Amorphis: Tales From A Thousand Tours
AMORPHIS have remained, for thirty years, a constant fixture of the European metal scene. Their second full-length release, Tales From The Thousand Lakes – which is widely considered to be a classic and highly influential example of both the melodic death metal and folk metal styles – established the group as a name synonymous with combining melodic intuition with musical intensity.
Afterwards, the band began to experiment and slowly started to integrate more and more progressive elements into their music, including clean vocals, acoustic guitars and synthesisers. In 2005 they were joined by their current vocalist, Tomi Joutsen, who reflects on the band’s progress. “I think it’s going forward after every record, but we are still kind of at the same level. We’re doing the same clubs and venues that we did when I joined the band.”
In the notoriously volatile world of the music industry, a steady and unwavering career bolstered by a committed fanbase is truly enviable. AMORPHIS have outlasted trends, and remained focussed on what they do best. “I think the guys who’ve been in the band all these years they have some kind of huge motivation for this,” Joutsen observes, and chuckling adds “when they started the band they were quite young so maybe they just don’t know what else to do!”
Thematically, the band draws extensive inspiration from Finnish mythology – particularly the national epic, The Kalevala. “Everyone loves stories, you know. And maybe part of the story of AMORPHIS is that we’ve taken inspiration from The Kalevala?” Although Finnish mythology has proved to be a rich vein of inspiration for the band, that is by no means the beginning and end of the AMORPHIS story, as Joutsen is quick to add: “it’s kind of our trademark, and we just have to deal with that, but that’s not the most important thing for us as musicians.”
Over the years members had come and gone, but at last in 2018 all of the original members returned for the recording of 2018’s Queen Of Time – their fourth full-length release to reach number one in the album charts in their native Finland. On the album’s success, Joutsen notes, “the album is one of those which people will remember, I think. It’s kind of massive. I think we brought something unique and new for us as a band.” As the band enters their thirtieth year, and they embark on yet another tour, Distorted Sound sat down with vocalist Tomi Joutsen ahead of the tour’s opening night in London to discuss their longevity in the music industry, co-headlining tours, and some of their plans for the year ahead.
AMORPHIS has been around, in one form or another, for a very long time. Of course, there has been some line-up changes but now that all of the original members are back, what do you think it is about this group which keeps everyone wanting to make music with each other after thirty years?
Joutsen: I think one reason is that we’re doing pretty well at the moment. That’s for sure. It’s a weird thing, of course there’s been some line up changes over the years and that’s to be expected when the band is that old. Those kinds of things will happen. Maybe in Europe it’s getting better, the venues are bigger and there are more people at the shows.
Do you find that the band generally gets a better reception on this side of the Atlantic?
Joutsen: Well we have a German label, so maybe that’s one reason why we’re so popular in Europe. I think Europe has a good market for metal. I mean the countries around Germany especially, and Sweden and Norway too of course. It’s fun to tour in Europe. It’s safe, and the venues are great, and everyone knows how to work. It’s nice. Of course, when you’re away from home its less stressful to be in Europe because you sort of know how the world goes here.
Queen of Time has some of the most ambitious production on an AMORPHIS album to date, featuring lots of guest musicians and even the HELLSCORE CHOIR. Is it difficult to re-arrange some of these more complex pieces for a live setting?
Joutsen: I don’t think it’s that much of a challenge. There is six people in the band, so for us it’s not that easy, but it’s quite easy to bring those songs to the stage, just because we have so many members. The basic idea of the songs is usually quite simple. Of course, when we have a producer in the studio, we can add some interesting spices here and there, but I think the basic idea is usually quite simple. We’re trying to do quite catchy things, not to be too progressive so to speak. I’m not saying it’s easy to do, but for us it’s quite natural, quite comfortable.
Are the any songs from the album which you especially enjoy performing, or which you think work particularly well live?
Joutsen: Well we’ve played Pyres on the Coast a couple of times in Finland, and of course because we haven’t performed it that many times it was really fun to play. I think it’s a really big song, and quite different too. For this album it’s quite easy to pick songs for the setlist, because there are loads of great songs and people go crazy when we play them, so it’s been great so far. It’s been over a year since we released the album and somehow this tour still feels like we’re promoting the album, so I don’t know what will happen on this tour – I hope people are not too bored! It’s been fun, I mean the album is one of those which people will remember, I think. It’s kind of massive. I think we brought something unique and new for us as a band.
This is a bit of an unusual tour in some ways. You’re co-headlining with DIMMU BORGIR – and these co-headlining tours are becoming quite common – but AMORPHIS and DIMMU BORGIR are not necessarily two bands which you might think would tour together. What do you think unites both of these bands on the tour?
Joutsen: I think in the States its quite typical for four bands to tour together, and to be very different. In Europe styles are not usually that mixed, so It’s going to be interesting. Of course, DIMMU BORGIR are a black metal band and we’re more like – I don’t know, metal? Just metal. For a black metal band DIMMU BORGIR have quite a few commercial things in their music, and in that case, I think it’s going to be a great fit. They have catchy tunes, and it’s not just blasting all the time. The opening band are black metal too, so I guess there are going to be lots of black metal fans about, but at the same time DIMMU BORGIR are an old band, they’ve been around for years, and I think that some people that know DIMMU BORGIR will also know AMORPHIS. DIMMU BORGIR are also a very visual band, lots of cool lighting and stuff. I hope it’s not going to be boring! It’s a great mix of different styles, it’s not going to be like just having four folk metal bands playing together.
Can we expect some grand stage production then? Maybe some theatricality from AMORPHIS?
Joutsen: No, no – it’s going to be interesting, though. I think these co-headline tours, speaking for myself, are always okay. Both bands know that it’s a co-headline tour, and usually some bands really don’t want to be the last band, so to speak. Because if it’s a co-headline tour, in some cases people are just coming to check out the first band, and if you’re the last band there might be some empty seats! That always happens with co-headline tours, but if you’re lucky you might get some new fans too!
If you were putting together your own co-headlining tour, who would you like to tour with?
Joutsen: I would like to do a tour with PARADISE LOST. That would be a good package.
It seems as though AMORPHIS takes a lot of inspiration – lyrically and visually – from the Finnish national book, The Kalevala. Do you see it as an objective of the band to keep these stories alive?
Joutsen: It’s a nice thing to have, and of course it’s a very important book and its full of great stories and interesting characters and so on. I think we’ll continue with that theme in the future also. We’ve already spoken with Olli-Pekka, who does the lyrics these days, who will do the new stuff. He takes stuff from here and there and puts onto them his own beliefs or dreams and so on to make it more interesting.
What do you see as being the band’s objective right now? Do you think your priorities have changed over the years?
Joutsen: I think it’s the whole package. We’re trying to have great quality of whatever we do. Of course, the music is the most important thing. We have great technicians and managers working for us. We’re trying to be really professional. It might sound a little bit boring, but that’s what we’re trying to do! We’re not young guys anymore, so every time new album is a great achievement. We’re trying to concentrate on what we’re doing. And we’re lucky that we can do this full time. Our average is 120 shows in a year. As I said, we don’t have jobs! So, we still have lots of spare time.
What do you guys have planned to celebrate your 30th anniversary?
Joutsen: We’re going to play those special shows in Finland, and we’re going to play songs from every decade. The festival season is coming too, so we’re going to play some shows in Europe. After summer there might be some tours coming, and next year we’ll start to do a new album – that’s the plan. So, it’s going to be busy again!
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