In 1989 Jan Rechberger and Esa Holopainen played in a speed metal band Violent Solution, which Tomi Koivusaari had left the previous year to form the death metal band Abhorrence. Violent Solution slowly withered away as the musicians became interested in other things and styles of music. At this point, Jan Rechberger and Esa Holopainen had the idea of putting together a death metal band. In early 1990, Tomi Koivusaari was asked to be the vocalist and Oppu Laine to be their bassist.
During that time the band asked Tomi to pick up the slot of rhythm guitarist as well as singing, which led to the band dumping all original compositions and starting again. With the band starting to move along, Tomi's other band (Abhorrence) split up and he found himself with much more time to put into Amorphis. The band went into gear and started churning out new brutal music.
Shortly after the band had recorded their first studio demo tape, Tomi got a letter from Relapse Records offering Abhorrence a recording contract. Since Abhorrence was no longer active, they quickly sent their own demo in the return mail and eventually got signed to a recording deal. The deal would later almost destroy the band, due a very long commitment and poor artist relations. They quickly released a death metal classic, The Karelian Isthmus, in 1992 - and would later release the original demo as the Privilege Of Evil EP. The EP featured Abhorrence's original vocalist, Jukka Kolehmainen, as a vocalist on the Abhorrence cover song Vulgar Necrolatry.
The band quickly adopted new ways of making music and started incorporating different styles in with the original death metal aspect, creating a very unique and complex soundscape. This experimentation in elements of folk, doom metal and progressive rock resulted in the melodic death metal cornerstone Tales from the Thousand Lakes in 1994. The shift away from death metal and further into progressive soundscapes (influenced by Finnish prog rock bands like Kingston Wall) became even more apparent on Elegy in 1996, and by the time Tuonela released in 1999 their death metal roots and Kalevala stylings were but a distant memory.
Eventually feeling the need to circle back to how Tales from the Thousand Lakes was formed, the band decided to bring back their Kalevala lyricism and develop their classic, melodic metal sound further. They resurfaced with new vocalist Tomi Joutsen and released the fan favourite Eclipse in 2006 to critical acclaim - another example of their constant musical growth and uncompromising attitude. With renewed vigor, the band explored this modern direction further with equally beloved follow-ups Silent Waters (2007) and Skyforger (2009) - all three albums focusing on one specific character at a time from Kalevala.
Forging The Land Of Thousand Lakes was released in July 2010. It is available as a 2 DVD & 2 CD package (2 digipacks in a box) or as a 2 DVD set. DVD 1, and the CDs, contain a live concert in Oulu (Finland) in 2009. The second DVD contains a shorter set from Summer Breeze Open Air 2009, a 60 minute documentary and all (most?) Amorphis videos plus a photo gallery.
Magic & Mayhem – Tales From The Early Years was released in September 2010. It contains 12 tracks from the first three albums plus a bonus track Light My Fire. They have all been re-recorded with the current line-up. Some arrangements have changed - essentially they are the songs as they have evolved through many concert tours, recorded in a studio environment.
In May 2011, The Beginning Of Times was released and went straight to number 1 in the Finnish album charts and number 16 in the German charts.
Feeling the need to take another short break from the world of Kalevala, they released Circle in April 2013 - featuring an original, self-contained story with some heavier and more progressive influences while retaining their melodic style.
Since 2015, the band has released three more records that continued to gather public and critical approval - Under the Red Cloud (2015), Queen of Time (2018), and Halo (2022) - all leaning towards a more symphonic, grandiose style compared to their previous releases.
Current Members
* Tomi Joutsen – vocals
* Esa Holopainen – guitar
* Tomi Koivusaari – guitar
* Olli-Pekka Laine – bass
* Santeri Kallio – keyboards
* Jan Rechberger – drums
Former Members
* Pasi Koskinen – vocals (1996–2004)
* Niclas Etelävuori – bass (2000-2017)
* Pekka Kasari – drums (1996–2002)
* Kim Rantala – keyboards (1996–1998)
* Kasper Mårtenson – keyboards (1993–1994)
Discography:
1992 The Karelian Isthmus
1994 Tales from the Thousand Lakes
1996 Elegy
1999 Tuonela
2001 Am Universum
2003 Far From the Sun
2006 Eclipse
2007 Silent Waters
2009 Skyforger
2010 Forging The Land Of Thousand Lakes
2010 Magic & Mayhem – Tales From The Early Years
2011 The Beginning Of Times
2013 Circle
2015 Under the Red Cloud
2018 Queen of Time
2022 Halo
Official site: Amorphis.net
Alone
Amorphis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In a womb of time
Breath upon me
Possessed by the passion
Fate will set you free
Infertile
Chased be the precious
When flesh is an enemy
Step aside from the way of a better man than you
So you fall at his feet he's the one who betrays you
It's the servants devotion for the decay
Stand up
There are no flowers on your grave
There are no chains
There I keep chanting for the forgotten name
Why you feel so empty
And still have everything
It's fulfillment
I've got more companions
When I'm all alone
Flesh is fetching
The lyrics of Amorphis's song Alone depict a sense of longing and emptiness within oneself. The opening line "Tear dimmed remembrance, in a womb of time" suggests a nostalgic longing for something in the past that cannot be retrieved. The next lines, "Breath upon me, possessed by the passion, fate will set you free" convey a sense of desperation for an escape from this feeling of emptiness. The following line, "Infertile, chased be the precious, when flesh is an enemy" suggests that the singer has realized that material possessions are futile and are only a temporary fix to the void within. The line "Fair weather man" could be referring to someone who only seeks happiness in good times, but abandons others when things are tough.
