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AMORPHIS Release 3D Art Video For ‘Northwards’ Track
February 11th, 2022

Helsinki, Finland-based progressive metal band Amorphis have released a 3D art video for the track ‘Northwards’, which can be viewed below.

Amorphis issued 14th full-length studio album Halo on February 11th, 2022 through Atomic Fire Records.

“It really is a great feeling that we can still produce very decent music as a band,” said Esa Holopainen. “Perhaps a certain kind of self-criticism and long experience culminate in these latest albums.” To the songwriter himself, Halo sounds both familiar and different. “It is thoroughly recognizable Amorphis from beginning to end but the general atmosphere is a little bit heavier and more progressive and also organic compared to its predecessor,” he elaborated.

Frontman Tomi Joutsen added: “To me, Halo sounds a little more stripped down compared to Queen Of Time [2018] and Under The Red Cloud [2015]. However, don’t get me wrong: when a certain song needs to sound big, then it sounds very big.”

That’s of course also thanks to producing renaissance man Jens Bogren who harvested the 13 final tracks from a batch of 30 songs Amorphis offered him. “Jens is very demanding, but I really like to work with him,” stated Holopainen. “He takes care of the whole project from start to finish, and he allows the musician to focus on just playing. I may not be able to thank Jens enough. Everything we’ve done together has been really great, and this co-operation has carried Amorphis significantly forward.”

No Amorphis album would be complete without the imaginative and poetic storytelling of renowned lyricist and “Kalevala” expert artist Pekka Kainulainen. “From day one, Pekka has always been an enthusiastic and prolific lyricist for Amorphis,” said Joutsen. “It is a slow process of translating archaic Finnish poetry into English and adapting it to our progressive rhythms. Fortunately, Pekka does everything on time and with great care.”

“Halo is a loose themed record filled with adventurous tales about the mythical North tens of thousands of years ago,” explained Kainulainen. “The lyrics tell of an ancient time when man wandered to these abandoned boreal frontiers after the ice age. While describing the revival of a seminal culture in a world of new opportunities, I also try to reach the sempiternal forces of the human mind.”

Halo was recorded, produced, and mixed by Jens Bogren (Fascination Street Studios), while mastering duties were handled by Tony Lindgren.

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

The track listing is as follows:

01. ‘Northwards’
02. ‘On The Dark Waters’
03. ‘The Moon’
04. ‘Windmane’
05. ‘A New Land’
06. ‘When The Gods Came’
07. ‘Seven Roads Come Together’
08. ‘War’
09. ‘Halo’
10. ‘The Wolf’
11. ‘My Name Is Night’

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 song ‘On The Dark Waters’ was released as a limited edition (1000 copies) blue-white marbled seven-inch vinyl EP on January 28th via Atomic Records. The B-side features a live rendition of the song ‘We Accursed’.

Music videos were filmed for the tracks ‘The Moon’ and ‘On The Dark Waters’. Both clips can also be viewed below.

Thirteenth studio record Queen Of Time was released in May 2018 via Nuclear Blast.

Promotional photograph by Sam Jamsen.

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