Amorphis Bio

The legendary Finnish metallers Amorphis are back. The band who've spent the last ten years reinventing modern metal and have sold hundreds of thousands of albums in the process will release their sixth studio album on the 20th of May 2003 through Virgin. The album "Far From The Sun" will mark a beginning of a new era for the band. Having changed their record label the band is more than ready to take their music to the masses, again. Enjoying the calm before the storm guitarist Esa Holopainen is the first to applaud the current state of things for Amorphis: "Having had to go through all the contractual differences in the past, the future does really look bright at the moment. The process of making the album was easy and the schedule for the summer and autumn live dates is developing steadily. We aim to play European festivals over the summer and hit the road on our own in the Fall." Things have not always been this peachy for Amorphis. Starting out in late 1990 Amorphis, band members still in their teens, was quickly signed, with no help of managers or any other advisors by an american label to a long term contract that, despite its obvious fallbacks business-wise, saw Amorphis release five albums that changed the face of modern metal. From the death metal origins of their debut "Karelian Ishtmus" to their progressive and highly influental second album "Tales from The Thousand Lakes" up until the soon-to-be released "Far From The Sun" Amorphis have been on the forefront of modern metal like very few bands have been able to. Mixing their metal roots and their love for classic rock and Finnish folklore the band has created its own unique and distinctive sound of strong melodies and aggressive metal that has won them fans all over the globe and helped the band sell over 500 000 albums in the process. On "Far From The Sun" Amorphis are returning to a more band-oriented concept. Having had several guest musicians and outside producers on their albums over the past years the band has this time around trusted only in themselves. The new album was produced by the band and recorded in several studios in Finland during the autumn and winter of 2002 and 2003. As Esa Holopainen puts it: "Far From The Sun is heavier and more guitar-driven and band-oriented an album than its predecessors. It is Amorphis 2003."