Amorphis - Circle (2013)

Posted By: apocalipsys2014

Amorphis - Circle (2013)
Year & Label: 2013, Nuclear Blast GmbH | CD#: NB 2997-0
Flac (image) | MP3 CBR 320 Kbps | Artwork (JPG, 300 dpi) | File-hosts: Uploaded.net
Modern Rock/Melodic Metal | FLAC: 400 MB | Artwork: 60 MB | MP3: 120 MB | 5% WinRAR Recovery

EAC Secure-rip with LOG+CUE+COVERS | Source: eMule
Limited Edition with bonus track

Feeling like they were going in circles, Amorphis chose to spice up their Joutsen-formula for something both different and similar. Circle isn’t the freshest album (as the band made it out to be) but it is everything an Amorphis fan could want. Following the post-2000 trend of every other Amorphis album being better than the one before it , this one brings back that ambitious enthusiasm the band sorely forgot on The Beginning Of Times. From the production to the stimulated, developed writing, it seems as though Amorphis have more left in them than the last album hinted at. With that said, this release is a focused, luxurious album with ripe passages rivaling Skyforger.

The production is something to note as it marks a change since the arrival of Joutsen. Peter Tägtgren is one of my favorite metal artists, with his band Hypocrisy being a melodic death band that goes way back in my metal-listening years (about as early as Amorphis). So having his production style utilized by this band is a match made in heaven. It’s not totally different from the kind the band has been using these past few albums, but there is a main distinction to be made. One is with the guitars, which are sharper and harder, adding a bite that makes the riffs a notch heavier than before. Guitars are more upfront, for sure, and that’s what embodies these songs the most. The guitars are firmer, but the instruments sound tighter without sounding flattened. It’s a fantastic balance and one polished to the tune of Amorphis’ graceful leads and vast atmosphere.

Moving to the songs, there’s not one dud on here. Every song has a chorus to fuel the energy and grasp its own momentum. There’s no lack of intensity, no performance failures, rarely any misplaced ideas (“Nightbird’s Song” and the closer could have used some vivacity), and no conflicting concepts. It’s both an album comprised of brilliant songs and unified as a collective, vibrant creation. Esa’s leads are harmonic and cosmic, Koivusaari’s riffs are aggressive, and that bass is principal in constructing the resolute, colossal low-end support. The bland, uneven cheesiness of the previous album is also gone, as this album’s gloomier manner lends direction. There are more uses of Joutsen’s cleaner, mature vocals, so don’t go getting the wrong idea that darker means adopting more death metal elements like Joutsen’s monstrous growling. There’s definitely some more death metal fleshed out like with the attitude, but that won’t take away from the songs or choruses evoking that sense of tenacity and bygone zeal.

Picking favorites on this isn’t easy. You’ve got the powerful “Shades Of Gray” with its commanding chorus and Esa’s epic leads to start this album off proudly. On the other end is the atmospheric “Hopeless Days” effectively balancing dark, crunchy verses (think Swallow The Sun) and Joutsen’s mournful cleans. The death / doom potency (think Swallow The Sun here, too) of “Enchanted By The Moon” might be another one, with its mix of spiteful growls, sorrowful cleans, gothic keys, and tasteful guitars as the spearhead all sounding so electrifying. No, you know what, it’s got to be “Mission”. It’s a contrast to “Enchanted By The Moon,” but it’s got Rechberger’s most memorable drumming as he goes for a catchy beat with lots of hat tapping. Esa’s the real showman, but Rechberger’s drumming and the melodies on this one (not to mention Joutsen’s soaring vocals) make “Mission” the zenith of the album.

This one’s caught between my favorite Amorphis albums and the great ones that don’t quite cut it. Its level of impact isn’t as high as it could have been. It’s a fantastic album, with the only two detractions being the overall quality of “Nightbird’s Song” and “A New Day”. Otherwise, it’s everything I could want in a Joutsen-Amorphis release. It doesn’t deviate from what they’re now known for, but it’s certainly a release that reaffirms their ability to craft intricate songs. It’s been nearly ten years since I first heard this band when they helped get me into metal, and hearing them still retaining their inventiveness is comforting. I just hope they have a few more in them before the inevitable end.

www.metal-archives.com
Musicians:

Vocals : Tomi Joutsen
Guitars : Esa Holopainen
Guitars : Tomi Koivusaari
Bass : Niclas Etelävuori
Drums : Jan Rechberger
Keyboards : Santeri Kallio

Produced by Amorphis and Peter Tägtgren
Recorded between September and October 2012 at Petrax Studios - Hollola and 5K Studios - Helsinki.
Mixed by Peter Tägtgren between October and November 2012 at Abyss Studios - Pärlby.
Mastered by Jonas Kjellgren at Blacklounge Studio.

Track List:

01. Shades Of Gray [5:29]
02. Mission [4:34]
03. The Wanderer [4:44]
04. Narrow Path [4:24]
05. Hopeless Days [5:09]
06. Nightbird's Song [5:01]
07. Into The Abyss [5:37]
08. Enchanted By The Moon [5:33]
09. A New Day [6:01]
10. Dead Man's Dream (Bonus Track) [4:04]

Exact Audio Copy V0.99 prebeta 5 from 4. May 2009

EAC extraction logfile from 26. April 2013, 10:45

Amorphis / Circle

Used drive : ATAPI iHAS624 B Adapter: 2 ID: 0

Read mode : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
Defeat audio cache : Yes
Make use of C2 pointers : No

Read offset correction : 6
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
Used interface : Installed external ASPI interface

Used output format : User Defined Encoder
Selected bitrate : 40 kBit/s
Quality : High
Add ID3 tag : No
Command line compressor : C:\Program Files\Exact Audio Copy\Flac\flac.exe
Additional command line options : -6 -V %s


TOC of the extracted CD

Track | Start | Length | Start sector | End sector
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-
1 | 0:00.00 | 5:28.46 | 0 | 24645
2 | 5:28.46 | 4:33.63 | 24646 | 45183
3 | 10:02.34 | 4:44.32 | 45184 | 66515
4 | 14:46.66 | 4:23.64 | 66516 | 86304
5 | 19:10.55 | 5:08.56 | 86305 | 109460
6 | 24:19.36 | 5:01.11 | 109461 | 132046
7 | 29:20.47 | 5:37.11 | 132047 | 157332
8 | 34:57.58 | 5:32.74 | 157333 | 182306
9 | 40:30.57 | 6:00.70 | 182307 | 209376
10 | 46:31.52 | 4:03.39 | 209377 | 227640


Range status and errors

Selected range

Filename D:\Download\Amorphis - Circle.wav

Peak level 100.0 %
Range quality 100.0 %
Copy CRC E8C39FCB
Copy OK

No errors occurred


AccurateRip summary

Track 1 not present in database
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None of the tracks are present in the AccurateRip database

End of status report

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