?Tales From The Thousand Lakes? made it on Amorphis? new Greatest Hits record ?Chapters?. These are ?The Castaway?, ?Black Winter Day?, and ?Drowned Maid?. The Pink Floyd influenced ?The Castaway? is situated in mid-tempo, like the rest of the album. The murmuring sea at the end of ?Drowned Maid? perfectly matches the theme of the song and reveals the band's strong connection to nature.
The best-known song from the album probably is ?Black Winter Day?, the only single release from ?Tales From The Thousand Lakes?. Ville Tuomi lends this song his clean vocals.
?Forgotten Sunrise? and ?To Fathers Cabin? are two Iron Maiden inspired pieces concerning the guitar sound. The latter one is the only piece on the record that works just with Ville's clean vocals, though this sounds a bit weird, which could be because he speaks his lines and they added a reverberation to it.
Two more songs contain clean vocals ? ?Into Hiding? and ?In the Beginning?. They are one of the most melodic pieces on the disc.
?Tales From The Thousand Lakes? is an almost perfect album, so lean back, enjoy the music, and listen... when Amorphis tell you some tales from the land of the thousand lakes.
written by Bragi | 25.11.2003 |
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
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Comments
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16
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Users visited:
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207 |
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| Good review. I really love this album and I can hear influences from old Amorphis in many bands today. |
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Why do South American people hate this album? 3 out 4 voters who gave this album a 1, (which is bullshit), are from South America. So this is what pure shit sounds like?  |
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CrimsonSoaked - 05.12.2007 at 16:40
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Written by Introspekrieg on 28.11.2007 at 00:44
Why do South American people hate this album? 3 out 4 voters who gave this album a 1, (which is bullshit), are from South America. So this is what pure shit sounds like?
You know South Americans : Happy and perky folk
They can't value this kind of master piece ,which is born from sheer darkness and melancholy.
They prefer their thrash and death circles some melodic, a bit cheerful ,metal. |
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Ereinion - 08.03.2008 at 10:54
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I love the sound of this album It is a mix of Psychedelic rock Death metal and Doom metal.... love it  |
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This is a groundbreaking Masterpiece for the genre. A path opener that still serves today as reference for many bands.
Maybe for some it will sound a bit dated today, but I remember when I bought it and gave it a listen I was totally blown away by its power, depth and concept. |
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| I get this album today and im listening to it right now, and im loving it. very melodic and heavy at the same time. great album. |
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 Njord - 20.12.2008 at 13:28
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For me is the best album of Amorphis.. a true classic. In fact it is also one of the albuns that started me and some of mine friends into metal, so it's always a great experience to heard it again  |
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Leiken - 01.05.2009 at 05:06
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| It's my single most favourite album of all time! |
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| Amazing album, one of my top favorites when it came out. I even learned how to play "First Doom" on guitar. |
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Good review, it is always nice to know the origin of the album's thematic.
And this album is good, althou a bit overrated. ''Karelian Isthmus'' had such a crushing atmosphere that simply overcomes everything in this album, and the guitar work is boring compared to Elegy.
So this can easily be consider a downfall between two great albums.  |
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Written by Guest on 05.12.2007 at 16:40
You know South Americans : Happy and perky folk
They can't value this kind of master piece ,which is born from sheer darkness and melancholy.
Dude... not cool... 
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Written by Introspekrieg on 28.11.2007 at 00:44
Why do South American people hate this album? 3 out 4 voters who gave this album a 1, (which is bullshit), are from South America. So this is what pure shit sounds like?
That's okay, they think the exact same thing about eurotards and eurotrash, especially the dipshits who start this kind of crap online. |
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Written by ponderer on 02.03.2010 at 12:33
Written by Introspekrieg on 28.11.2007 at 00:44
Why do South American people hate this album? 3 out 4 voters who gave this album a 1, (which is bullshit), are from South America. So this is what pure shit sounds like?
That's okay, they think the exact same thing about eurotards and eurotrash, especially the dipshits who start this kind of crap online.
I wasn't starting anything, simply asking a question/pointing out an interesting correlation. |
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| I have never heard the album but I have to say I like the style of the review. It's great when people provide thought-provoking background information that's leads you to other references and influences. |
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| Bought this along with a bunch of other death metal classics LAST year, and just now I'm realizing how awesome this album is. My first Amorphis album, but hopefully not my last. Some of the keyboard parts give it an almost "The Doors meets Death Metal" vibe...hence the light my fire cover? lol |
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