AMORPHIS – Borderland

The Finns are back with their fifteenth album to date in thirty-five years since the band was founded in 1990 in Suomi’s capital, Helsinki.

A Bit of History

All three of the founders are still in the band: Jan Rechberger on drums, Esa Holopainen on guitar, and singer and rhythm guitarist Tomi Koivusaari, who gave up lead vocals before their third album. That marked an important change—the switch to mostly clean vocals—and after several more experimental releases, the band arrived in 2006 at Eclipse, at which time they found their own style of progressive, bombastic metal.

Typical, But With Some Fine Tweaks

Borderland fits nicely into the string of nine albums since that typical Amorphis sound was created, and connoisseurs of their music will be able to identify the minds behind the compositions right away. Still, Borderland is more than just more of the same, because the ten songs show a little step forward for the band: they have never written their songs so straight and to the point before. So while it is clearly Amorphis, the band does not repeat itself.

The Songs on Borderland

The opener “The Circle” is a feel-good song for the fans—it shows all the trademarks and is simply enjoyable. That is true for several songs in which fans will feel quite at home, but some of the tracks stand out and give the album some character that sets it apart from the output of the twenty years before. First, there is “Bones,” which is heavier and darker than all other songs on Borderland. It taps into doom; the growls and melodies would not be completely out of place on one of the recent Amon Amarth albums until they are combined with one of the typical sweet and melodic Amorphis refrains. The next surprises are “Dancing Shadow” and “Light And Shadow,” because suddenly Amorphis can be played in clubs! The introduction of danceable songs that sound as if the guys injected a little Nightwish into their compositions creates a very welcome new flavour in their work. And finally, the last song, aptly named “Despair,” is worth mentioning as it ends the album on another dark note, which is a stark contrast to the usually folky-happy melodies of the Finns.

One of Their Best Works to Date

Although Borderland seems straightforward and condensed, there is a lot going on in every song that is worth exploring even beyond the fantastic melodies. The album shows depth and manages to grow with more spins until almost every track becomes a hit in its own right. After some time, only “Lanterns” seems to fall a little behind. But it should not surprise if Borderland appears in many metal top lists of 2025.

Tracklist

1. The Circle
2. Bones
3. Dancing Shadow
4. Fog To Fog
5. The Strange
6. Tempest
7. Light And Shadow
8. The Lantern
9. Borderland
10. Despair

Lineup

Esa Holopainen – lead guitar
Tomi Koivusaari – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Santeri Kallio – keyboards
Jan Rechberger – drums, keyboards
Tomi Joutsen – lead vocals
Olli-Pekka Laine – bass, backing vocals