Review of the Album The Beginning of Times by Finland’s Amorphis

By this point in time of my music listening life (since 1993), I can say that Finland’s Amorphis has reached a point that no matter what style of music they perform, it turns out solid. Their 2011 album called “The Beginning of Times” is another successful album put out by these Finnish legends. It is pretty much a slam dunk (using a basketball metaphor here) that every single Amorphis album is guaranteed to be good. In basketball terminology, a slam dunk is worth 2 points for sure. However, this album is a concept album based on a mythological Finnish demigod instead of Finnish poetry.

The Beginning of Times was released in 2011, a year that was memorable for me on a personal level but since this article is about Amorphis, that is what will be discussed.

Battle for Light might as well be a song that could be seen metaphorically if not literally as a way to encourage the spread of light throughout the world instead of darkness. Mermaid represents a different style of song than we have heard from Amorphis as there are female vocal chants being used. My Enemy is a song that starts out with guttural growls as the message is to forgive those people that try to do harm to us as difficult as this may be. Those people that try to harm others will meet their fate one day. So the message should be that we should try to be better than these kinds of people, these energy vampires that drain all that is good from us.

You I Need is a song that symbolically makes reference to the idea that humans were created in GOD’s likeness and they need HIM for guidance and direction. We need GOD to command the sky and seas and to help us when we need HIM. The issue in the world is that many people think that they can figure out everything by themselves. What is the sea without waves? Then it wouldn’t be a sea.

Reformation is a song about a spirit that has been reformed after that spirit has left the body. Soothsayer is another example of how there is a good contrast between the growls and the clean vocals by Tomi Joutsen. Even though the lyrics of the albums since 2006 have been hard to interpret, the listening experience you will gain by listening to these guys will be valuable enough that you will keep on coming back for more as I did with the songs My Enemy and You I Need. Other good songs include Beginning of Time and Mermaid. For the time period in the career of Amorphis, The Beginning of Times is another solid release from this band and which one of their releases isn’t solid? Maybe Tuonela is their weakest album but even that one has redeemable qualities in it. Amorphis is just good, sometimes even exceptional as they were for most of the 1990’s and early 2000’s.