ALBUM REVIEW: Halo – Amorphis

To listen to AMORPHIS is to grasp what metal can truly be. Over a period of decades, the Finnish melodeath veterans have crafted a sound so lush and expansive, yet so tightly melodic that it boggles the mind to conceive of how they consistently weave it all together. They boast both an incredible pop sensibility in their melodic construction, but have an incredible prog dexterity to elevate the simple into the transportative. This is all to say that the band’s new album Halo, their 14th in a long and excellent line, is perhaps the crowning jewel of their career, especially in their Tomi Joutsen era. It sees the band rising to the highest melodic heights yet, and crafting songs that from start to finish whisk listeners away to the most vivid places their imagination chooses to take them. Not a second is wasted, and every moment leaves the listener breathless and yearning for more.

Halo once again sees perhaps the busiest and most dependable man in metal, Jens Bogren, helming the production after 2018’s excellent Queen Of Time. This album curiously split the opinions of Bogren and the band, with the producer saying it felt even more melodic, and the band saying it sounded heavier. Though an argument can certainly be made in both cases, it’s evident within the first few tracks that Halo is absolutely placing a greater emphasis on putting hooks and melody to the forefront. The opening riff of Northwards bursts to life with a vibrancy and clarity in the instrumentation unheard with the band thus far. Joutsen once again sets about proving why he is one of the most versatile and talented jacks of all trades in metal, with his growls cutting like a ritualistic blade, and his cleans flowing like rich honey. But just when the song feels like another solid, hard charging and hooky opener, it moves into a middle section that is all prog and jazz, but that works so incredibly well. It lifts the song another notch, and effortlessly transitions back to the main motif and melody. And the journey is only just beginning.

The groovy, bouncy On The Dark Waters keeps the hooks going with wild electronic flourishes and a wide swath of sonic textures like sitar and organ all doing their part to continue to elevate the track. Songwriters Esa Holopainen (lead guitarist) and Santeri Kallio (keyboardist) are absolutely writing the best melodies they ever have, and it seems each song is more singable and catchy than the one before. Joutsen works his magic and opens a portal to serotonin with each note he sings. There’s just something constantly goosebump-inducing hearing his Mikael Akerfeldt-esque deep growl effortlessly slide into the catchiest chorus this side of top 40 radio.

The Moon is one of the best examples of this, and if all the tracks on the album are highlights, this one is a revelation. Shimmering keyboards evoke the titular heavenly body shining off a tranquil pond in a long forgotten realm, and the chorus is so grand, tears might be shed hearing it. It’s a truly wonderful auditory painting filled with flourishes of flute mixed with mystical female vocals and excellent synth pad work. If Hans Zimmer decided to create a metal band, he’d write songs like this.

The superlatives go on and on, and each song is a new brushstroke in an epic masterpiece. Tracks like When The Gods Came remind you this is an album meant for headbanging too, with a simple staccato riff backed by a beautifully lilting piano cascade. The song explodes with a swaggering confidence that will absolutely floor. It’s an incredibly emotional experience hearing a band perform at a level like this, and the album is only halfway through. Seven Roads Come Together‘s IMAX cinema feel and construction is all enveloping in a field of aural bliss as the album continues to ascend to bafflingly stellar heights.

And it’s the unexpected little moments that only continue to raise the ceiling this album arrives at. The koto melody opening War sets the stage for another emotional track telling a tragic story of death and carnage that evokes a protagonist watching his village burn under the torches of an invading enemy. It’s truly the stuff of the best Ridley Scott epics here, and the title track Halo continues the thrilling shell game of the journey this album is delivering. It’s the most melodically and rhythmically different in its verses, but its chorus is an instant classic. The consistent usage of female vocals on the record is also a very welcome addition, as they’re a perfectly delicate foil to Joutsen‘s powerhouse voice. It’s Aragorn and Arwen incarnate.

By the time the record arrives at its closer, My Name Is Night, there’s no better track that could have ended such an energizing and electric record. A beautiful acoustic intro tinged with cello evokes a shimming winter night in an alpine forest, and another excellent turn by a mysterious and ethereal female vocalist (who unfortunately was not identified in the promo materials for the record) brings the album to an impeccable cinematic finish. But rest assured, there will be a yearning for more by the time the last notes ring out.

Halo is an extraordinary achievement in the history of a band already known for some of the most consistently great output in metal. It’s a true quantum leap in hook writing and melding epic pop construction with prog and jazz passages seamlessly and effortlessly. AMORPHIS are working at the height of their powers on this record, and although it’s early and there’s a lot of year and a lot of metal left to hear, its easily a top album of the year contender, and a serious one at that. AMORPHIS have delivered an immaculate album that offers passage out of this world and into one where myth and beauty reign supreme. Halo is what metal can be at its very best, and nothing less.

Rating: 10/10

Halo is set for release on February 11th via Atomic Fire Records.

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