I would have thought they were melodic enough, if not sometimes catchy enough, to attract a wider audience.
Absolu-fuckin-lutely. People here are simply missing out. They are not for everybody, but surely there's the Maiden connection with their melodic guitar line approach. That should appeal to at least 10 or 20 more people out here, for sure.
So, I gave the Top 10 a spin.
This might be a controversial opinion seeing how the Top 10 turned out and the links NP provided, but I enjoyed "Magic & Mayhem", "My Kantele" and "The Castaway" the most. And I enjoyed the original versions of those songs more. Safe to say I should be checking out early Amorphis records?
Good to read this! I do not think it is a very controversial opinion. It's just a different one from four people who played this game.
You might like the 2nd (
Tales from the Thousand Lakes) and 3rd album (
Elegy) the most. The former is a melodic death metal milestone every metal fan should check, and the latter has a more seventies/proggy vibe, using way more clean vocals and different keyboard sounds (e.g. hammond if not mistaken) which changed the sound a lot.
Personally, I hold the debut (
The Karelian Isthmus) very high in regard as well. It didn't stand much chance in this game, perhaps because it isn't as produced, perhaps it has more parts in their songs which can be seen as less appealing/accessible to a broader music/metal minded audience, but that doesn't make this record less interesting. On the contrary, the songs are full of neat (sometimes fast!) riffs and contain unexpected twists. The atmosphere is kind of unique. The album opens with that haunting intro and over the whole album there's some sinister feel to it, more than on later work. There's one song that has a literal Alexander the Great riff in the mid section (and there's wind as well!), but I forgive them for that.
Karelian is a nordic death metal jewel of a rare sort! A rough one, but fine to possess! It can take a while before it clicks. I felt that it was more difficult to take in than
Tales which is an instant pleasure to the ears and mind.
On the early albums the lead guitarist, Esa Holopainen didn't shine much as a solo guitarist (he developed that later), but since day one he had these driving melodies that make the Amorphis sound. Sometimes they are short patterns, repeated very fast. Fits perfectly with the rhythm guitar.
@Night Prowler thanks for hosting! Not that satisfied with the results but I enjoyed the game a lot!
It was good to encourage one or two more people to give Amorphis a spin, too. Since I started listening to them, I've been genuinely surprised that they don't have a bigger following. Maybe they're not heavy enough for some, but equally, I would have thought they were melodic enough, if not sometimes catchy enough, to attract a wider audience.
