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 Since Abhorrence was no longer active, they quickly sent their own demo in the return mail and eventually got signed to a recording deal.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

Grieve Stricken Heart
Amorphis Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Your helping hand is killing me
If you see me suffer it's not your victory
Sadistic forms of new way discipline
Like I love myself I love to sin

[pre-chorus:]
And I want more
And I want it low

Of course you won't forgive me
But I won't crawl

Look out for number one
I pray on you it has begun
Let the night stand one thousand years
Longstanding ,everlasting
Breathless masquerade
I'm your devil in disguise

[pre-chorus]

[chorus:]
Grieve stricken heart
Calls upon you
Grieve stricken heart
My only look you fools
I love my misery too

I'm the one to see your collapse
I'm on the side of destruction
On the side of black and I love to sin
Mentally transmitted disease
Rotten wretched attraction
And I love myself

[pre-chorus]

[chorus]

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Amorphis's song "Grieve Stricken Heart" reflect a persona that is in a troubled state of mind. The opening lines "Your helping hand is killing me, if you see me suffer it's not your victory" showcases a sense of resentment towards the help that the persona is receiving from someone else, suggesting that it is not helpful but rather suffocating. Furthermore, the lyrics, "Sadistic forms of new way discipline, like I love myself I love to sin" alludes to the idea of the persona's self-destructive tendencies, which they seem to revel in.

In the pre-chorus, the persona expresses a desire for more and more destructive tendencies, indicating that they are fully conscious of their actions and consequences. The line, "But I won't crawl," shows that despite the persona's acknowledgment of their self-destructive behavior, they are not willing to back down. The chorus highlights their grieve-stricken heart, a way of depicting their pain and anguish, which they are forced to live with. They seem to thrive in this state of misery, as it gives them a sense of control.

Overall, the lyrics to the song depict the inner turmoil and self-destructive tendencies of the persona, who is in a state of conflict with themselves.

Line by Line Meaning

Your helping hand is killing me
Your attempts to help me are actually causing me harm

If you see me suffer it's not your victory
You should not derive pleasure from my pain

Sadistic forms of new way discipline
The methods used to correct my behavior are cruel and perverse

Like I love myself I love to sin
I derive pleasure from wrongdoing in the same way that I love and value myself

And I want more
I desire additional sinful experiences

And I want it low
I crave immoral behavior done secretly or discreetly

Of course you won't forgive me
I am aware that what I am doing is wrong and unforgivable to others

But I won't crawl
I refuse to submit or show weakness in spite of my wrongdoing

Look out for number one
Only consider your own interests

I pray on you it has begun
I have started to take advantage of you

Let the night stand one thousand years
Let this wickedness continue without end

Longstanding, everlasting
This sinful behavior will never end and will continue for an immeasurable amount of time

Breathless masquerade
This immoral behavior takes my breath away, it's thrilling

I'm your devil in disguise
I am an evil presence in your life, but have disguised myself to deceive you

Grieve stricken heart
My sad and troubled heart is filled with grief

Calls upon you
I am reaching out for help

My only look you fools
I have no one else to turn to for assistance and you are foolish to ignore my plea

I love my misery too
I derive pleasure from my own sadness and despair

I'm the one to see your collapse
I will be the cause of your downfall

I'm on the side of destruction
I am firmly committed to causing harm and chaos

On the side of black and I love to sin
I have chosen to align myself with evil and derive pleasure from immoral behavior

Mentally transmitted disease
My immoral behavior spreads like a disease and infects others

Rotten wretched attraction
I am drawn to repulsive and corrupt experiences

And I love myself
I value myself highly and am willing to harm others to satisfy my own selfish desires

Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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TRACKS

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01Alone

02Goddess (Of the Sad Man)4:00

03The Night Is Over4:04

04Shatters Within5:22

05Crimson Wave4:45

06Drifting Memories4:24

07Forever More4:30

08Veil Of Sin5:12

09Captured State4:28

10Grieve Stricken Heart6:42

PT6M42S

Amorphis

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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

Marmor Xo

4y↑3

Your helping hand is killing me
If you see me suffer its not your victory
Sadistic forms of new way discipline
Like I love myself I love to sin
And I want More
And I want it Low
Of course you won't forgive me
But I won't crawl
Look out for number one
I pray on you it has begun
Let the night stand one thousand years
Longstanding, Everlasting
Breathless masquerade
I'm your devil in disguise
Grieve stricken heart
Calls upon you
Grieve stricken heart
My only love you fools
I love my misery too
I'm the one to see your collapse
I'm on the side of destruction
On the side of black and i love to sin
Mentally transmitted disease
Rotten wretched attraction
And I... love myself
I'm the one to see your collapse
I'm on the side of destruction
On the side of black and i love to sin
Mentally transmitted disease
Rotten wretched attraction
And I... love myself
I'm the one to see your collapse
I'm on the side of destruction
On the side of black and i love to sin
Mentally transmitted disease
Rotten wretched attraction
And I... love myself

All comments from YouTube:

karisumataichou

11y↑9

This song embodies how I felt about my bittersweet ex-girlfriend that I was with 4 years ago. I may have suffered, but the victory was mine to savor once I got rid of her and found someone far better.