The Beginning of Times
The Beginning of Times is the tenth studio album by Finnish metal band Amorphis, released on 25 May 2011 in Finland, 27 May in Europe and June 7 in the United States. Like previous Amorphis albums, The Beginning of Times is a concept album. The central character of the songs is Väinämöinen, described by the band as "the iconic hero of Finnish mythology".[6]
The Beginning of Times | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 25 May 2011 (FI) 27 May 2011 (EU)[1] June 7, 2011 (US)[2] | |||
Recorded | January 2011[3] | |||
Studio | Sonic Pump Studios, Helsinki, Marco's CockPit, Kuopio | |||
Genre | Progressive metal,[4] melodic death metal, hard rock[5] | |||
Length | 54:42[6] | |||
Label | Nuclear Blast | |||
Producer | Marco Hietala (vocals), Amorphis | |||
Amorphis chronology | ||||
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Singles from The Beginning of Times | ||||
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Release
Singles
On 11 April 2011, Amorphis premiered the first single "You I Need" on their Facebook page.[7] It was released digitally in Finland on 20 April 2011,[8] and in other countries on 22 April 2011. Early the next month, the band released another new song, "My Enemy", again on Facebook.[9]
Reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [10] |
Jukebox:Metal | [11] |
PopMatters | [5] |
Metal-Temple.com | [12] |
Rockfreaks.net | [13] |
MetalUnderground.com | [14] |
Sea of Tranquility | [15] |
The Beginning of Times had a strong sales debut week, charting at No. 1 on the Finnish Albums Chart and No. 16 on the German Media Control Charts.[16][17]
In a professional review for PopMatters, Adrien Begrand praised the album, going so far as to say that Amorphis have never sounded better with their current line-up and describes the album as "a slick, classy blend of death metal and melodic hard rock".[5] Amateur reviews have also been positive, with Craig Hartranft of DangerDog proclaiming "The Beginning of Times finds Amorphis in grand form, doing what they do best".[18]
Track listing
All lyrics are written by Pekka Kainulainen[6].
No. | Title | Music | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Battle for Light" | Santeri Kallio | 5:35 |
2. | "Mermaid" | Kallio | 4:24 |
3. | "My Enemy" | Tomi Koivusaari | 3:25 |
4. | "You I Need" | Kallio | 4:22 |
5. | "Song of the Sage" | Kallio | 5:27 |
6. | "Three Words" | Esa Holopainen | 3:55 |
7. | "Reformation" | Holopainen | 4:33 |
8. | "Soothsayer" | Koivusaari | 4:09 |
9. | "On a Stranded Shore" | Kallio | 4:13 |
10. | "Escape" | Kallio | 3:52 |
11. | "Crack in a Stone" | Holopainen | 4:56 |
12. | "Beginning of Time" | Holopainen | 5:51 |
13. | "Heart's Song" (Bonus track) | Holopainen | 4:07 |
Personnel
Amorphis
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Additional personnel
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Additional personnel 2
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Charts
Chart (2011) | Peak position |
---|---|
Finnish Albums Chart[16] | 1 |
References
- "AMORPHIS | The beginning of times – Nuclear Blast". Nuclearblast.de. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
- "AMORPHIS – Discography". Nuclear Blast USA. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
- "Blabbermouth.Net – Amorphis: New Album Update". Roadrunnerrecords.com. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-10-08. Retrieved 2013-07-13.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- Begrand, Adrien. "Amorphis: The Beginning of Times < PopMatters". Popmatters.com. Retrieved 2012-09-30.
- "New Album "The Beginning Of Times" – Amorphis". Amorphis.net. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
- "Listen to "You I..." Facebook. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
- "You I Need Amorphis". Download.mtv3.fi, Bonnier Group (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2011-06-02.
- "Listen to "My..." Facebook. Retrieved 2012-09-30.
- Rivadavia, Eduardo (2011-05-30). "The Beginning of Times – Amorphis : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-09-30.
- "Jukebox:Metal review". Jukeboxmetal.com. Retrieved 2012-09-30.
- "Metal Temple Review". Metal-temple.com. 2011-05-18. Retrieved 2012-09-30.
- "review". Rockfreaks.net. 2011-05-30. Retrieved 2012-09-30.
- "Metal Underground Review". Metalunderground.com. Retrieved 2012-09-30.
- "Sea of Tranquility Review". Seaoftranquility.org. 2011-06-09. Retrieved 2012-09-30.
- "Amorphis: The Beginning Of Times". Ifpi.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 2011-06-02.
- "Review : Amorphis – The Beginning of Times :: New Music Review :: Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Progressive Metal, Progressive Rock :: CD Album Music Review : Craig Hartranft". Dangerdog.com. 2011-05-23. Retrieved 2012-01-15.