Amorphis is a Finnish progressive/melodic metal band, and formerly death/do… Read Full Bio ↴Amorphis is a Finnish progressive/melodic metal band, and formerly death/doom band started by Jan Rechberger, Tomi Koivusaari and Esa Holopainen in Helsinki, Finland in 1990. Amorphis absorbed and incorporated influences from many metal genres, and with time passing their sound evolved dramatically. Initially, the band was a Death Metal act, but with time they have evolved into making music that is more classifiable as Doom Metal with folk influences, and, more recently, Progressive Metal and Symphonic Metal, utilizing increasingly complex arrangements and a less brutal sound. Amorphis is also well known for their use of the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala, as a source for their lyrics.

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 Since Abhorrence was no longer active, they quickly sent their own demo in the return mail and eventually got signed to a recording deal.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

Crimson Wave
Amorphis Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

She's riding on a crimson wave
Truth sat on her shoulder
Planets before melting face
The keys for the wounded
Sinking into underground
Please the one who wants it
Something is pulling you down
It's not the cravings why you need it

[pre-chorus:]
It's a rush hour inside my head
Don't want to share the anguish
And I will take it away from you
Before you can change it

[chorus:]
That bastard hallucination's pushing me
Like a damned I walk over
Touch the sky when it's burning red
Standing the ground I have chosen

Shivering in outer space
There's no one who can hear you
Getting into different state
It's like getting nowhere
Gathering all those fears and fails
There's no one who can see you
Someone is pulling you down
It's not the cravings why you need it

[pre-chorus]

[chorus]

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Amorphis's song "Crimson Wave" depicts a person riding on a metaphorical "crimson wave" and experiencing various surreal and unsettling sensations. The "Truth" sits on her shoulder, perhaps as a reminder of the reality she tries to cling to in the midst of these strange experiences. The reference to "planets before melting face" could represent the breakdown of the world around her or a personal loss of control. The keys mentioned in the lyrics may symbolize a way to unlock the healing for the wounded. However, despite the desire to please those who need it, the person feels themselves sinking deeper into an underground, dark place. There's a sensation of something pulling them down, and it's not just a simple craving. The pre-chorus suggests an inner struggle to deal with the overwhelming emotions, and the chorus represents the fight to stand strong amidst imaginary monsters and hallucinations.

Line by Line Meaning

She's riding on a crimson wave
She is menstruating

Truth sat on her shoulder
She is honest and truthful

Planets before melting face
Her mind is in a state of confusion and chaos

The keys for the wounded
She holds the solution for the suffering

Sinking into underground
She is sinking into despair

Please the one who wants it
She is trying to make someone happy

Something is pulling you down
There is a force trying to bring her down

It's not the cravings why you need it
She needs something for another reason, not just a craving

It's a rush hour inside my head
She is overwhelmed with thoughts and emotions

Don't want to share the anguish
She doesn't want to burden others with her pain

And I will take it away from you
She wants to relieve someone else's pain