The next stanza begins with "Step aside from the way of a better man than you, so you fall at his feet he's the one who betrays you". This suggests that the singer has been betrayed by someone they thought was a better person. It could be interpreted as a warning to not blindly trust others. The line "It's the servant's devotion for the decay, stand up" suggests that blind loyalty to a futile cause will only result in decay, and that we should stand up for something with more substance.
The chorus "There are no flowers on your grave, there are no chains, there I keep chanting for the forgotten name" suggests that the singer is mourning a loss, although it is unclear if it is a literal or metaphorical loss. The following lines "Why you feel so empty, and still have everything, it's fulfillment" suggest that material possessions do not necessarily lead to fulfillment, and that the feeling of emptiness is more of an internal issue. The final line "I've got more companions when I'm all alone, flesh is fetching" ends on a note of pessimism, suggesting that physical pleasure is all they have left.
Line by Line Meaning
Tear dimmed remembrance
Recalling the past with sorrow
In a womb of time
In the long gone past
Breath upon me
Being overwhelmed emotionally
Possessed by the passion
Consumed by strong emotions
Fate will set you free
Things will happen as they are destined
Infertile
Barren and unproductive
Chased be the precious
Being relentlessly pursued by something valuable
When flesh is an enemy
When one's own body seems hostile
Fair weather man
One who is only loyal when things are easy
Step aside from the way of a better man than you
Get out of the way of someone more deserving than yourself
So you fall at his feet he's the one who betrays you
When you trust someone too much, they may turn against you
It's the servants devotion for the decay
The loyalty shown to something disintegrating
Stand up
Take charge of your life and make a change
There are no flowers on your grave
No one mourns or honors your memory
There are no chains
No restrictions or limitations to hold someone back
There I keep chanting for the forgotten name
Holding on to memories of something or someone missing
Why you feel so empty
Wondering about the root of a sense of lacking
And still have everything
Even though one seems to have it all
It's fulfillment
The answer to the emptiness is finding complete satisfaction
I've got more companions when I'm all alone
Finding solace in being alone
Flesh is fetching
The human body is desirable
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: LINUS HJELLSTROM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@fuckhost
Tear dimmed remembrance
In a womb of time
Breath upon me
Possessed by the passion
Fate will set you free
Infertile
Chased be the precious
When flesh is an enemy
Fair weather man
Step aside from the way of a better man than you
So you fall at his feet he's the one who betrays you
It's the servants devotion for the decay
Stand up
There are no flowers on your grave
There are no chains
There I keep chanting for the forgotten name
Why you feel so empty
And still have everything
It's fulfillment
I've got more companions
When I'm all alone
Flesh is fetching
@patomaiden
This was the first Amorphis song I've ever heard, in 2001, and still my favourite Amorphis song.
@redbarron8963
Still listen to this song on ocation trucking down the oilfield hwys.
@Andre83925
Same, buddy. :)
@vvilczur
Same here! I saw the video, but didn't remember the name of a band. Then it took me almost two years to find it once again on Viva Zwei. Next day I bought "Am Universum" :) Still one of my favourite bands and songs.
@marraskalimotxo
Me too! Takes me back to simpler times when I hear it...
@mohammedoraibi8358
Me too ,bit listening to the bee guys !
@FrantikDisarray
This entire album is a masterpiece. The mastering, production, mixing everything just blew me away, still does every time I listen to it.
@Dalleo19
The flow of his vocals and the instruments are just fantastic
@TheYondaime008
Awesome song, I like both old and new Amorphis and even the in-between amorphis, this band is criminally underrated.
@adryaelkrow6753
+TheYondaime008
You're very wrong!
The band is very very RATED, and not at all "underrated".
because it deserves it.