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AMORPHIS Release 13th Studio Album ‘Queen Of Time’
May 18th, 2018

Helsinki, Finland-based progressive metal group Amorphis issued 13th full-length studio album Queen Of Time on May 18th, 2018 through Nuclear Blast Records.

The outing was produced by Jens Bogren, once again.

Guitarist Esa Holopainen commented: “I guess Queen Of Time turned out as a massive surprise to all of us. During the rehearsing and pre-production we didn’t have any idea that Jens had this huge picture inside of his head about the landscape of the album. It’s a very natural continuation to Under The Red Cloud but with steroids. The songs are more aggressive but there’s more dynamics, harmonies and orchestral arrangements present. The result is Amorphis as something you’ve never heard before! Essentially, working with Jens worked really well. As a person he is very similar to us – we share the same kind of weird humor and we all like to work hard.”

Queen Of Time marks the first occasion that lyricist Pekka Kainulainen can be heard on an Amorphis album, having contributed a speech in Finnish.

Discussing the lyrical theme Kainulainen said: “Cultures rise, flourish, and are destroyed. The story of man is the story of searching, finding, and forgetting. A single spark can set the world afire, a single idea can give birth to a new culture. The greatest can stagnate into insignificance, the smallest can hold the power for change. The lyrics on this album are distant echoes of ancient forest peoples, from a time when meaning was proportioned by the cosmic forces that govern birth and death. If the connection was lost, they sought for a strand of knowledge, found a new direction, and a new age began.”

The album also features founding bass player Olli-Pekka “Oppu” Laine, who appears on an Amorphis album for the first time since 1999’s Tuonela. Laine left the band in the spring of 2000, but returned to the fold following the departure of Niclas Etelävuori in April 2017.

“To be honest, ‘Oppu’ was the only guy we could imagine being in Amorphis,” revealed Esa Holopainen. “It was funny – when we started to play our first shows together again last summer it all felt so familiar. He was involved with arranging songs and he also even brought some new songs to the table… really good ones, too!”

Oppu added: “Even though the last year with Amorphis has been exciting, nostalgic and fun, it’s also been truly comfortable to be with the guys again. As a clichéd expression, it’s been like returning home from a lengthy odyssey. After 18 years, it feels like we are picking up where we left off from the good ol’ days! I’m really looking forward for the upcoming tour.

“The new album itself is a really strong package, the only hard thing will be picking which songs to play live! It’s safe to say we are set to pull off some killer shows over the next few years. After that, I’m predicting a long and fruitful career for the band in its current form.”

Dutch singer Anneke van Giersbergen (Vuur / ex-The Gathering) provides guest vocals on the track ‘Amongst Stars’, while Shining (Norway) frontman Jørgen Munkeby contributes saxophone on the song ‘Daughter Of Hate’.

Cover artwork was created by French artist Jean “Valnoir” Simoulin from Metastazis.

The track listing is as follows;

01. ‘The Bee’
02. ‘Message In The Amber’
03. ‘Daughter Of Hate’ (feat. Jørgen Munkeby)
04. ‘The Golden Elk’
05. ‘Wrong Direction’
06. ‘Heart Of The Giant’
07. ‘We Accursed’
08. ‘Grain Of Sand’
09. ‘Amongst Stars’ (feat. Anneke van Giersbergen)
10. ‘Pyres On The Coast’
11. ‘As Mountains Crumble’ *
12. ‘Brother And Sister’ *

* digipak CD, 2LP, and mail order edition bonus tracks

Amorphis’ line-up is as follows;

Tomi Joutsen (vocals)
Esa Holopainen (lead guitar)
Tomi Koivusaari (rhythm guitar)
Olli-Pekka “Oppu” Laine (bass)
Jan Rechberger (drums)
Santeri Kallio (keyboards)

The track ‘Brother And Sister’ was issued as a limited edition (666 copies) shaped vinyl picture disc single on January 29th, 2021. The B-side features the song ‘As Mountains Crumble’.

Speaking about the release, keyboard player Santeri Kallio said: “Two great songs from the Queen Of Time sessions on vinyl which is great. The atmospheric ‘Brother And Sister’ and majestic prog-driven ‘As Mountains Crumble’ were also good candidates for the album’s track list, but in the final run ended up as album bonus tracks to give a special edge to different releases. With this release it is great to see these songs get the attention they deserve.”

Music videos were filmed for the tracks ‘Wrong Direction’ and ‘Amongst Stars’. In addition, official lyric videos were created for the songs ‘The Bee’ and ‘Brother And Sister’. All four clips can be viewed below.

Twelfth studio record Under The Red Cloud was released in September 2015 via Nuclear Blast.

Promotional photograph by Lars Johnson.

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