Amorphis
Reuniting with producer Jens Bogren for their 13th album, Amorphis’ new release may be their most grandiose and cinematic yet, while also harking back to their roots. As guitarist Esa Holopainen and vocalist Tomi Joutsen tell Prog, even they are surprised
Grandiose themes and orchestras are writ large on the Finns’ latest release.
“The orchestra makes it sound so much bigger: when I was listening to the album, it felt like watching a movie.”
Tomi Joutsen
When Finnish progressive metallers Amorphis began to record their last album Under A Red Cloud with renowned producer Jens Bogren, they were well aware of his reputation. Bogren, who has helmed recording sessions for everyone from Opeth and Katatonia to Haken, Pain Of Salvation and Leprous, rules proceedings with an iron fist. Soon, the band found themselves working long, hard days in the studio. “Working with Jens is a masochistic way of recording an album,” guitarist Esa Holopainen reflects.
But though their 10-hour working days were tiring, the results were undeniable. Released in 2015, the record was lauded by press and fans alike as something of a return to form. With their extreme metal heritage lurking between triumphant folk sounds and soaring melodies, they wrapped up a powerful package of songs with as much musical muscle as intelligence.
For their 13th album, Queen Of Time, the band were keen to reunite with Bogren. As Holopainen explains, Bogren’s impact this time around was even greater than before.
“We learnt how to scratch the surface with Under A Red Cloud,” he says. “This time we knew each other’s working methods a lot better so we knew what to expect. Jens also had a lot more ideas regarding his vision for this album and I think that’s obvious when you listen to it. You can hear how much bigger it sounds with Jens producing.”
There are hints about ‘negative’ experiences while locked in the studio together, but that’s a natural consequence of the task at hand – when spending strenuous days in a confined space together, stress can easily breed.
“Working in the studio isn’t always fun,” Holopainen openly admits, “but you have to be professional and focus on doing your best.”
And it’s clear that Bogren’s tough love was something they felt was worth any occasional trouble and strain.
“Jens is extremely picky with everything when it comes to recording,” the guitarist continues. “There were days where we’d end up recording nothing because something wasn’t perfect. His way of producing is not for every band, but for us it worked really well.”
The arsenal of this album is stacked with much of the usual Amorphis weaponry. There’s typically brutal and driving drumming and plenty of guitar workouts, as well as lively but never contrived folk twists that broaden their musical palette. But there is one huge difference to Queen Of Time. Bogren has peppered the record with orchestras and choirs which thrust the tracks towards more gigantic and grandiose plains.
“When I first heard the album on some big speakers, I closed my eyes and was so proud of how huge some of the songs sounded. It gave me chills,” beams vocalist Tomi Joutsen, his voice louder and stronger than Holopainen’s gentle Finnish timbre. “The orchestra makes it sound so much bigger but also more interesting, too: when I was listening to the album, it felt like watching a movie.”
Indeed, the vividness of the album, bolstered by Bogren’s touch, is its biggest surprise. The producer’s impact on Queen Of Time extends far beyond just his sprinklings of silver screen scores, though. As Joutsen explains, many of the subtleties in Bogren’s production approach have helped galvanise the songs in ways that are still eye-opening for the band, even after nearly 30 years together. It’s no wonder that Amorphis were so eager to once again go into the studio with a producer who has worked on over 100 albums since Katatonia’s Viva Emptiness in 2003.
Joutsen says: “Sometimes it’s very hard to find the right flow for a song, especially when we have a lot of different rhythmic structures. But Jens is really detailed with the tempos – he wanted to change the tempo inside songs. When he came to Finland for pre-production, the biggest thing was finding the right flow for each track. It’s a small detail but we can really feel the difference. It’s not something a lot of people think too much about.”
While this is one of the most direct albums the band have released in years, the sweeping string sections and the dramatic, virtuous vibes that the choral embellishments drive into each song’s personality give them a classier, epic edge. What’s important, however, is that the orchestra, while adding power and grace, isn’t the centrepiece.
“The guitars are still a really important part of the band; you can still hear them high in the mix,” says Holopainen. “Sometimes when you hear a band are working with an orchestra, you fear everything will be hidden underneath it, but for us this is more for a musical flavour. It’s not the main thing on the album.”
Orchestras aside, the record also marks the return of a familiar face. Former bassist
Olli-Pekka Laine, who served a decade in the band from their inception until 2000, appearing on four albums, is now back in the fold. His return is sure to delight long-time Amorphis fans. For the band themselves, it was a move that made perfect sense.
Holopainen says, “It’s definitely a great feeling having Olli-Pekka back. It gave us flashbacks to the times we had together 20 years ago when he was first in the band. It was sad that Niclas [Etelävuori] left, but that’s life and there are no hard feelings between us. So Olli-Pekka was the only choice we had in our minds [to fill the position] and we were really happy that he wanted to come back. He definitely put his character into the album, which is great. His bass playing brings another fresh flavour to Queen Of Time.”
Some might assume that the added bite in the album’s approach came in part with the bassist’s return. In a way, his presence must have been a tangible reminder of the band’s history, of their death metal lineage that years of musical experimentation has dampened a little. Joutsen, on the contrary, feels it all happened naturally, that no conscious decision to return to the beaten path of their early days was made. Either way, the vocalist is aware that a little bit of 90s-era Amorphis resurfaces across Queen Of Time’s 10 tempestuous tracks.
“With this album you can really hear the roots of the band,” he states. “You can still hear a lot of the band’s early death metal style on Queen Of Time.”
“There’s definitely a lot of typical Amorphis in the air of the album,” Holopainen adds.
“We always wanted our songs to have a musical storyline as well as a lyrical one, so there are a lot of songs that include heavier and more emotional parts too.”
And for the guitarist, there’s still great excitement to be found in the band challenging themselves. Their progressive ambitions shine through the album’s atypical ebb and flow. “It’s a nice thing when you start to rehearse a new song and you realise it isn’t very obvious to play,” Holopainen says. “That the song structures are unpredictable and you challenge yourself to listen to what’s really going on. We want to keep the interest up in the songs so there’s always drama within our music.”
And dramatic it is. Even without the orchestrations and choirs, it’s an album that balances the sum of its parts perfectly. With Under A Red Cloud, the band achieved something special. Though they felt the pressure of maintaining the momentum and acclaim with its follow-up, they relished rolling their sleeves up and simply writing some more great songs.
“We always feel some kind of pressure before writing albums and going on tours,” Joutsen confesses. “But in the end we’re just six guys who want to play heavy metal. We’re trying not to overthink things – this isn’t rocket science. Every guy in the band can compose music so we always have lots of ideas and everyone is open-minded to new ideas.
“If you’re trying to top something, it’s impossible. Everything in art should come naturally: if you try to push it too hard, it can be a total disaster. With Jens in our team, we just took it day by day and trusted that we were doing the right thing.”
For Holopainen, that collaborative spirit is essential. “It’s the best part of the band,” he says. “We all have a good chemistry and we’re able to talk to each other about music and understand the ideas we’re trying to convey. We try to do everything very democratically – there isn’t one leader who has the final say and I think that’s why we’ve stayed together all these years. I think if you need a boss, you should take some other job instead.”
With the Finnish act dishing out albums as good as this, they won’t need to be donning suits any time soon. The stage is their office and an extensive run of tour dates awaits.
“We always wanted our songs to have a musical storyline as well as a lyrical one, so there are a lot of songs that include heavier and more emotional parts too.”
Esa Holopainen