Halo still ranked pretty well over at the RMR Review Desk, despite pretty severe reservations from some crewmembers over here. In a way, Amorphis‘ (in)famous trilogy seemed to suffer from overreach at the end. A form of fatigue brought about by too much mandated playtime and not enough good ideas to fill the void with real mana.
And who can blame them, really? The sturdy roughy Under The Red Cloud and the feisty piece Queen of Time must have sucked the oxygen out of the songsmithing atelier. So, I reckon, the last one of the trio had trouble really blossoming into what it was supposed to become.
Three years down the road, and the Finns hit us measly adepts of the metal mainstream with Borderland. A new record to pull that ship out of the muck. Or just more water under the bridge? Fire up that winch and find out.
One thing is certain. Borderland contains a ton of the unctuous Amorphis fare we have grown to love over time. A type of melancholic groove only found with this band, always slightly progressive and filled with the smooth spiel Tomi Joutsen‘s suave vox usually brings to the table. Boy, even the frequent growls won’t gripe or draw more than a few drops of Kensington Gore1. In other words, the RMR crew caught itself yet another metal piece sailing down the middle of the vast stream of its own creation. An album oscillating between gothic melancholy and multilayered, slightly meandering Melodic Metal. A record that’s moving away from its focus on melodic death to more filigrane pastures.
The first three tracks – The Circle, Bones, and Dancing Shadows – didn’t excite this crew to any big extent. Carefully crafted and full of low-hanging fruit, this triad turned into a typical, refined set of tracks of a fully established metal band in its prime. If anything, Borderland‘s starter set again reaffirmed that trademark sound full of rich riffs, pretty snazzy solos, leads to dream for, and keys that never draw blood. Together with the ebb and flow of clears and growls, these seasoned three tracks already provide this perfectly cooked red meat for the established fan base. If there ever was a famed can opener, this would be the one.
Things look a bit more lively once the mid-section hits the turntable. Tracks like Fog to Fog with their delicate keys and an almost wondrous air really got our attention. Those are the tracks where Amorphis‘ progressive powers truly join the subdued melancholy again. Agreed, this may not necessarily be the band’s usual fare. But the stellar, slightly polyphonic leads turned riff/solo tell us a lot about the mastery at work here. The Strange probably moves Borderland closer to symphonic territory than necessary. However, the opening of this well-paced affair is truly superb, and the crossover to growls is smooth as always. Together with the delicately structured The Lantern, yet another trio of tracks showcases where Amorphis could have taken this on their path to greatness. Alas, and while none of the tracks are bad, the remaining songs remain firmly in the orbit of this band’s very own solar system. Too firmly. Thus, those didn’t garner no great brownie points over here.
In the end, Borderland turned into one mighty demonstration of – what I call – the Amorphis style. No one in the known metal multiverse can blend folk, rock, and metal influences into the kind of smooth amalgamation just like Amorphis do. And that changes any listening session from just witnessing bland songwriting into an immersive experience unlike any other. The only ‘setback’ being that this time you get exactly and only this unmistakable Amorphis style and delivery. Much more of the same, spiffed to a fine polished glow like a shoeshine gone too far, and delivered with the usual wizardry and gusto. And that led to only limited applause over at RMR Central.
Unfortunately.
Record Rating: 6/10 | Label: Reigning Phoenix | Web: Official Band Site
Release Date: 26 September 2025
- Stage blood. Made of golden syrup, food dye, corn flour, and water.-↩