Bolder than The Karelian Isthmus and conceptually superior to later attempts at progressive but radio-friendly '90s metal, Tales From the Thousand Lakes might just be Amorphis' best recording.
This record is heavy, yet never succumbs to the inane extremes common to the melodic death metal genre.
The guitars and drums are in ample supply, and a rare attention to arrangement and production really sets this disc apart.
The guttural vocal work isn't for every metal fan, but the neo-prog instrumental work and overall heaviness should impress those turned off by the throaty rants.
In a possible attempt to widen the band's appeal, Tomi Koivusaari briefly sings, which doesn't exactly work out.
These moments of confusion are short-lived, though, and they hardly blemish the release.
The subtle addition of keyboards is a nice touch -- Amorphis' captivation with the instrument would soften later efforts.
So even though Tales From the Thousand Lakes heralded a shift toward later, inferior recordings, the new and old are balanced precisely on this 1994 Relapse offering.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Into HidingEsa Holopainen, Olli-Pekka Laine, Traditional | Amorphis | Play | 03:45 | 8 MB | 26 MB |
| 2 | The CastawayEsa Holopainen, Tomi Koivusaari, Olli-Pekka Laine, Kasper Martenson, Traditional | Amorphis | Play | 05:32 | 12 MB | 37 MB |
| 3 | First DoomEsa Holopainen | Amorphis | Play | 03:52 | 8 MB | 26 MB |
| 4 | Black Winter DayKasper Martenson, Traditional | Amorphis | Play | 03:50 | 8 MB | 26 MB |
| 5 | Drowned MaidEsa Holopainen, Tomi Koivusaari, Olli-Pekka Laine, Traditional | Amorphis | Play | 04:23 | 10 MB | 30 MB |
| 6 | In the BeginningEsa Holopainen, Olli-Pekka Laine, Traditional | Amorphis | Play | 03:37 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 7 | Forgotten SunriseEsa Holopainen | Amorphis | Play | 04:53 | 11 MB | 33 MB |
| 8 | To Father's CabinEsa Holopainen, Olli-Pekka Laine, Traditional | Amorphis | Play | 03:50 | 8 MB | 26 MB |
| 9 | Magic and MayhemEsa Holopainen, Traditional | Amorphis | Play | 04:27 | 10 MB | 30 MB |
| 38 mins | 87 MB | |||||
| 38 mins | 262 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amorphis | Arranger, Engineer, Primary Artist, Producer |
| 2 | S.V. Bell | Cover Art |
| 3 | Wes Benscoter | Artwork |
| 4 | John Densmore | Composer |
| 5 | Esa Holopainen | Composer, Guitar |
| 6 | Matthew F. Jacobson | Executive Producer |
| 7 | Tomi Koivusaari | Composer, Guitar (Rhythm), Vocals |
| 8 | Robby Krieger | Composer |
| 9 | Olli-Pekka Laine | Bass, Composer |
| 10 | Ray Manzarek | Composer |
| 11 | Kasper Martenson | Composer, Keyboards, Moog Synthesizer |
| 12 | Jim Morrison | Composer |
| 13 | Darius Ramazani | Photography |
| 14 | Jan Rechberger | Drums |
| 15 | Dave Shirk | Mastering |
| 16 | Tomas Skogsberg | Engineer, Producer |
| 17 | Traditional | Composer |
| 18 | Ville Tuomi | Speech/Speaker/Speaking Part, Vocals |
| 19 | William J. Jr. Yurkiewicz | Executive Producer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |