Review AMORPHIS “Tales From The Thousand Lakes (Live At Tavastia)”

Time flies when you are having fun. This came to mind when I remembered that Amorphis’ seminal album “Tales from the Thousand Lakes” was released 3 years ago. Wow. To celebrate this milestone, the band has re-recorded the album in the line-up we already know from the “Queen Of Time” album. The guys went to the Tavastia Club and recorded the album in a special setup, which is now being released in different formats – audio and concert film.

The beginning of the concert film is as Finnish as it gets. The vastness of the Finnish landscape with its lakes during the snowy winter season is what introduces this film. Impressive landscape shots are mixed with the eagle and the stage, ready for Amorphis to start their special show, whereby the word ‘show’ might not describe things exactly.

“Tales From The Thousand Lakes (Live At Tavastia)” was recorded at the Tavasta Club without an audience, which makes this recording a different ballgame. Instead of a sweaty and beer-soaked club show, it is the music that is in the spotlight.

Amorphis do it again, playing an entire album in chronological order. What might sound like a boring idea, as it’s not a typical live release, is actually the opposite. Instead of just going into the studio to re-record their legendary second album, the band opted for a complete play-through, resulting in “Tales From The Thousand Lakes (Live At Tavastia)”, where it’s not the show that makes the difference. It’s the classics from the second album that shine once again.

“Tales From The Thousand Lakes” was an important milestone for the Finnish metal outfit. After a debut with pure death metal power, the band decided to shape their musical identity with “Tales From The Thousand Lakes”. Keyboard parts started to play a more important role and it was/is frontman Tomi Joutsen who added more clean vocals to the mix.

“Magic and Mayhem” is the last song on “Tales from the Thousand Lakes”, but it’s not the finale of this 30th anniversary album. Amorphis have added two more songs from that era, although they weren’t on the original release. “Vulgar Necrolaty” is originally from Amorphis’ first 7″ and is an Abhorrende cover.

Last but not least and heralding the end of show and release is “My Kantele”. The song that has been aregular part of Amorphis’ setlists to this day. The anthemic death metal epic is a bridge to “Elegy” and completes a release that honors one of the most influential albums in melodic death metal.

“Tales of the Thousand Lakes” was the springboard for Amorphis to establish themselves as a major player in death metal, and with a sound that incorporates Finnish folk as well as harsh metal, the guys created their unique trademarks that are as alive today as they were three decades ago.