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 Since Abhorrence was no longer active, they quickly sent their own demo in the return mail and eventually got signed to a recording deal.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 Karelian Isthmus 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. Their musical growth has not stopped and the band consistently strives to excel in the creativity and unique soundscapes which has always been the band's backbone.
Eclipse, is the result of this uncompromising attitude and while the band sheds their musical skin, the fans can rest assured that the direction of the music is still in the same distant horizon as it was when they went in to studio to records Tales from the Thousand Lakes.
Amorphis' eighth release was Silent Waters, which was released in 2007 and continued in similiar vein with Eclipse. Again based on Kalevala, the album tells the story of Lemminkäinen.
Skyforger was released in May 27 2009, and it contains 10 songs. The digipack version has one bonus song; Godlike Machine.
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.
In the decade from 2011 to 2021, the band released three more records that continued to gather public and critics approval and where the melodic metal style of the band consolidated even more.
Current Members
* Tomi Joutsen – vocals
* Esa Holopainen – guitar
* Tomi Koivusaari – guitar
* Niclas Etelävuori – bass
* Santeri Kallio – keyboards
* Jan Rechberger – drums
Former Members
* Pasi Koskinen – vocals (1996–2004)
* Olli-Pekka Laine – bass (1990–2000)
* 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
Official site: Amorphis.net
Captured State
Amorphis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And closed the doors behind
Pay that price if you lost it all
The end is not the past recall
Waiting for the enclosing darkness
And there you will be the light
Step out from your mold
The captured mind is a captured state
But only free will has it's sustain
You burn away all you once loved
Now it's time to turn away
It's all too clear you've been hiding
Nothing to tell but lies
Feel shame when you disdain it all
Your stand is not the past recall
Waiting for the enclosing darkness
And there you will be the light
As it's carved in your soul
Step out from your mold
The captured mind is a captured state
But only free will has it's sustain
You burn away all you once loved
Now it's time to turn away
The lyrics to Amorphis’s Captured State speak of the pain of an individual who has been living a life of lies for many years. The first stanza talks about how the singer has been fading away for many years and has closed the doors behind. However, the cost of losing everything is high and cannot be forgotten. The second stanza is about waiting for the enclosing darkness, which may be an indicator of death, but also a chance to be the light. The lyrics go on to say that the mind is a captured state, but only free will has its sustain. They also speak of burning away everything once loved and the time to turn away.
The chorus reinforces the idea that the captured mind is a trapped state, as opposed to free will, which requires self-sustainability. The singer emphasizes that it is essential to step out of the mold and move past the lies and disdain to find a new path.
Line by Line Meaning
So many years I've been fading
I have been losing myself and my identity for many years.
And closed the doors behind
I have shut out everything from my past, isolating myself.
Pay that price if you lost it all
If everything you had and loved is gone, you must accept the consequences.
The end is not the past recall
You can change your future, even if your past was difficult.
Waiting for the enclosing darkness
I am anticipating the inevitable darkness that will consume me.
And there you will be the light
But despite that darkness, you can still find hope and purpose.
As it's carved in your soul
This hope and purpose is something that is deeply ingrained in you.
Step out from your mold
But in order to find it, you must break out of your current pattern and routines.
The captured mind is a captured state
Being trapped in your own thoughts and fears holds you back from growth.
But only free will has it's sustain
Only you have the power to break free and take control of your life.
You burn away all you once loved
Sometimes in order to move forward, you must let go of the past and old attachments.
Now it's time to turn away
It's time to face your fears and move forward with purpose.
It's all too clear you've been hiding
You've been living in a state of denial and avoidance for too long.
Nothing to tell but lies
Your past and current situation are filled with deception and falsehoods.
Feel shame when you disdain it all
You should feel remorse for your past mistakes and negative attitude.
Your stand is not the past recall
You can always change your perspective and approach, and move past your past mistakes.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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