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 Since Abhorrence was no longer active, they quickly sent their own demo in the return mail and eventually got signed to a recording deal.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
My Enemy
Amorphis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And the power of my soul
His spells against my might
My wrath he did ignite
Your brain replaced by mine
Your mind changed into mine
You lose sight of yourself
The lightning of my eyes crumbles you
My fingers as snakes drag you to mire
The trembling earth now melts under you
Your legs turn to sludge from my ire
I feel your feelings now
I know now what you knew
I see how you have lied
Plunge you into your grave
Under the ground I force you
To Underworld I curse you
To arms of death deliver
And damn inside a rock
Remorse is useless there
And mercy never shown
Bribery’s futile there
No promises hold
No one feels your pain
No one there will listen
No one takes your hand
No one helps you now
But I will show him mercy
Let him return to life
I will show him mercy
I will let him go back
The lyrics of Amorphis's song 'My Enemy' revolve around the concepts of vengeance, black magic, and the ultimate release of forgiveness. The song describes an intense battle between two individuals, where one sets out to take the other's life and the power of their soul. The singer, in retaliation, channels his wrath and unleashes his magical might against his enemy. He takes over his enemy's mind and replaces it with his own, rendering his enemy powerless and erasing his existence from his own mind.
The singer's ire continues to grow, and he exacts his revenge by dragging his enemy into the mire and melting the earth beneath him. He forces his enemy underground to the underworld and curses him to death. There, the singer states that in that realm of death, remorse, mercy and promises hold no value. No one listens to the cries of his enemy, and no one takes his hand to help him.
However, in the final verse, the singer releases his enemy from his curse and forgives him. He shows him mercy and allows him the opportunity to return to life, thus ending the cycle of vengeance and hatred.
Overall, the lyrics of 'My Enemy' can be interpreted as a metaphor for the human tendency to hold onto grudges and let bitterness consume us. The song highlights the transformative power of forgiveness and the importance of letting go of hatred and revenge.
Line by Line Meaning
He set out to take my life
He aimed to end my existence.
And the power of my soul
The vitality of my being.
His spells against my might
His incantations opposing my strength.
My wrath he did ignite
He triggered my furious anger.
Your brain replaced by mine
Your thoughts overridden by mine.
Your mind changed into mine
Your cognition dominated by me.
You lose sight of yourself
You lose your own identity.
Your world no longer yours
The life you know is stripped away.
The lightning of my eyes crumbles you
My fierce glare breaks you down.
My fingers as snakes drag you to mire
My grip drags you down to suffering.
The trembling earth now melts under you
The ground beneath you melts as you face me.
Your legs turn to sludge from my ire
My wrath liquefies your legs.
I feel your feelings now
I sense and experience your emotions.
I know now what you knew
I now comprehend your prior knowledge.
I see how you have lied
I perceive how you've deceived.
Plunge you into your grave
I throw you into your place of death.
Under the ground I force you
I compel you under the earth.
To Underworld I curse you
I condemn you to the realm of afterlife.
To arms of death deliver
I deliver you to the embrace of death.
And damn inside a rock
I place you in the prison of stone.
Remorse is useless there
Regret has no worth in that place.
And mercy never shown
Compassion is never present there.
Bribery’s futile there
Attempting to bribe gains nothing in that place.
No promises hold
Vows are futile in that place.
No one feels your pain
There's no empathy for your suffering.
No one there will listen
No ears are open to hear your distress.
No one takes your hand
No assistance is given to you.
No one helps you now
You're left alone in your doom.
But I will show him mercy
I will grant him clemency.
Let him return to life
Allow him to go back to living.
I will show him mercy
I will extend kindness to him.
I will let him go back
I will enable him to return.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind