Review: Amorphis "Far From the Sun" Pasi Koskinen's Final Work With This Finnish Metal Band

Amorphis from the great country of Finland is one of the finest heavy metal bands to have ever started to play in the genre. Their 2003 album Far from the Sun deserves a review not just because it is the last one to have Pasi Koskinen on vocals but also because Amorphis has excited me and tons of other fans across the globe since 1990.

The first song called Day of Your Beliefs is about someone who hears another person’s yearnings, cries, and anguish but that other person has to know what it feels like to go through hardship in life. Sometimes the end of life is not always going to be pleasant. Planetary Misfortune has some guitar play that sounds Middle Eastern in origin. There are some very melodic vocals by Pasi as he chants “cleanse your senses.”

As I interpret this song’s title it can be said that there is misfortune for all of us on this planet Earth that we live on because life is full of success, failure, trials, and tribulations.

The next progressive rock song called Evil Inside is about a woman who is filled with much pain driving others insane and they don’t want to be around her. Amorphis made a very successful transition from their death metal beginnings as a band and they have become one of the best progressive rock bands in the world. The song Far Away from the Sun is a song that figuratively tries to describe a person that is walking away from bad influences to create a better life for himself. The next song called Ethereal Solitude is about not letting the unfortunate past drag you down and you have to let go of the things that seem to torment you and that is easier said than done. The song has a darker progressive sound to it. Already I notice that this album is weaker than their previous album called Am Universum but they still manage to keep things good enough on a musical level.

The next song called Killing Goodness is a song about being in a world that is surrounded by darkness and hate as people wait too long to try and get these feelings out of their system. The next song called God of Deception is a song about someone that caused their death by their own hands and now they have to deal with their maker (the one that created mankind). The song Higher Ground begins with some sitar playing. The last song in the album called Smithereens is a song about the dangers of excessive pride. Too much pride can lead to arrogance and eventually the downfall of that person on some level. The melodic nature of Pasi Koskinen’s voice is not enough to save this album from being the weakest one that Pasi was a member of. However, the album is still a decent one and shows that Amorphis can still play good music even when they are not at their best. That is the single greatest quality of an elite metal band. Following this album, Pasi Koskinen would leave Amorphis to be replaced by Tomi Joutsen a very competent replacement.

Final score: 78 out of 100 points (C+)